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A square of brown Apple Dapple Cake topped with brown butter glaze and chopped pecans.
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5 from 5 votes

Apple Dapple Cake

Apple Dapple Cake is a simple vintage cake filled with warming spices, pieces of apple and topped with a sweet 'n' salty brown butter glaze.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 25 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American/North A
Keyword: Apple Cake, Apple Dapple Cake, brown butter frosting, cake, dessert
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 572kcal
Author: Tara Noland

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cake flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 3/4 cup canola oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 3 apples; peeled cored, and chopped (Jonagolds, Cortlands, Honey Crisps, Pink Ladies, Braeburns, or Granny Smith apples)
  • 1 apple; peeled cored, and sliced into rings (optional)

FOR THE FROSTING

  • 1/2 cup butter; unsalted
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 - 3 cups powdered icing sugar
  • 1 cup pecans; chopped

Instructions

  • Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Prepare a 9 x 13 baking pan by rubbing the bottom and sides with butter.
  • Sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, salt) together over a medium bowl.
  • In a large bowl, mix all of the wet ingredients (sour cream, oil, eggs, vanilla) together with the two sugars.
  • Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in three separate additions, stirring each time.
  • Peel, core, and chop three apples and mix into the wet batter. Slice the other peeled and cored apple into rings. Pour into prepared baking pan.
  • Slightly smooth out the lumpy batter and arrange rings on the surface of the batter.
  • Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes, then test cake with a wooden skewer. If it is still quite soft and gooey, bake for another ten and test again. Cake is done when the skewer comes out clean.
  • FOR THE BROWN BUTTER FROSTING
  • While the cake is baking, melt 1/2 cup butter in a medium saucepan. Allow it to foam up and darken slightly. The butter is 'browned' when it has darkened and released a sweet nutty aroma.
  • Add the brown sugar and milk to the browned butter and allow to come to a rolling boil.
  • Remove from heat and let sit 10 minutes.
  • At this point, the solids have separated. Add the mixture to a blender and process until smooth.
  • Add the salt, then icing sugar one cup at a time (processing in between additions) until you have reached the desired consistency.
  • Pour over warm cake. Scatter chopped pecans over the glaze. Let sit for ten minutes and serve.

Notes

If you wish to skip the frosting, simply finish the top of the cake with a light dusting of powdered (icing) sugar.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 572kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 425mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 53g