Here is another cake dedicated to the flavors of Fall, especially apple and cinnamon. It is one of those “comfort cakes” – a fluffy sponge full of apples and soft buttercream with strong hints of cinnamon. And the salted caramel is the cherry on top, bringing a delicious contrast.
I have already shared here two apple pie recipes, one american style and another apple crumble style. But this is the first apple cake on the blog, and it is truly essential for all lovers of this special fruit.
It makes for one tall and elegant cake, just like I like them. It is not one of the quickest ones to prepare, but rest assured it is worth the time investment.
Apple, Walnut and Cinnamon Cake with Salted Caramel
the perfect cake to welcome Fall
Ingredients
Apples
- 3 apples (I used green apples)
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
Walnut and Apple Cake
- 4 eggs
- 120 g light brown sugar
- 80 g white sugar
- 150 ml canola or sunflower oil
- 120 g walnut flour
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon powder
Salted Caramel
- 100 g white sugar
- 125 ml heavy cream
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp fleur de sel
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 6 egg whites
- 200 g white sugar
- 480 g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 2 tbsp cinnamon powder
Instructions
Apples
- Prepare the apples – peel, deseed, and chop them into small cubes.
- Mix them with the sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
Apple and Walnut Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180 º C.
- In a bowl, mix the sifted flour, walnut flour, baking powder, and cinnamon powder.
- Next beat the eggs with the sugars and the oil for a few minutes.
- Lower the mixer's speed setting and add the dry ingredients.
- Lastly, fold in the diced apples.
- Distribute this mixture equally across three cake pans of about 18 cm in diameter, previously greased.
- Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean.
Salted Caramel
- In a pan bring the sugar to medium heat, until it reaches a light caramel tone.
- Remove from the heat and add cream butter. Be careful, it will bubble up a lot due to differences in temperature. Mix.
- Bring over the heat again for a few minutes, always stirring, until it thickens a little.
- Add the salt and mix. Transfer the caramel to a clean container and cover with cling wrap. Let it cool down.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Place the egg whites and sugar in a heat-resistant bowl.
- Bring some water to a boil in a pan. Place the bowl above this pan and whisk constantly.
- Continue whisking until the mixture starts to warm up and the sugar fully dissolves. You can check with the tips of your fingers to make sure there are no grains remaining.
- Move this mixture to the mixer and beat at medium speed, forming a smooth and glossy meringue. Keep mixing until it is completely cooled down.
- Slowly add the butter, creating a firm buttercream.
- Add the cinnamon (you can adjust the amount to your liking) and beat a little more.
Assembling and Decorating
- Place the first layer of cake on your serving plate. If needed, trim the top of the cake.
- Spread a generous amount of buttercream and smoothen it over.
- Repeat this process for the next two cake layers.
- Set aside a bit of the cream for the decoration, and spread the remaining on the sides of the cake. Smoothen again.
- Spread the cold caramel carefully on top of the cake. Use a spoon to push droplets of caramel on the edges of the cake to make a "drip cake" effect.
- Wait a little for the caramel to stabilize. Then decorate the top of the cake with the rest of the buttercream and some chopped walnuts.
Notes
For a successful buttercream, it is essential that the butter is at room temperature. It can’t be too hard or too soft, otherwise, it will not be incorporated in the meringue.
