Caramel Apple Skillet Dump Cake
This caramel apple dump cake is made with a spiced brown sugar cake, honeycrisp apples, and homemade caramel sauce all in one skillet!
Equipment
Ingredients
For the homemade caramel sauce:
- Get the ingredients here, I would recommend a half batch*
For the spiced brown sugar cake:
- 84 g (6 tablespoon) brown butter, cooled; start with 113g unsalted butter
- 180 g (1 ½ cups) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 106 g (½ cup) dark brown sugar
- 1 egg, room temp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- 63 g (¼ cup) unsweetened applesauce
- 56 g (¼ cup) buttermilk
- Turbinado sugar for sprinkling
For the spiced caramel apples:
- 75 g caramel sauce
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- 28 g unsalted butter
- 310 g honeycrisp apples*, about 2, peeled & thinly sliced
- 53 g (¼ cup) dark brown sugar
Instructions
For the homemade caramel sauce:
- Get the instructions here (I would recommend a half batch)
For the spiced brown sugar cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Start by browning the butter. You'll need 84g of brown butter, so start with about 113g (as the butter melts, water evaporates).*
- To brown the butter, in a small saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat for several minutes, swirling to even out the color. The butter will be ready once the fat solids have separated and darkened, and the butter is an even medium amber color.
- Pour the brown butter into a large mixing bowl and place in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.*
- Meanwhile, switch over to making the spiced caramel apples.
For the spiced caramel apples:
- In a glass measuring cup, stir together the caramel sauce and spices. Set aside.
- Place a 9" cast iron skillet over medium heat.
- Add the butter and stir frequently until the milk solids have separated and browned.
- Add in the thinly sliced apples and brown sugar, and stir often for about 3-4 minutes.
- Drain the apple juices from the skillet, then pour the spiced caramel sauce over the apples and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring often.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Meanwhile, finish making the cake batter.
Back to the spiced brown sugar cake:
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
- To the cooled brown butter, whisk in the brown sugar, then the egg and vanilla.
- Add in half of the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined.
- Whisk in the applesauce and buttermilk.
- Then, mix in the rest of the dry ingredients until just combined.
- Pour the cooled spiced caramel apples into the cake batter and mix with a rubber spatula until evenly dispersed.
- Pour the batter back into the cast iron skillet and smooth out the top.
- Sprinkle with turbinado sugar and bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for about 20 minutes, then drizzle more caramel sauce on top.
- Enjoy warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Notes
- If making homemade caramel, I recommend making at least an hour before (or up to a week before) making the cake to give it time to cool down and thicken up.
- Start with an extra couple tablespoons of butter, since water evaporates as it browns. Also, keep in mind that European-style butter has less water content, so if you're using American-style butter you might want to start with even more butter.
- Don't add ingredients to the hot brown butter. Chill it in the fridge for about 15 minutes to bring it to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.
- Be sure to cut your apples into equally thin slices, so they will cook at the same rate.
- I used honeycrisp apples, but you could also use another baking apple, such as granny smith or pink lady.
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 262mg | Potassium: 105mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 341IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg
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