Apple Dapple Cake with Warm Vanilla Cream Sauce
This apple dapple cake with warm vanilla cream sauce is amazing and simple and wonderful. Served warm, it is the most comforting perfect dessert ever.
Apple dapple, I think I love you.
I’d never heard of this charming cake until a nice reader, Helen, sent it to me declaring it her favorite childhood dessert (so much so that she requested large batches of it to be made and served at her wedding reception the week before Christmas).
Of course, with that kind of recommendation I had to try it.
In all honesty, though, I wondered if the lightly spiced apple cake could really woo me.
And no offense to Miss Apple Dapple, but I put off making it for a little while. Finally, last Sunday we tried it. And it was definitely one of those moments where I was berating myself (and my family was berating me) for waiting so long to make it. I felt very berated.
It is amazing. Amazing and simple and wonderful.
The cake alone is this fabulous concoction of lightly spiced cake batter plum full of juicy apple – when baked, it puffs into the softest, most tender cake to ever meet these cake-loving lips. On top of that (literally), the warm vanilla cream sauce drizzled lightly over the cake puts this into other-worldly spheres.
Served warm, it is like the most comforting perfect dessert ever.
Ever.
There were two pieces left over, swimming in extra cream sauce in the fridge, and when clean-out-the-fridge-for-dinner-night rolled around that week, the entire family was literally throwing elbows for the privilege of this cake.
We all managed a bite or two of the left overs while I told my family how lucky they were I didn’t do what I was now regretting: eat the leftovers days ago for breakfast. Lesson learned.
One Year Ago: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fudge
Two Years Ago: Spicy {Or Not} Chicken and Sweet Potato Soup
Three Years Ago: Pumpkin Cobbler
Apple Dapple Cake with Warm Vanilla Cream Sauce
Ingredients
Cake:
- 8 tablespoons (113 g) salted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 ¼ cup (265 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups (284 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 4 cups peeled, cored and grated/shredded apple (about 5 large apples) plus any accumulated juice
Cream Sauce:
- 4 tablespoons (57 g) butter
- ½ cup whipping cream
- ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until well-combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until light and creamy.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients to the wet batter and mix until just combined and a few dry streaks remain. The batter will be very stiff but will thin out after the apples are stirred in.
- Stir in the grated apple with any accumulated juice and mix until combined. No need to overmix, just stir until the apples are incorporated.
- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for about 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- For the cream sauce, while the cake is baking, combine the butter, cream and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a low simmer and stir until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is combined. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and keep warm until ready to serve.
- Cut the warm cake into pieces and drizzle with the warm cream sauce.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from Helen C., a MKC reader (I cut down the sugar in the cake batter and added vanilla to the halved cream sauce recipe)
Hi,
Would I be able to make this in advanced and freeze them, on the day I’ll warm it up in the oven for 15 minutes and will pour the sauce right before serving
Yes, these freeze well.
Yes, that should work great.
I made this apple dapple cake it was great. I added 1/2 cup of sugar and used wheat flour in place of white flour.
Another delicious one! Tried it out on our company tonight and it was a bit hit. Perfect for a chilly Fall night. Yum, thanks Mel!
I’m so happy to hear that, Kimmy!
Wow! We were also surprised at how delicious this is. Even my “non-apple-dessert kids” loved this one and are already begging me to make it again!! We have an abundance of apples this year, what a yummy way to use them. Thank you!
We always rate recipes that I make & print off so I can remember if we liked or loved them. My husband almost always gives a lower rating than I do, he will eat anything but he doesn’t love everything. He gave this a 10 out of 5 stars, which for him is a first. I believe he said it was outstanding. High praise, especially since chocolate is not involved. I like it too but kind of preferred the cake alone & room temp altho the sauce is yummy, its too sweet for me, but that is totally on me. This will be on our fall baking rotation every year for sure, thanks for a total keeper!!
Thanks for the review, Kathy!
Sounds yummy! What size cake pan do you use for the apple dapple cake?
I made this for a church event and got so many compliments on it! Delicious fall dessert!
So happy it was a hit, Janelle!
We made this last night and it was amazing!!! We doubled the sauce as many mentioned and it was just the right amount. I could eat the sauce with a spoon! This will be on regular rotation here!
This is one of our favorites!
This is my family’s favorite desert! One of the best cake recipes you’ll ever try. My cake hating husband actually loves this. Make it, you won’t regret it!!
I couldn’t find my mother’s recipe and found Mel’s. He looked very similar so I gave it a try! It was absolutely wonderful and just like Mom’s.
I would prefer to make in either bundt or cake pans for presentation. Any comment on that please?
I haven’t tried either of those pan variations, but I think it would work pretty well in a bundt pan.
We made this to welcome in fall—it had all the perfect late summer/early fall vibes and the whole pan was quickly devoured in one night. Now I’m wishing there were leftovers because it was so so yummy. I guess I’ll just need to make it again!
This has become a family favorite! We are gluten free and I subbed in Krusteaz all purpose Gluten Free Flour and it turned out perfectly!
Do you think I could mix this all up and put it in a pan but cook it in a couple of hours?
I think I’m a little confused by your question – are you wanting to bake the cake for a couple of hours?
Sorry to chime in…and it may be too late…but I think she’s asking if you can prep the entire recipe, put it in a pan, then hold it until later when you’re ready to bake it. I’ve been thinking about making this, but would like to bake it while we’re eating dinner so it will be warm for dessert. Based on our schedule, that would allow me to prep it in the morning, then bake it later.
Ah, I see. You’re probably right. I haven’t tried that, but based on the texture of this cake, yes, I think you could prep the batter in the pan ahead of time and then bake when needed.
Oh my, this cake is PERFECTION. I had five small macs to use up after making applesauce. Low and behold, Mel’s site to the rescue. I tossed in 2 grated pears to make the 4 cups of fruit needed. Moist, delicious and the cream sauce will make you weak in the knees. I hid the last piece in the back of the cheese drawer for my lunch at work tomorrow, and feel no guilt at all.
Hello, I would like to bring this to my nieces for Thanksgiving. Can I make it all the night before. Do I store them both in the fridge? How do you recommend warming both the day of Thanksgiving? TY and can’t wait to try it. Sounds so good. Happy Holidays!! 🙂
Yes, you can probably make it the day before. I’d microwave individual pieces (and the sauce in its entirety) OR warm the cake in a 250 degree oven for 15 minutes or so and heat the sauce on the stovetop or microwave.
Hi Mel
If I make this cake Thursday and pour the cream sauce on it after it bakes, can I let it sit covered at room temperature so I can bring it to work Friday. Or should I make the cake Thursday and make the cream sauce Friday morning and then pour it over the cake.
I would wait until the day you serve it to add the cream sauce – if it were me, I wouldn’t add the cream sauce until right as I was cutting it into pieces and serving.
Thank you so much
O.M.G.! I made this yesterday for Sunday dessert because I had apples that needed to be used. It was so moist and had just the perfect amount of “fall” spices as to not be an overwhelmingly “fall” dessert, something that will stay on my must-keep list for all year round! And the sauce is to die for – we all kept going back for more so I will double the sauce next time around. I also used brown sugar in mine and it gave it more of a caramel taste that I’ll stick with! I used Fuji apples because that’s what I had on hand and used the shredding attachment on my food processor to do all the work. I think I might make these into muffins and top with a crumble, then drizzle with the sauce 🙂 Thanks again for another top notch recipe!