This toffee apple cake has a brown sugar sponge, cinnamon and brown sugar-coated apple chunks, cinnamon buttercream, homemade caramel drip and homemade toffee apples.
This is just autumn in a cake for me. It is my favourite time of year, there are just so many amazing flavours and smells. I would eat this toffee apple cake, cosy on the sofa with a blanket watching a good movie in my fluffy socks; it would be the perfect evening!
Toffee Apples
So I made these toffee apples before I made any other part of my cake. You can make these at any stage, either while your cakes are cooling or after you have decorated the cake. It is completely up to yourself.
I made 6 small toffee apples I wasn’t sure when I made them how many I would use on the top of the cake. I ended up, as you can see, using three on top of the cake the other three were enjoyed separately. You can if you only want to make three half the recipe for the toffee apples you could also increase it if you wanted more.
I started by washing my apples with boiling water to get any wax off them and inserting a skewer into them. Washing helps the toffee to stick to them. I also prepared my baking tray.
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Next I added the sugar and water to a saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves. I then added in the white wine vinegar and the golden syrup and mixed until it was fully incorporated.
Now you need to heat the toffee until it reaches 150C or Hard Cracking stage on your sugar thermometer. Once it has reached 150C remove from the heat and dip the apples in.
Please, please, please be careful! The toffee is so so hot. Once you have coated the apples put them straight onto the baking tray and leave to cool. As they cool, they will set.
Toffee Apple Cake
Depending on the when you are making your toffee apples this might be the first part of this recipe you come too.
The toffee apple cake is a three-layered cake similar to my Cookie Dough Showstopper Cake and Biscoff Drip Cake. I always make drip cakes three layers because I love how they look. They are tall enough for the drip so that it doesn’t touch the bottom of the cake. You can make this cake smaller if you would prefer but your drips will be shorter.
I started off by lining my cake tins. I use 8” Loose bottomed Cake Tins because I find it easier to get the cakes out and line them on the bottom and the sides with greaseproof paper and leave to one side.
To make the cake I first started by peeling and cutting my apples into 1cm cubes. I place them in a bowl and add the sugar and cinnamon and mix until the apples are completely coated. I then leave these to one side and make the cake.
To make the cake I cream together my butter and sugar until it is lovely and pale and fluffy. Next, I add in the flour, eggs, vanilla and baking powder and mix until it is fully incorporated. Finally I fold through my apples until they are evenly distributed.
I split the mixture between my three tins and bake in the oven until the cakes are lovely and golden or spring back when touched.
Caramel Drip
So the caramel drip is slightly different to the toffee that we made for our toffee apples. This caramel is a lot thicker and absolutely perfect to drip or drizzle over your cake. It is also made completely differently to the toffee for the apples.
Again, it is completely up to you at which point you want to make it. This caramel like the toffee does get very hot and as it cools it thickens. So for a lovely thick drip on your cake you will want to leave it too cool.
I started off by adding sugar to a saucepan and heating on a medium heat. I stirred the sugar continuisoly. It will start to clump together but just keep stirring and it will melt and turn a lovely amber colour.
Once it has completely melted reduce the heat and add in the butter. Please be careful! It will spit and bubble when you add the butter. You need to stir it continuously until the butter has completely melted and is completely incorporated. Finally remove from the heat and add in the double cream. Again you need to mix it continually until it is fully incorporated.
Leave the caramel to cool. As I said above as it cools it will thicken up. You also don’t want to put this on your cake hot or it will melt the buttercream.
Buttercream
To make the buttercream I mixed the butter, sugar and cinnamon together until it was lovely and thick. If it is too thick you can add 1tsp of whole milk to it and then mix. Repeating until it is the perfect consistency. I didn’t add my cinnamon to the buttercream because to be honest cinnamon isn’t one of my favourite flavours.
If, however, you would prefer more cinnamon then you can certainly add more. I would start with 1tsp, mix and then taste. Then add another teaspoon and repeat until you have the perfect flavoured buttercream.
I put this buttercream into a piping bag with a large round nozzle. As I find this the easiest way to pipe onto the cake.
Construction
Buttercream
Okay, now we have all of our component parts for our cake we can finally start construction. I start by placing the first cake on the cake board or plate and pipe the buttercream on top. Using an angled pallet knife to smooth the buttercream onto the top before adding my next cake layer. Don’t worry if it splodges over the side we will use this for the crumb coat. Repeat until all of your cakes are stacked.
Pipe the buttercream onto the top layer of the cake, again don’t worry if it goes over the edges. Using your cake smoother smooth around the sides of the cake. Don’t worry if you can see the cake through the buttercream, this is just the crumb coat. We will cover the cake soon.
If there are any gaps, pipe buttercream into the gaps and then smooth again using your cake smoother. When there are no gaps in your cake pop it into the fridge until the buttercream has hardened. Once the buttercream has hardened, pipe the remaining buttercream around the sides of the cake.
Using your smoother, smooth around the sides, if there are any gaps fill these with the buttercream and continue to smooth around the sides until the cake is smooth. You will most likely take some of the buttercream off the cake if you do pop this back into your bowl and we will use this for the swirls on top of the cake. Using an angled palette knife smooth any buttercream into the top of the cake so you have nice sharp edges.
Caramel Drip
Put the caramel into your piping bag with either a small round nozzle or cut the tip of the piping off. Go around the edge of the cake and encourage it to drip. I do this by holding the piping bag or squeeze bottle ever so slightly away from the cake. If you have any leftover caramel pour it onto the top of the cake and smooth.
Pop the cake into the fridge for half an hour to allow the caramel to set. If you don’t your buttercream will just slide off.
