Tessa's Recipe Rundown
Taste: Like apple-cinnamon-caramel goodness. These flavors are just meant to be together.
Texture: The cake is ridiculously moist, tender, and slightly spongy. The glaze on top is ultra thick and luscious.
Ease: Super duper easy, but no one has to know that!
Pros: Easy, delicious, and crowd-pleasing. Perfect for the holidays (or anytime you want the house to smell heavenly).
Cons: Best for larger get-togethers, as it makes a whole lotta cake. Also, the cake should be served soon after you glaze it, otherwise it may get soggy.
Would I make this again? Absolutely.
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This Salted Caramel Apple Sheet Cake is the perfect dessert for any fall event!
Caramel + apples + cake = complete dessert perfection.
The aroma as this cake bakes is pure bliss. Lightly spiced apples waft through the air, making your whole house smell like a fall candle. Add salted caramel, and I’m in heaven.
This cake is super tender, ultra-moist, and beautifully light – not to mention it’s super quick and easy!
The inspiration for this recipe comes from my blogger friend Nikki of Chef in Training. Her post for Salted Caramel Apple Sheet Cake was teasing me for months, so I finally decided to make my own version of it. And it’s AMAZING.
I suggest you make this recipe for your next party, celebration, or occasion as it’s a huge crowd-pleaser. This sheet cake also makes a fantastic Thanksgiving dessert, if you have guests who prefer cake to pie!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Salted Caramel Apple Sheet Cake
Why is There Buttermilk in Salted Caramel Apple Sheet Cake?
- Buttermilk is an important component of this Salted Caramel Apple Sheet Cake recipe.
- It adds a tang to help balance the sweetness, and its acidity will help further activate the baking soda (alongside the brown sugar).
- Its thick texture lends richness to the cake for added moisture and tenderness, too.
- Full-fat sour cream would be a good alternative to the buttermilk, just note the final texture will be slightly different.
- Learn more about buttermilk and substitutions in my Buttermilk 101 article here.
Measure Your Flour Correctly!
Measuring your flour correctly is essential to ensuring this Salted Caramel Apple Sheet Cake has the perfect texture, isn’t too dense or tough, and tastes amazing. I highly recommend using a digital kitchen scale to weigh your flour, but if you don’t have one, use the spoon-and-level method to measure your flour. This ensures that you don’t accidentally compact too much flour and end up with a sheet cake that’s dry or flavorless.
Don’t Reduce the Sugar!
It might seem simple to reduce the sugar to cut down on sweetness, but reducing sugar actually has a big impact on the texture of your cake. Learn more about sugar’s role in baking here.
What Kind of Apples Should I Use?
- I prefer Granny Smith apples for this Salted Caramel Apple Sheet Cake.
- Granny Smith apples are tart, which balances the sweetness of the salted caramel glaze beautifully.
- They also hold their shape and structure well as they bake.
- Jonathan, Golden Delicious, and Honeycrisp apples should work just fine, too.
- Feel free to use a mix of apple types.
- Be sure to chop your apples evenly, for even cooking.
How to Prepare the Apples
For even cooking, peel and chop each apple evenly. This apple corer makes quick work of prepping your apples!
Salted Caramel Glaze
- The salted caramel in the glaze takes this cake to a whole new level.
- I typically use Trader Joe’s Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce. It comes in a jar and it’s fantastic.
- If you want to go the extra mile and make the salted caramel for the glaze from scratch, check out my tutorial on how to make caramel sauce here.
The Texture of This Sheet Cake
This Salted Caramel Apple Sheet Cake has a slightly unique texture. It’s ultra moist and slightly spongy with a light and airy feel. I personally love how light it is – it’s the perfect dessert after a big meal! If you want a bit more structure, feel free to add an extra 2 tablespoons of flour.
The Pan for Salted Caramel Apple Sheet Cake
I have included instructions for baking this cake in both a jelly roll pan and a slightly bigger 16.75 by 12-inch pan.
Can This be Made in a 9×13 pan Instead?
This cake was formulated for a jellyroll pan so it bakes quickly and serves a crowd. I have not tested it with a 9 by 13-inch pan, but the time would need to be increased by about 10 minutes as the cake will then be much thicker.
Help! My Glaze is Too Thick / Thin
- If your glaze is too thin, add more powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon at a time.
- If your glaze is too thick, add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time.
Can This Cake be Made Ahead of Time?
