Glazed Apple Bundt Cake

This deliciously moist and spiced apple bundt cake is smothered in a buttery brown sugar glaze. Use your favorite apple variety such as Granny Smith or Honeycrisp. This will be your favorite cake of the fall season!

I love old-fashioned desserts. The kinds of desserts grandmas make so well, often memorized in their heads. Like buttery caramel corn, banana bread, and deep dish apple pie. Or peach cobbler, cornbread, and teeth-rotting sweet chocolate fudge. Yum.

Today’s recipe is just that. It’s like a big, sweet hug from grandma’s kitchen.

If you’re a regular reader, you know what my favorite dessert is. Do I talk about it all the time? Probably too much. Apple pie, apple pie, apple pie. Hot diggity damn, I love apple pie. I should get some sleep since I just typed hot diggity damn at 12am.

Let me continue. Today’s apple bundt cake was inspired by my Brown Sugar Glazed Apple Bread recipe in my cookbook. The first recipe in my cookbook because it’s the best. Soft, dense, and absolutely packed with apples. It’s the kind of bread you bake on lazy Sundays not only because it’s so good but because it makes your house smell so good.

And this cake is exactly like it. It’s a combination between buttery pound cake and apple pie. It is, simply put, the quintessential recipe to make this time of year. Sweetened mostly with brown sugar, this cake will melt in your mouth. Cinnamon spice and apple chunks are in every bite. Seriously, I do not skimp on apple chunks in my apple dessert recipes. They’re the best part, yes? The cascade of brown sugar glaze was an afterthought, but might just be the best decision I’ve ever made.

Because the bundt cake is so large, it will take a good amount of time in the oven. Larger recipes like this have bake times that vary greatly between ovens, but I find 1 hour and 10 minutes is the perfect number. Your bake time may be higher or lower and that’s normal, so don’t get discouraged as you watch the clock.

What Kind of Apples to Use in Apple Bundt Cake?

You can use your favorite apple variety in this apple bundt cake. Some friends and I went to the apple orchard a couple weeks ago and picked some juicy Jonagolds and Granny Smiths. If they had Honeycrisps available that day, I would absolutely have made this cake with those. All hail the Honeycrisps!

Enjoy, my fellow apple dessert lovers. See all my apple recipes.

Glazed Apple Bundt Cake

Yield: serves 10-12

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes plus cooling

Tender and moist homemade apple bundt cake smothered in a buttery brown sugar glaze. Your new favorite cake for the crisp fall weather.

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

Apple Bundt Cake

• 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)


• 1 teaspoon baking soda


• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon


• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 1 and 1/4 cups (300ml) canola or vegetable oil


• 1/2 cup (120g) plain yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature


• 1 and 1/4 cups (250g) packed light or dark brown sugar


• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar


• 3 large eggs, at room temperature


• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract (yes, 1 full Tablespoon)


• 3 medium apples, peeled and chopped into small chunks (about 3 cups)

Brown Sugar Glaze

• 1 cup (190g) packed light or dark brown sugar


• 1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter


• 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream


• 1/2 cup (62g) confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Spray a 10-12 cup bundt pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.


2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in a large bowl until combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, yogurt, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla together until combined and creamy. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and slowly whisk until no large lumps remain. Try to avoid over-mixing. Carefully fold in the apple chunks. If you feel 3 large apples is too much, feel free to cut down to 2 apples. I like a lot of apple chunks in my cake!


3. Spoon/pour the thick batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 55-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. The baking times may vary depending on your oven, if you used a 10 cup bundt pan or 12 cup, or if you used less apple chunks. Keep your eye on the cake after 55 minutes. Feel free to cover the cake loosely with aluminum foil about halfway through to prevent heavy browning on top. Allow the cake to cool in the pan set on a wire rack, then invert onto a serving plate once cooled and ready to serve.


4. Brown sugar glaze: As it cools, prepare the brown sugar glaze. Combine the brown sugar, butter, and heavy cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring the mixture often. Without stirring, allow to boil for 1 minute, then turn the heat down to low and allow to simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat and whisk in the sifted confectioners' sugar. Allow glaze to cool and slightly thicken for at least 5 minutes. Spoon glaze over the cake right before serving. If your glaze thickens up too much before serving the cake, warm in the microwave for 15 seconds and stir until smooth.


5. I like this cake warm, at room temperature, and even cold. Cover leftovers and store at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Flavor is outstanding on day 2!

Make ahead tip: Cake freezes well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving.

Recipe Notes:

1. For some texture, add 1 cup of your favorite chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts.


2. I prefer plain Greek yogurt here, but regular plain yogurt or sour cream works as well.


3. Use your favorite variety of apple. I prefer a mix of tart and sweet in my apple dessert recipes. Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Fuji, etc

Recipe inspired by my favorite Brown Sugar Glazed Apple Bread in Sally's Baking Addiction cookbook

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Here are some items I used to make today’s recipe.

Glass Mixing Bowls | Rainbow Whisk | Spatula | Bundt Pan | Cooling Rack | Saucepan

Some of the links above are affiliate links, which pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting Sally’s Baking Addiction.

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