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Prepare yourself, guys.
I am going to do everything in my power to convince you to make this cake.
Don’t say I didn’t give you fair warning, alright?
This cake is chuck full of fall flavors. It’s loaded with apples and cinnamon, which makes it moist and flavorful. There is a ribbon of cream cheese running right through it. Yum. Holy. Yum. I mean really! Who doesn’t love cream cheese? I would really like to know. Ok, if you don’t love it then please just quietly avert your eyes, come to visit me another day and allow the cream cheese lovers have our fix. Thank you.
While the cinnamon, apples and cream cheese ribbon make this cake divine…the caramel icing just throws it right over the edge of heavenly bliss.
Make it. Make it for your book club, make it for your mother in law and your father in law, too. Make it for Henry and Jack and Priscilla Lou.
Make it because it’s fall, which means it’s down right gorgeous outside. 🙂
Let me show you how to make it happen!
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 2. Beat 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 egg together until well mixed and smooth.
3. Into a large mixing bowl, or stand mixer place 1 3/4 cup sugar, 3 eggs and 1 cup oil. Beat until well combined and a bit frothy. Should take about 2 minutes.
4. In a small mixing bowl combine 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda.
Add the dry ingredients to the oil/sugar mixture and mix just until combined. You don’t want to over mix it.
5. Find yourself two lovely medium-sized apples. I used Gala, because Granny Smith are just too darn tart for me. But if tart is your thing, by all means use Granny Smith. This is a free country, after all. 🙂
Peel and chop your apples, you need 2 cups total.
6. Peel and shred 1 cup of carrots.
7. Add both the apples and carrots to the bowl and mix them in with a wooden spoon.
8. Generously spray a bundt pan with cooking spray. I would highly (VERY HIGHLY!) recommend using spray that has flour added to it. It will make your bundt come out like a dream.
9. Gently spread half of the batter into the pan.
10. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the top of the batter…
and then spread the remaining batter over the cream cheese layer.
11. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow it to sit on your counter and rest for 10 minutes.
12. Then invert the pan and let the cake cool on a wire rack.
13. To make the icing place 1 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter and 4 tablespoons milk into a medium-sized sauce pan and bring it to a boil over medium high heat. Stir it while it boils for 1 minute.
14. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla to the sauce pan and whisk it around to combine. At first it will be thin, but as it cools it will thicken up for you.
15. Spoon the icing onto the cake. If the icing starts to get hard before you can drizzle it on the cake, just pop the sauce pan back onto the stove top. Let it warm up over medium high heat. It will thin out enough for you to drizzle it over the cake.
Like this. I bet you can make yours look prettier than I did. Serve and enjoy! Cover leftovers tightly with plastic wrap. PS…It’s even better the second day. 🙂
Ingredients
- Cake:
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 2 C sugar, divided
- 4 eggs
- 1 C canola oil
- 2 C flour
- 2 t baking powder
- 2 t cinnamon
- 1 t salt
- 1/4 t baking soda
- 2 C chopped apples
- 1 C shredded carrots
- Caramel Icing:
- 1 C packed brown sugar
- 1/2 C butter
- 4 T milk
- 1 C powdered sugar
- 1 t vanilla
Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 egg together until well mixed and smooth.
3. Into a large mixing bowl, or stand mixer place 1 3/4 cup sugar, 3 eggs and 1 cup oil. Beat until well combined and a bit frothy. Should take about 2 minutes.
4. In a small mixing bowl combine 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the oil/sugar mixture and mix just until combined. You don't want to over mix it.
5. Find yourself two lovely medium-sized apples. I used Gala, because Granny Smith are just too darn tart for me. But if tart is your thing, by all means use Granny Smith. This is a free country, after all. 🙂 Peel and chop your apples, you need 2 cups total.
6. Peel and shred 1 cup of carrots.
7. Add both the apples and carrots to the bowl and mix them in with a wooden spoon.
8. Generously spray a bundt pan with cooking spray. I would highly (VERY HIGHLY!) recommend using spray that has flour added to it. It will make your bundt come out like a dream.
9. Gently spread half of the batter into the pan.
10. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the top of the batter and then spread the remaining batter over the cream cheese layer.
11. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow it to sit on your counter and rest for 10 minutes.
12. Then invert the pan and let the cake cool on a wire rack.
13. To make the icing place 1 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter and 4 tablespoons milk into a medium-sized sauce pan and bring it to a boil over medium high heat. Stir it while it boils for 1 minute.
14. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla to the sauce pan and whisk it around to combine. At first it will be thin, but as it cools it will thicken up for you.
15. Spoon the icing onto the cake. If the icing starts to get hard before you can drizzle it on the cake, just pop the sauce pan back onto the stove top. Let it warm up over medium high heat. It will thin out enough for you to drizzle it over the cake. I bet you can make yours look prettier than I did. Serve and enjoy! Cover leftovers tightly with plastic wrap. PS...It's even better the second day. 🙂
Hope you are having a great fall!
It’s a lovely time of year, isn’t it!
Made this today and the cake is wonderful and taste really good and was pretty easy to make. The only thing I did mess up on was after my frosting came to a boil I did not remove from stove when adding powdered sugar and vanilla so when my glaze cooled on the cake it was sugar grainy but still tasted so yummy. Thank you for a great recipe and next time I will follow directions closer. I have also made a few more of your recipes and I have never been disappointed.
I made this for the Sunday family dinner my sister hosts each week and it was a huge hit. I used three apples and no carrots (I have family members who have issues with vegetables in their dessert!) and it was delicious. Next week I think I’ll try the Snickerdoodle Bundt recipe.
Good morning!!! I just got started with your Blog…I AM IMPRESSED!!! Love to bake, so, by the time that I look at the beautiful pictures I am running to the kit chen/store to make your wonderful recipes, before the family starts coming thru the door!!! Thanks, Jamie…no more standing in the kitchen, thinking, “well, what will it be tonight?” tee hee
I know I am almost a year late in commenting, but I just made this cake last night to share at work today. It is amazing! Thank you so much for sharing.
Wonderful!! My icing turned out a little grainy – should I have boiled a little longer or a little less?! Thanks for another great recipe!
I too am a first time viewer of you sight and I love everything you are going…. Will try your cake today and let you know how it comes out.
Ginger
Wow! Jamie! This recipe was amazing. I made it for our family Christmas get-together. I’ve never made any type of bundt cake and was a little nervous to try something new but your recipe was easy to follow and it turned out delicious! Such a moist and flavorful cake. I used 3 cups of chopped apples instead of 2 and 1 of carrots since I couldn’t find my grater but it was super yummy! Love Love this recipe.
Thank you for posting all that you do. Just love to look and decide what is for dinner. With you making the menu for me it is wonderful. Thank you so much.