Go Back Email Link
+ servings

The Best Apple Cider Donut Cake with Salted Caramel

The Best Apple Cider Donut Cake with Salted Caramel. Made with fresh harvest apples and an irresistible homemade salted caramel drizzle. Think like the best caramel apple you've ever had, but with way more caramel... and cake too! This Apple Cider Donut Cake with Salted Caramel is seriously the best apple cake you will ever make! 
4 from 23 votes
Print Pin
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: apple, bundt cake, cake, caramel, donut, fall
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings: 10

Ingredients

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup good quality apple cider
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 3 cups peeled, cored and finely chopped apples
  • cinnamon sugar for dusting pan

Salted Caramel Sauce

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 6 tablespoons room temperature salted butter, cut into 6 pieces
  • ½ cup room temperature heavy whipping cream
  • dash sea salt (or to taste)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325. Oil bundt pan with vegetable spray and dust the oil with cinnamon sugar. Shake out excess. Set aside.
  • For the cake: In a large bowl, cream together sugar, eggs, oil, apple cider and vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well until fully incorporated. Fold in the chopped apples.
  • Pour the batter into prepared bundt pan, sprinkling additional cinnamon sugar on the top. Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 1 ½ hours. Allow to cool for 15 minutes then gently remove the cake from the pan. Allow to cool on a wire rack. While the cake is cooling, start on the salted caramel.

For the Salted Caramel Sauce:

  • Heat sugar in a saucepan over medium high heat, stirring frequently. As the sugar begins to heat up, it will start to form clumps. As it clumps, it will form harder clumps that will eventually melt into an amber colored liquid. Be careful not to burn the sugar. *See recipe notes for tips on making caramel if needed*
  • Once the sugar has completely melted, carefully add in the room temperature butter, a little bit at a time. Stir the sugar and butter together vigorously between each addition, whisking well until all the butter is used and it's fully incorporated. (If the butter separates, remove from the heat and whisk vigorously until it comes together). Slowly add in the room temperature heavy cream. Allow to boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and add the salt to taste. Drizzle over the apple cake. Serve and eat!