With your remaining buttercream that you scraped off the cake, pop this into another piping bag with a Wilton 1M Piping Tip and pipe onto the top of the cake.
Finish with your toffee apples.
Equipment
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Toffee Apple Cake
Ingredients
For the Toffee Apples
- 6 Small Apples
- 200 g Light Brown Sugar
- 50 ml Water
- 1 tsp White Wine Vinegar
- 50 g Golden Syurp
For the Cake
- 300 g Cooking Apples
- 50 g Light Brown Sugar
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 425 g Light Brown Sugar
- 425 g Unsalted Butter or Stork
- 425 g Self-Raising Flour
- 8 Large Eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
For the Caramel Drip
- 200 g White Granulated Sugar
- 90 g Unsalted Butter
- 100 ml Double Cream
For the Buttercream
- 750 g Icing Sugar
- 375 g Unsalted Butter
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
Instructions
To Make the Toffee Apples
- Pourboiling water over the apples to get any wax coating of them.
- Drythe apples and insert a skewer.
- Line a large baking tray with parchment paper and leave to one side.
- Addthe sugar and water to a saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves.
- Add in the vinegar and syrup and heat until the mixture reaches 150C.
- Onceyou have hit 150C remove from heat and dip the apples in. Please be careful thetoffee will be super super hot.
- When you remove the apple from the toffee let any excess drip off before putting iton your pre prepared tray.
- Leave to one side too cool and set.
To Make the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 170C (150CFan). Line three 8 ”cake tins with greaseproof paper and leave to oneside.
- Peel and cut your apples into 1cm squares and place in a bowl.
- To the bowl add the sugar and cinnamon.
- Mix until the apples are coated in the sugar and cinnamon and leave to one side.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the sugar and butter until light andfluffy.
- Add in the flour, eggs, vanilla extract, baking powder. Whisk until allcombined. Fold through your apples until they are distributed evenly.
- Pour the mixture into the individual cake tins and bake in the oven for 35-40minutes. You will know they are ready when they are springy to touch.
- Ileave them to cool in the cake tin for 15-20 minutes and then remove and putthem on a wire rack to cool fully.
To Make the Caramel Drip
- Place the sugar in a medium saucepan over a medium heat and stir continually. The sugar will begin to clump together but just keep stirring it will melt and become an amber coloured liquid.
- Reduce the heat and add the butter (please be carefully it will bubble and spit when you do). You will need to keep mixing the butter mixture until it is completelymelted and incorporated.
- Add the double cream while whisking.
- Let the caramel cool it will thicken as it cools.
- Once it is cool place in a piping bag with a small round nozzle or snip the tip ofthe bag off. Leave to one side.
To Make the Buttercream
- Addthe sugar, butter and cinnamon to a bowl and mix until it is fullyincorporated. If it is quite thick you can add 1tsp of milk at a time mixing inbetween until it reaches the desired consistency.
- Once your buttercream is the perfect consistency add it to a piping bag with a large round nozzle and leave to one side.
To Put the Cake Together
- Place your first cake on your serving plate and pipe the buttercream on top. Smooth using a spatula, don’t worry is any of the buttercream splodges out the side. Drizzle over your caramel. Repeat until your cake is stacked.
- Pipe the buttercream onto the top of the cake, again don’t worry if it goes over the edges.
- Using your cake smoother smooth around the sides of the cake. Don’t worry if you can see the cake through the buttercream, this is just the crumb coat. We will cover the cake soon.
- If there are any gaps, pipe buttercream into the gaps and then smooth again using your cake smoother.
- Once there are no gaps in your cake pop it into the fridge until the buttercream has hardened.
- Once the buttercream has hardened, pipe the remaining buttercream around the sides of the cake.
- Using your smoother, smooth around the sides, if there are any gaps fill these with the buttercream and continue to smooth around the sides until the cake is smooth. You will most likely take some of the buttercream off the cake if you do pop this back into your bowl and we will use this for the swirls on top of the cake.
- Using a angled palette knife to smooth any buttercream into the top of the cake so you have nice sharp edges.
- Using your caramel go around the edge of the cake and encourage it to drip. I do this by holding the piping bag or squeeze bottle ever so slightly away from the cake. If you have any leftover caramel pour it onto the top of the cake and smooth.
- Pop the cake into the fridge for half an hour to allow the caramel to set. If you don’t your buttercream will just slide off.
- Put your leftover buttercream into a piping bag and pipe swirls onto the top of the cake.
- Decorate with your toffee apples.
If you do have any questions about this Toffee Apple Cake recipe or any other recipes on my blog please contact me. You can either use the Facebook message symbol in the bottom right corner of your screen. Or you can send me a DM on social media or an email. You can find all my details on the right-hand side of this page.
That buttercream looks amazing, that’s my favorite part of a cake haha. I’m loving the look of the toffee apples on top too. Yum!
Buttercream is my favourite part too! Haha Thank you!
http://www.dellalovesnutella.co.uk/
Thank you!
mia // https://beautiful-inspiring-creative-life.com/
This cake looks AMAZING! I really want to make some toffee apples this Autumn, I guess if I’m doing that then I can make the cake too! x
You could make the cake too! Or just follow the instructions for the toffee apples if you don’t have time to make the cake.
Oh this cake looks so tasty! I love anything toffee flavoured and this cake is something I want to make! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Thank you! Ah this would be perfect if you enjoy toffee!
Oh my gosh this looks WONDERFUL! Would you believe that I’ve never had toffee apple before? I absolutely love the look at that cake!
You’ve never had a toffee apple? You need to try one they are delicious!
Thank you! The buttercream would be perfect it can be really sweet.
This looks amazing!!!
Thank you!
Thank you!