This cake showcases all the best fall things you can possibly bake with – preserved apples, warm spices, and caramel sauce spiked with bourbon. Mascarpone whipped cream is the perfect frosting choice, with a little bit of tartness to offset the other dark, sweet flavors.
I first made this cake because I had some leftover homemade apple butter that needed to be used, but it’s so good that I would definitely go to the store and buy apple butter for the sole purpose of making this cake. It’s dense, buttery, spicy, and perfectly tender from the combination of buttermilk and apple butter.
Apple butter vs. applesauce
I know what you’re thinking – can I use applesauce in this recipe? And I’m afraid the answer is no, unless you want to tweak some of the other ingredients. Apple butter is cooked for a longer time than applesauce, resulting in a much thicker consistency with a more opinionated flavor.
Adding applesauce to cake helps to create a tender crumb and provides moisture, but it doesn’t really add much in the way of flavor. Apple butter, on the other hand, has stronger notes of spice and a concentrated apple flavor. It just wouldn’t be the same. This is definitely an apple butter cake, not just a cake that has applesauce in it.
How to make this cake
I used the reverse creaming method for this cake, a technique I often choose when baking cakes. In the reverse creaming method, you blend soft butter into the dry ingredients first. This coats the flour with butter, limiting gluten development and creating a cake that’s dense and sturdy with a fine crumb. It’s a great technique to turn to when you want a cake with minimal rise, great for stacking and frosting. It’s also super easy!
Once you’ve combined your butter and dry ingredients, simply add the buttermilk and apple butter, then beat the eggs in. Bake to golden perfection, and whip together all the frosting ingredients while it cools.
It’s a very simple cake to make, leaving us with more energy to face the somewhat daunting process of making caramel sauce. I cover the ins and outs of making caramel in another post, so I won’t go over it here, but just trust me when I say, you can do this. Homemade caramel is delicious and so rewarding to make. Plus, we’re adding a heavy splash of bourbon, just to make it that much more glorious.
I hope you enjoy this lovely little apple butter cake! Let’s bake!
Apple Butter Cake with Bourbon Caramel & Mascarpone Icing
Ingredients
Apple Butter Cake
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups apple butter
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
Bourbon Caramel
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon bourbon
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- 8 ounces mascarpone
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons sugar or vanilla sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
For apple butter cake:
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray three 6" cake pans (or 2 – 9" pans) and line with parchment.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, blend flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together thoroughly. Add soft butter; mix until coarse crumbs.
- Combine the apple butter and buttermilk in a separate bowl. Add to butter and flour mixture and blend on medium speed for two minutes.
- Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat on medium speed another two minutes.
- Divide batter evenly among prepared pans and bake for about 35-40 minutes. Cakes will be nicely browned and starting to pull away from edges of the pan. Allow to cool completely.
For the bourbon caramel:
- Place sugar in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add just enough water (about 1/4 – 1/3 cup) to hydrate sugar, stirring gently to combine.
- Allow sugar to boil, without stirring, until it reaches a dark amber color. Begin whisking to incorporate browning evenly.
- Remove from heat and very carefully add cream while whisking – the mixture will expand and steam quite a bit.
- Add bourbon and salt; stir to blend. Pour into a clean container and allow to cool.
For the mascarpone whip:
- Place mascarpone, heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on high until soft peaks form.
To assemble cake:
- Cut tops of cakes flat to even out, if needed.
- Remove about one cup of the mascarpone and place it in a small bowl. Add 1/4 cup of caramel and gently fold in. Use about half of this mixture to spread on the first layer of cake.
- Top with a thin layer of caramel. Add second layer of cake and repeat.
- Add final layer of cake and press gently to seal.
- Apply a thin layer of mascarpone whip to outside of cake. Chill at least 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Apply final layer of icing and frost as desired.
- Pour caramel over cake, starting in center and swirling out towards the edges. Start with less than you think – the caramel will flow and cascade over the edges on its own. Tilt the cake lightly if needed for desired effect.
Notes
Did you try this recipe?
Be sure to leave a comment below!
