
I love this cake! Layers of apple cake baked onto an oatmeal crisp, cinnamon apple filling, salted caramel cream cheese frosting, topped with salted caramel. It’s decadent and seasonal. This cake came about after harvesting lots of apples from the trees in our garden. I was thinking apple cake sounded good, but so did a pie or an apple crisp- I love a good brown sugar oatmeal crisp topping. This was my way of putting those desserts together, and I’m so happy with how it turned out. Isn’t it wonderful when you have an idea for something, and then it turns out just as you had hoped?
I’m not going to lie, though, this cake is work. Over time, I will have plenty of easy recipes on this site for you to try, and sometimes you need something that is quick, sweet, and easy. This is not that dessert.
This cake is a labor of love. This cake is a showstopper. This is the cake you make for your Thanksgiving table when you want everyone to ooh and ahh and tell you how amazing you are. This is the cake you make for your very best friend or cherished family member for their Fall birthday celebration. This is the cake you make when you have the time and energy to put all the love into it.
There are lots of components and steps to get to the finished product, but don’t let that scare you off. I may have a few shortcuts to suggest, and I can almost promise that the time and effort will be worth it!
Enjoy!

Tips/Tricks/Shortcuts
Take it one step at a time. Break it down into manageable pieces.
It’s best to bake the cake layers on day one, and then make your other components and assemble it all on day two.
I make everything from scratch, and include the recipes so you can do the same. Having said that, there is nothing wrong with using a jar of prepared caramel sauce or a can of prepared apple pie filling. This simplifies the process considerably.
For the cake and for the filling I like an apple that won’t fall apart when cooked, and maintains some texture. I like honeycrisp, cosmic crisp (my favorite!) or fuji.
This is important, so plan ahead. I usually remember to set out my eggs and butter in advance, but often forget things like the buttermilk. Read the entire recipe and ingredients list and get everything you need set out about an hour before you want to get baking.
Use old fashioned rolled oats and full fat cream cheese. Quick oats just don’t have the texture we are looking for, and reduced fat cream cheese won’t hold up as well. Really, this is not the recipe for reduced fat anything!


Salted Caramel Apple Crisp Cake
This salted caramel apple crisp layer cake has all the beauty of an apple cake with the brown sugar goodness of an apple crisp. Apple cake is baked onto an oatmeal crisp layer, filled with cinnamon apples, and topped with caramel cream cheese frosting and salted caramel. Decadent, seasonal, and worth the time and effort- you will love this.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Category: dessert
Ingredients
For the Crisp:
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
For the Cake:
1 cup butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 eggs
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup grated fresh apple
For the Apple Filling:
2 medium apples peeled, cored and diced
2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
For the Caramel:
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons butter
3/4 cup heavy cream
flaky sea salt
For the Frosting:
1 1/2 cup (3 sticks) butter
8 oz package cream cheese
1/4 cup prepared caramel
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 and prepare three 8″ round cake pans with parchment rounds and cooking spray.
For the Crisp: First cut butter into flour and sugars until crumbly then stir in oats and salt. Divide evenly and press into the bottom of the 3 prepared pans. Bake for 10 minutes until golden and fragrant. Set aside while preparing the cake batter.
For the Cake: Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy- approximately 4-5 minutes. Blend in eggs one at a time. Add applesauce, buttermilk, and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Add dry ingredients until well combined, then fold in grated fresh apple. Spoon the cake batter evenly over the 3 crisp layers in the cake pans and bake for approximately 25 minutes. Allow to cool for 5-10 minute in pans before turning out onto cooling rack and cooling completely.
For the Apple Filling: Peel, core, and dice the apples. I like a small dice so the chunks of apple aren’t overwhelming. Toss apples in a medium bowl with the sugars, cinnamon, salt, and cornstarch. Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in a skillet then add apples and saute about 4 minutes. A gravy like cinnamon sugar sauce will form, and the apples should be slightly softened. Let the filing cool to room temperature.
For the Caramel Sauce: Caramel is tricky, but once you get the hang of it there is no going back to the jar! To avoid crystallization, I wet a medium saucepan with 2 Tablespoons of water. Add the sugar and cook on medium high/high heat. The sugar will start to liquify and brown. As it brown, gently swirl the saucepan to even out the color. When your sugar has reached a nice golden color and no sugar crystals remain, carefully add your butter and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula. Once the butter has melted, add the heavy cream, being careful to avoid steam and splatters. Reduce heat to low and cook for a minute or two while all the ingredients cook together and even out. Set aside to cool.
For the Frosting: Blend the butter and cream cheese. Add the caramel sauce, vanilla, pinch of salt and mix until well incorporated. Add the powdered sugar and mix thoroughly. I like a light and fluffy frosting, so I mix for at least 5 minutes.
To Assemble: With all components at room temperature, you can begin building your masterpiece. Begin by piping a circle on the top of your first layer creating a dam to keep any filling from leaking out. Spread half of the apple filling over the first layer. Top with the next cake layer and repeat the process using the remaining apple filling. Top with the third cake layer. Spread a thin layer of frosting over the entire cake to create a crumb layer. Since this cake has actual crumbs from the crisp layer, this step is very important. Place your cake in the freezer for 10 minutes to chill the crumb layer. At this point, you can use the remaining frosting to frost and decorate your cake. Use the remaining caramel to top the cake, drizzling caramel down the sides, and sprinkle with some flaky sea salt. Use apple slices, dried apples, cinnamon sticks, etc. for garnish and decoration.
Notes
Use a jar of prepared caramel sauce as a shortcut.
You can use a can of apple pie filling if you don’t want to make the apple filling from scratch.
Use old fashioned rolled oats in the crisp layer.
Use full fat cream cheese- reduced fat won’t work the same.
Keywords: salted caramel ,apple cake, crisp, oatmeal,


Darla! This looks incredible! I so want to make this for Thanksgiving or Christmas. When are you coming out with a cookbook with all your tantalizing creations?