One of my favorite apple desserts is the Pioneer Woman Apple Bundt Cake. It is loaded with sweet toffee pieces and cinnamon apples, and it is covered in the most lick-the-plate-delicious spiced caramel sauce. This dessert is going to drive everyone absolutely nuts!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Similar in texture and moisture content to banana cake, pumpkin cake, and spice cake. Tender, soft, and moist.
• Deliciously spiced with all the tastes you love from an apple pie, but requires far less time and work to make.
• It is not necessary to wait for it to totally cool for several hours before eating it.
• The baking pan may be used for transporting and serving the food.
• Wonderful either on its own or with a little coating of spicy caramel sauce sprinkled on top.

Pioneer Woman Apple Bundt Cake Ingredients

This apple caramel cake is covered with the most delicious homemade caramel sauce you could ever dream of having on a cake. Don’t be concerned; preparing caramel sauce is a breeze! The following is everything you will need to make the actual apple bundt cake.

• Apples. I used granny smith apples, but any other type of tart-baking apple should work as well.
• Toffee Bits. I make my own brickle toffee pieces using heath chunks of brickle.
• Spices. This cake gets a ton of its autumnal flavor from the addition of ground cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
• All-Purpose Flour. Provides structure. My preference is to make this brown sugar pecan pound cake with all-purpose flour instead of cake flour.
• Baking Powder. Adds a little bit of height to the cake.
• Unsalted Butter. When baking, it’s best to use unsalted butter so you have more control over how much salt goes into the finished product.
• Sugar. Both the sweetness of the cake and a hint of caramel taste came from a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar that I used in the baking.
• Eggs. Before beginning to make this dish, the ingredients should be at room temperature.
• Buttermilk. Make sure to use actual buttermilk rather than a manufactured imitation.
• Vanilla Extract. This apple bundt cake gets an incredible amount of flavor with only one teaspoon of cinnamon.

What Apples Are Best For Apple Bundt Cake?

Apples from the Granny Smith kind are great for baking and may be found in stores year-round. Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Pink Lady, Matsu, and even a softer Golden Delicious are also great baking apples.

Picking any three varieties of apples is a great choice. That way, you get a more varied flavor profile because of the different textures and tastes.

How To Make Pioneer Woman Apple Bundt Cake

Toffee Apple Bundt Cake

• Preheat the oven to 325°F and generously coat or oil and flour the interior of a 1/2 cup (no less!) nonstick bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place aside.
• Toss 1 cup of apples (any remaining diced apples will be garnished) with 1 tablespoon of flour in a medium bowl until evenly coated. Place aside. 1/4 cup toffee chunks, removed from packaging Reserve for garnish.
• Whisk together cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in a small basin. Remove 1 teaspoon (for the caramel sauce) and place the remaining in a large mixing basin. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the same bowl. Stir to blend evenly.
• Mix the butter until creamy, then add the sugars and continue to beat until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until just the yellow remains after each egg, then beat in the vanilla until just incorporated.
• Gradually add the flour mixture in thirds to the butter mixture, alternating with buttermilk in between each third. Mix until everything is just blended. Stir in the toffee bits from the box and the flour-coated apples until barely incorporated, then scoop the batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake at 325°F for 70-85 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. To prevent extra browning, cover the top of the cake with foil at the end of the cooking time. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool entirely on a wire rack.
• Follow the directions for 1 batch of quick spiced caramel sauce (below). Make ahead of time and reheat in the microwave/stove, or prepare just before serving.
• Caramelize the cake and top it with the leftover chopped apples and toffee pieces.

Easy Spiced Caramel Sauce

• Heat the butter, brown sugar, water, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until the butter melts.
• Bring to a boil, then lower to low heat and continue to boil for 5 minutes, stirring regularly (it will bubble a lot!).
• Remove from the heat and mix in 1/2 cup evaporated milk, vanilla extract, and the saved teaspoon of spices. If necessary, add more evaporated milk to get the required consistency.
• If the caramel sauce gets too thick after standing, reheat it and whisk in more evaporated milk. Serve hot.

What To Serve With Apple Bundt Cake?

• Fruit Salad
• Milky Coffee
• Green Tea
• Fresh Cow Milk
• Oatmeal with Raisins
• Orange Juice

Recipe Variations

• Add Nuts. Add some finely chopped pecans or walnuts in place of (or in addition to) the toffee bits.
• Leave Off The Caramel Sauce. If you omit the caramel sauce and sprinkle some powdered sugar on top, this apple bundt cake would make a fantastic coffee cake.
• Whip Up Some Salted Caramel Sauce. Make a salted caramel sauce instead of spiced caramel sauce. The caramel apple flavor will be there, although it may be somewhat altered.

How To Store Apple Bundt Cake?

• In The Fridge. Keep airtight in a plastic bag for up to 5 days at room temperature; note that it will dry out significantly.
• In The Freezer. Once the apple bundt cake has cooled fully, remove the caramel and securely cover it in plastic wrap. There will be no loss of quality after three months in the freezer. Thaw the cake in the fridge overnight before serving.
• To Make Ahead. The next day, this caramel apple cake is even more delicious. If I were to make this cake, I wouldn’t put the caramel on top until right before serving. The cake should be allowed to sit at room temperature after being wrapped firmly in plastic wrap after it has cooled. The caramel may also be made in advance, stored in the fridge until serving time, and then reheated in the microwave (after being warmed, of course) to avoid any thickening.

Recipe Tips

• Keep Your Ingredients At Room Temperature. For this apple bundt cake recipe, you will need milk and eggs at room temperature. The ingredients for a soft, fluffy bundt cake are best when they are at room temperature since they are simpler to blend (making it less likely that you will overmix them).
• How To Get Your Ingredients To Room Temperature. It’s fine if you don’t prepare in advance. Put eggs (still in their shells) in a basin and cover them with warm (not hot) water from the faucet for at least 20 minutes. Bring the milk to room temperature in the microwave (not hot).
• Don’t Over Beat. After you’ve combined the sugar and butter in a bowl, you shouldn’t beat the batter too much. After each egg is added, continue beating until the color of the mixture changes to white. Overbeating eggs will result in a runnier batter, which might potentially overflow the pan while baking. Another problem that might arise from using too many eggs is a crust that is too delicate and falls apart as the cake cools.
• Don’t Peak. Keep your apple bundt cake in the oven until it’s time to check on it. If you open the doors while cooking, the cake may bake unevenly and fall.
• Do Not Overcook. One common source of cake complaints is overbaking. Once a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with only a few crumbs, it’s time to throw it out.

Try More Recipes:

• Ina Garten Chocolate Lava Cake
• Ina Garten Pound Cake

Pioneer Woman Apple Bundt Cake Nutrition Facts

Amount Per Serving

• Calories 260
• Total Fat 12g
• Saturated Fat 2.5g
• Cholesterol 45mg
• Sodium 250mg
• Total Carbohydrate 36g
• Dietary Fiber 0g
• Sugars 27g
• Protein 2g
• Vitamin A 0%
• Vitamin C 0%
• Calcium 10%
• Iron 14%

Nutrition Facts Source: Source