Apple Dapple Cake

Old Fashioned Apple Dapple Cake Ingredients

A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

Apples: I always choose firm apples that hold their shape in the oven. Honeycrisp, Fuji and Braeburn are good choices and you can pick one or use a mixture. Go for Granny Smith or Pink Lady if you want something more tart.
Vegetable oil: A neutral oil keeps the focus on the apples and cinnamon and also gives the cake a moist texture.
Light brown sugar: Make sure you pack it into the measuring cup for both the batter and the glaze. This ingredient combines with butter and cream to make a glaze with a rich caramel flavor.
Eggs: To bind the batter. I used large eggs in mine.
Pecans: Chopped pecans distribute well through the thick batter. I chopped my own but you can also buy them chopped. I also toasted mine because that brings out their aroma and gives them a bolder flavor. You can either toast yours or omit this.
Unsalted butter and heavy cream: I recommend unsalted butter because then you can control the amount of salt in the glaze. Heavy cream helps give it enough body to spoon over the cake.

How to Make Apple Dapple Cake with Caramel Glaze

For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.

Mix the batter: Whisk your flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in one bowl. In another, whisk the oil, sugars, eggs and vanilla. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture just until combined and then fold in your apples and pecans.
Bake the cake: Spread the batter evenly in a 9 × 13-inch baking pan and bake until the middle is set.
Make the glaze: Simmer the brown sugar, butter, cream and salt together until slightly thickened. Don’t let it boil. Take the pan off the heat and mix in the vanilla.
Glaze the cake: Slowly spoon your warm caramel over the warm cake and give it time to soak in and set before slicing. It was very shiny when I first poured it on but lost the sheen when it had cooled.

Substitutions and Variations

Walnuts instead of pecans: Use the same amount of chopped walnuts, or leave out the nuts altogether if you want a cake without the nutty crunch.
A pinch of nutmeg: I really like the way stirring a pinch of ground nutmeg into the dry ingredients adds a touch of spice to the finished cake flavor.
A different pan: The first time I made this apple dapple cake recipe, I used a 10-inch bundt pan but it didn’t hold together when I flipped it over. The second time I used a baking dish instead so I could cut squares without having to invert the cake and turn it out and I found that way much easier to handle. Also, if you use a baking dish, it’s easy to cut the finished cake into neat squares of whichever serving size you want and feed a crowd, so that’s my go-to way of making this cake now! I cut mine into 12 squares but you can make your servings larger or smaller, as you prefer.
Gluten-free option: Try a 1-to-1 gluten-free baking blend that contains xanthan gum in place of the all-purpose flour.
Dairy-free version: I already use oil instead of butter to prepare the batter. For the glaze, try unsalted plant-based stick butter and plain dairy-free heavy whipping cream in the same amounts. The glaze may set a little differently if using these.

Serving Suggestions

With a hot drink: Anything from a boozy hot chocolate to a pistachio latte is delicious with Southern apple dapple cake.
On a dessert table: If you want to serve a selection of desserts for your guests to choose from, pecan slab pie and dulce de leche cupcakes would also be good.
With ice cream: Vanilla ice cream is a classic pairing but you may prefer some cookie dough ice cream or one of these ice cream recipes instead. It’s also delicious with fresh whipped cream.

How to Store

Store: Keep the Southern apple cake covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Freeze: Wrap the cooled cake tightly and freeze for up to 3 months, preferably without the glaze.
Thaw: Defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
Reheat: Microwave individual squares for 15 to 20 seconds. To warm a thawed whole cake, cover it loosely with foil and warm it in a low oven.