This Salted Caramel Apple Sheet Cake is best served the day it’s baked. The liquid from the apples and the frosting may leech out the longer it sits.
How to Store Salted Caramel Apple Sheet Cake
- For the best taste and texture, serve this cake the day it’s baked.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature.
- We have not tried freezing this Salted Caramel Apple Sheet Cake, but if you want to give it a try, I recommend freezing the cake unglazed. Thaw at room temperature and top with glaze once it’s back to room temp.
More Recipes You’ll Love:
- Apple Crisp
- Apple Galette
- Caramel Apple Streusel Pie
- Salted Caramel Apple Pie Pizookies
- Pumpkin Muffins
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Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 cups (254 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (200 grams) lightly packed light brown sugar
- 2 sticks (227 grams) unsalted butter
- 1 cup water (236 grams)
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups (200 grams) peeled and chopped Granny Smith apples (about 2 medium apples)
For the glaze:
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk
- 3 cups (375 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup
homemade salted caramel sauce, or store-bought
Instructions
Make the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter or oil a 10-by-15-inch jellyroll pan or a 16-3/4 by 12-inch sheet pan.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar, and brown sugar.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the butter with 1 cup water and heat until the butter melts. Bring to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling, remove from heat and stir into the flour mixture. Let cool slightly then add add in the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Gently stir in the apples.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake for 20 minutes if using a jelly roll pan, and about 17 minutes if using a 16.75 by 12-inch pan, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Make the glaze:
- Meanwhile, combine the butter and milk in a large heat-proof bowl. Microwave until the butter is melted. Gradually stir in the powdered sugar until combined. Stir in the vanilla and caramel until combined. If the glaze is too thin, add more powdered sugar to thicken. Pour evenly over the slightly warm cake. Feel free to use less glaze for less sweetness. Let set for about 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
This recipe was originally published in 2016 and has been updated with additional recipe tips and improvements.
Hi,
I made this yesterday (11/12) to serve this afternoon (11/13). The cake is incredibly moist and the glaze is super sweet making an extremely tasty dessert. However, I noticed that my cake had some cracks in it and this morning the glaze and seeped into those cracks. Do you have any tips on how I can rectify this next time I make it?
Thanks,
Shahzad Raza
Hi Shahzad! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! We actually suggest serving this recipe within a day as the liquid from the apples and the frosting may leech out. As the cake sits, the apples can separate a bit from the cake, which is what I think you mean by cracks. That’s normal. As the glaze seeps into those cracks, it actually adds extra flavor to the cake! Once you cut the cake into squares, no one will know the difference 🙂
Absolutely amazing! Even better the next day!
amazing and so easy. also fun to make with everything going into the pan! i made for Rosh Hashana last night- it was the perfect dessert with apples.
So happy you enjoyed this recipe, Ali!
Sorry if this is a silly question but how fine did you chop the apples? Were they cubed? Sliced?
Hi Rose! Not a silly question at all, the apples were cubed. You can actually see a part of the apple in the main photo of this recipe to get an idea of the size. I hope that helps!
My apologies. I missed the typewriter icon on the page. So sorry.
Unable to print this recipe.
This cake came out amazing! I only had smaller round cake pans so I spread out the batter between 2 cake pans and they were perfect after baking for 17 mins. Took one cake over to my parents and they LOVED it. I sprinkled some more salt flakes on top of the glaze, and they said the salt on the glaze really made it. My roommate and I got to share the 2nd cake and she said it was amazing. I used Tessa’s homemade caramel sauce recipe and it was so easy to make. I would much rather prefer whipping up a small batch of caramel sauce for future cooking/baking needs rather than buying it from the store which can get expensive, especially because I don’t particularly use caramel sauce often.
All in all, rave reviews for this recipe!
Yay! So thrilled this sheet cake recipe was a hit 🙂
What can j use instead of buttermilk. I need to keep this recipe dairy free.
I made this recipe and everyone loved it. My only issue was the icing…..it ran off the cake & never thickened as shown in the pic.
Did you make sure to let your cake cool completely before icing? You can also add a little bit of additional powdered sugar to try to thicken the icing more.
Sounds wonderful! Can I bake this in a 9×13 inch rectangular cake pan with higher sides?
The link to your salted caramel sauce shows “error page not found”.
Can you email the recipe to me, please?
Thank you.
Hi! Can I sub the eggs with flax eggs for a vegan version of the cake? Thanks!