Apple Butter Caramel Pound Cake

This apple butter caramel pound cake brings warm apple flavor, a buttery crumb, and a cinnamon brown sugar swirl to the Thanksgiving dessert table. The salted brown sugar caramel runs over the Bundt ridges, and toasted pecans add an optional crunchy finish.

Thick apple butter gives the batter its apple flavor without chunks of fruit. Bake the cake ahead, let it cool completely, and save the caramel drizzle for serving day.

Save This Recipe!

Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Post Title Email

Email *

Save

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Apple butter blends smoothly into the batter for apple flavor throughout the cake.
• The cinnamon brown sugar layer adds a ribbon of warm spice.
• The Bundt shape gives the caramel plenty of ridges to run over.
• You can bake the cake the day before and finish it when you’re ready to serve.

Key Ingredients

Apple butter: Choose a thick, spreadable apple butter rather than applesauce. A runny substitute adds more moisture and changes the batter. If your apple butter is already strongly spiced, use the cinnamon adjustment in the recipe notes.

Butter, eggs, and sour cream: Softened butter creams with the sugars to build the batter’s structure. Room-temperature eggs and sour cream blend more evenly; butter should be pliable without looking melted or oily.

Vanilla and warm spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice support the apple flavor. Homemade Vanilla Extract is a separate pantry project to start well in advance; use ready-to-use extract for this cake.

Brown sugar caramel: The topping in the card uses brown sugar, butter, cream, salt, and vanilla. For a separate caramel-making project, see Homemade Caramel Sauce; follow the topping written here when making this version.

Useful Tools

Have a large mixing bowl, hand or stand mixer, silicone spatula, saucepan, Bundt pan, long skewer, cooling rack, and rimmed baking sheet ready before you start. Use tools you already own when they do the job.

I earn commissions from qualifying purchases made through the Amazon links below. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

• Spring Chef Measuring Cups and Spoons: Measure the flour, sugars, and spices before mixing.
• Pyrex Glass Mixing Bowls: Keep the dry ingredients, apple butter mixture, and swirl organized.
• OXO Cooling Rack: Cool the unmolded cake with air circulating underneath, then place it over a tray for glazing.
• High Heat Resistant Silicone Basting Brush from my shop: If greasing and flouring instead of using baking spray, a clean brush helps spread the grease into the pan’s grooves.
• Chef Knife from my shop: Chop the optional toasted pecans on a stable cutting board.

How to Make Apple Butter Caramel Pound Cake

1. Prepare the Pan and Dry Ingredients

Heat the oven to 325°F. Coat every groove and the center tube of the Bundt pan with baking spray containing flour. Whisk the dry ingredients together, and stir the apple butter and sour cream in a separate bowl.

2. Cream the Butter and Mix the Batter

Beat the softened butter and both cake sugars for 4–5 minutes until lighter and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Alternate the dry ingredients with the apple butter mixture on low speed, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Fold by hand just until no dry pockets remain.

3. Layer the Cinnamon Swirl

Spoon half the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the dry cinnamon brown sugar swirl over it, cover with the remaining batter, and make a few gentle curves with a butter knife. Avoid touching the pan or stirring so much that the swirl disappears. Leave room for the batter to rise.

4. Bake, Rest, and Unmold

Bake for 75–90 minutes, beginning checks at 70 minutes. A long skewer should come out clean or with moist crumbs rather than wet batter. Tent loosely with foil if the outside browns early. Rest the cake in its pan for 15–20 minutes, then carefully invert onto a rack using oven mitts. Let it cool completely, allowing about 2 hours after unmolding or longer as needed.

5. Make the Brown Sugar Caramel

Once the cake is cool, melt the topping butter with brown sugar, cream, and salt over medium heat, stirring until smooth. Bring it to a gentle boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 3–4 minutes while stirring. Remove from the heat, add vanilla, and cool for 15–20 minutes until thickened but pourable.

6. Glaze and Finish

Set the cooling rack over a rimmed baking sheet to catch drips. Spoon the caramel over the cooled cake and add optional toasted pecans. Let the caramel settle briefly before transferring the cake to a serving plate.

Pro Tips and Troubleshooting

Avoid a gummy center: Use thick apple butter, measure the flour carefully, and check the thickest part of the cake for wet batter. Dark crust alone does not show that the center is baked.

Keep the swirl defined: Sprinkle it evenly and make only a few knife passes. Mixing it completely into the batter removes the distinct ribbon.

Prevent sticking: Grease and flour all the grooves and center tube. Let the baked cake rest before unmolding, but do not leave it in the pan until completely cold.

Control the drizzle: Hot caramel runs straight off a cake. Let both cake and sauce reach the states described above. If the cooled sauce is too thick to pour, warm it gently, stirring until fluid.

Apple Butter Caramel Pound Cake Recipe

SaveSaved Pin Print

Apple Butter Caramel Pound Cake

No ratings yet

Prep: 25 minutes mins

Cook: 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins

Cooling and resting: 2 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Total: 4 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Servings: 16 slices

Buttery apple butter pound cake with warm spices, a cinnamon brown sugar swirl, and salted brown sugar caramel.

Save This Recipe!

Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Post Permalink Post

Email *

Save

Ingredients  

1x2x3x

Cake

• ▢ 3 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter 3 sticks; softened
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• ▢ 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
• ▢ 5 large eggs room temperature
• ▢ 1 cup thick apple butter room temperature; not applesauce
• ▢ 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream room temperature
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ▢ Baking spray containing flour for the pan

Cinnamon Swirl

• ▢ 1/3 cup light brown sugar packed
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Caramel Topping

• ▢ 1 cup light brown sugar packed
• ▢ 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ▢ 1/2 cup heavy cream
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon fine salt plus more to taste
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans optional

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 325°F with a rack in the center. Thoroughly coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with baking spray containing flour, covering all grooves and the center tube.
• Whisk together the cake’s all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. In another bowl, stir together the apple butter and sour cream.
• Beat the softened cake butter with the granulated sugar and cake brown sugar on medium speed for 4–5 minutes until lighter and fluffy. Scrape the bowl as needed.
• Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing just until each is incorporated. Scrape the bowl, then mix in the cake vanilla.
• With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the apple butter mixture in two additions. Begin and end with dry ingredients. Mix just until combined, then finish folding by hand.
• Mix the swirl brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour. Spoon half of the cake batter into the prepared pan, sprinkle the swirl evenly over it, then cover with the remaining batter. Run a butter knife through the batter in a few gentle curves, without touching the pan. Do not fill the pan more than three-quarters full; bake any excess separately.
• Bake at 325°F for 75–90 minutes, beginning checks at 70 minutes. A long skewer inserted into the cake should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs and no wet batter. Loosely tent with foil if the top browns before the center is done.
• Let the cake rest in its pan on a wire rack for 15–20 minutes. Using oven mitts, carefully invert onto the rack and lift away the pan. Cool completely before glazing, allowing about 2 hours after unmolding or longer as needed.
• Once the cake is cool, combine the topping brown sugar, butter, cream, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter melts and sugar dissolves. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce the heat, and simmer 3–4 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and stir in the topping vanilla. Cool for 15–20 minutes, until thickened but pourable.
• Spoon the caramel over the cooled cake. Finish with toasted chopped pecans if desired. Reserve a little sauce for individual slices.

Notes

• Use thick apple butter rather than applesauce. If it is heavily spiced, reduce the cake cinnamon to 1 teaspoon.
• Prepare every groove of the Bundt pan and leave room for rising; never fill it beyond three-quarters full.
• For make-ahead serving, wrap the completely cooled cake and add the caramel and optional pecans before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 518kcal | Carbohydrates: 67.2g | Protein: 5.1g | Fat: 26.1g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like This? Leave a comment below!

Estimated nutrition is per slice when the cake is cut into 16 equal portions, including all caramel and excluding optional pecans and pan grease. Calculated using generic USDA food-composition values; brands, sauce left in the pan, and portion sizes change the result. Preparation, cooking, and cooling times are estimates.

Make-Ahead, Storage and Reheating

Bake the cake a day ahead. Once completely cool, wrap it tightly and store it at cool room temperature for up to 3 days. Keep the caramel covered in the refrigerator and add it, along with any pecans, before serving.

Refrigerate a glazed cake in a covered container for up to 5 days. Bring individual slices toward room temperature before serving. Warm refrigerated caramel gently in a saucepan, stirring, or in short microwave bursts.

For longer storage, wrap unglazed slices individually and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw while wrapped, then add freshly warmed caramel. To warm a slice, microwave briefly in short bursts, checking so it stays tender.

What to Serve With This Cake

Coffee, tea, or cold milk works well alongside a slice. For a plated dessert, add vanilla bean ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream. Start with a modest amount of caramel; guests can add more.

For a holiday dessert spread, choose one contrasting option: Sweet Potato Pie with Three Topping Options for a custard pie, Peach Cobbler Two Ways for a fruit dessert, Southern Banana Pudding for a chilled pudding, or Fudgy Brownies for chocolate lovers. You don’t need to make them all.

Variations and Substitutions

Leave off the pecans for a topping without added nuts, checking packaged ingredient labels when needed. Keep the cake ingredients unchanged on the first bake; applesauce, juice, and cider are not direct replacements for thick apple butter.

For another apple dessert, try Apple Cinnamon Muffins or Apple Cider Donut Bundt Cake. If you want a cinnamon cookie rather than a cake, make Snickerdoodles. For a richer chilled apple dessert, choose Fried Apple Caramel Crumb Cheesecake. These are separate recipes with their own methods and baking times.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use homemade apple butter?

Yes, if it is thick, smooth, and spreadable. Let it come toward room temperature before mixing, and account for how strongly it is already sweetened and spiced.

Do I have to add the cinnamon swirl?

The swirl is part of this version’s flavor and appearance. If you leave it out, omit the entire swirl mixture rather than adding it to the cake batter.

Can I bake this in a smaller Bundt pan?

Do not pour the full batch into a smaller pan. Leave room for rising and bake excess batter separately. A different pan changes timing, so use the skewer test rather than assuming the same bake time.

Why did the batter look curdled after the eggs?

Cold eggs or adding them too quickly can make a creamed butter mixture look separated. Add room-temperature eggs gradually and scrape the bowl. Once the flour is added, avoid prolonged beating.

More AB Recipes

Cakes and Caramel Desserts

• Million Dollar Pound Cake with Vanilla Butter Glaze — a vanilla-forward pound cake with a butter glaze.
• Lemon Pound Cake — a citrus option for guests who prefer a brighter cake.
• Homemade Caramel Cake — another cake centered on caramel flavor.
• Caramel Cinnamon Crumble Cheesecake — a cheesecake alternative with cinnamon and caramel.
• Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce — a warm dessert with a separate whiskey sauce.

More Sweets to Share

• Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting — a frosted cake for another celebration.
• Banana Pudding Cake — cake with a banana pudding direction.
• Banana Nut Muffins — muffins for the morning after a holiday gathering.
• Lemon Muffins with Glaze — glazed muffins with lemon flavor.
• Homemade Glazed Donuts — a separate baking project when you want homemade donuts.

Save This Recipe

Save this apple butter caramel pound cake for your holiday baking, and leave a comment with how you served it.