Thick, luscious caramel apple cider buttercream wrapped like a sweater around a light cinnamon cake, filled with apple pie filling, and topped with an entire caramel apple! How fun is that? I love this cake, and can’t wait to dive into it with you.

I feel like when the weather starts changing, and the morning drive to my boy’s school gets more and more chilly outside, my favorite apple cider and hot Bengal spice tea seem to make a more regular appearance in my kitchen and in my cup holder! I am such a sucker for hot chocolate, but there’s something so comforting about a hot cup of hot apple cider.

I knew when creating my hot apple cider cupcakes in my Cake Confidence cookbook, that I would need to eventually make it into a cake! The recipes are actually the exact same, but I added in my favorite apple filling from my Apple Pie Cupcakes to this cake. Aaaand of course, I shoved a giant caramel apple on top, haha.

If you’re looking for a killer caramel apple recipe, I have one here that will walk you through step-by-step how to get it done (and four different ways to dress them up with our favorite toppings!).

Buttercream Sweater Weather

This buttercream is heavenly. I achieved the classic signature caramel apple flavor by using caramel apple cider packets from the grocery store! It’s much easier than using caramel and somehow also infusing the buttercream with apple flavor otherwise. It’s an easy hack, and requires little to no effort – with quite the tasty result!

How to get the flavor just right? I would add make my batch of buttercream, then add in one packet at the end and whip it up. Taste it. If you’re satisfied with the flavor, stop. You’re all good! If you want more flavor, add in another packet and taste again. I feel like I’m a 2-3 packet gal, but some are just fine with only one packet. What to do with the rest of the apple cider packets? Make them in to cookies! Or drink it up on a cozy evening with a Christmas movie. I also like to fill up my thermos with cider to take with me on errands. It won’t go to waste, I can assure you! Heck, you could even whip up another few batches of buttecream for some cookies or cupcakes, or another cake!

To get the sweater pattern, I posted an Instagram video where you can see me doing the braid pattern up, then down. It’s up to you! I used a star tip by Wilton (not the 1M, but the next size smaller). Make sure your buttercream is the right consistency so it can hold itself up on the sides of the cake as you finish the rest. If you notice the sides start to droop, your buttercream is too thin of consistency. It needs to be medium-thick.

THE BEST APPLE PIE FILLING

I’m not joking. I could slather this stuff on crackers, ice cream, bread, and just about anything! It’s

For the filling, I actually have a pretty easy video to follow on that one on my Instagram page. It comes together pretty well, but just make sure to make it in advance so you have plenty of time for it to cool down before adding it to your cake.

The biggest tips I would have would be to use honey crisp or granny smith apples, dice them up super small, and make sure to let them simmer long enough to cook through.

A TOUCH OF CINNAMON

The cake layers are pretty simple – they’re actually just my white cake with a touch of cinnamon. Easy peasy! I wanted the apple cider taste to be strong in the buttercream and let it speak for itself in that way. It worked out great for this cake!

That’s it! I hope you guys enjoy my caramel apple cider cake just as much as we did! 

Get the Recipe: Caramel Apple Cider Cake

Thick, luscious caramel apple cider buttercream wrapped like a sweater around a light cinnamon cake, filled with apple pie filling, and topped with an entire caramel apple! 
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Ingredients
 

Cinnamon Cake

  • 4 egg whites, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup sour cream, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk , room temperature
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 box white cake mix, Duncan Hines is what I prefer, but you can use anything else you can find and it should be similar.

Apple Cider Buttercream

  • 4 sticks (or 2 cups) unsalted butter , left out at room temp for 20 minutes
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon caramel extract , optional
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1-3 packets caramel apple cider drink mix (.74oz each), start with one, then go by taste from there
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream , plus more for thinning
  • 7-8 cups powdered sugar

Apple Pie Filling

  • 2 cups finely cubed honeycrisp apples (or granny smith)
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 pinch nutmeg
  • 3-4 Tablespoons water
  • 1 slurry (1/4 cup water + 1 teaspoon cornstarch stirred together).

Caramel Apple on top (recipe on website)

    Instructions
     

    Cinnamon Cake

    • Prep three 6" cake pans and preheat oven to 325 degrees.
    • In a medium bowl, whisk together egg whites, sour cream, buttermilk, vanilla, oil, almond extract, and cinnamon. When thoroughly combined, sift in the cake mix. Don't over mix while stirring together. Batter will be thick.
    • Split between the prepped cake pans and bake for 25-27 minutes. Do not overbake – it shouldn't be darker than a light golden color. Let cool in pan for 1 minute, then flip out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

    Apple Cider Buttercream

    • 1. In a small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream and 1-3 packets of apple cider mix, depending on how strong you'd like the flavor to be. Let sit for 10 minutes so the apple cider mix is fully seeped in.
    • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip up the butter on medium speed until it's light and fluffy.
    • With the mixer on slow speed, add in the vanilla, caramel extract if using, apple cider heavy cream mixture, and salt. Mix thoroughly. Slowly add in the powdered sugar, a half a cup at a time. Add in more heavy cream if needed to thin it out (maybe another quarter cup will do). Whip up on high speed until buttercream gets lighter in size and texture. You will need a piping bag to pipe a dam around the outside of each filling barrier, and also a small Wilton star tip for the design.

    Apple Pie Filling

    • Mix everything in a saucepan over medium heat, except for the slurry. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes until all the apples are soft. Add in the slurry and stir until it's nice and thick. Add to a container to cool in the fridge until you're ready to assemble your cake.

    Assembly

    • Add down first layer of cake on your cake turntable on a cardboard cake round with a touch of buttercream first to act as glue. Add on a thin layer of buttercream on the cake rounds, then pipe a dam around the outside rim of the cake. Add in about 1/2 cup filling. Repeat with the next cake layer, and then top with the last one. Crumb coat. Freeze for 5 minutes, then pipe on braid buttercream design going down, then going up. Top with more of the apple filing, then top with a caramel apple!
    Course: Dessert