Welcome the crisp embrace of autumn with a dessert that embodies the season’s cozy charm: a delightful Apple Bundt Cake. Dense, exquisitely spiced with warming cinnamon and a medley of other aromatic spices, this cake holds a delightful secret – a creamy, tangy cheesecake swirl baked right into its heart. It’s truly the perfect centerpiece for any fall gathering or a comforting treat on a chilly afternoon.
There’s something inherently special about apple desserts during fall. From classic pies to rustic crisps, apples are the quintessential fruit of the season. However, this Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Filling stands out from the crowd. Its elegant fluted shape, tender crumb, and surprise ribbon of rich cream cheese elevate it from a simple cake to an unforgettable culinary experience that will have everyone asking for the recipe.
Why This Apple Bundt Cake Will Become Your Favorite Fall Recipe
When autumn arrives, ushering in cooler temperatures and vibrant foliage, my cravings invariably turn to sweet, comforting apple desserts. While the allure of apple pie and apple crisp is undeniable, sometimes a baker yearns for something a bit more adventurous, yet equally satisfying. This cream cheese-filled apple bundt cake ticks all the boxes and more. Here’s why it deserves a spot in your fall baking repertoire:
- A Symphony of Fall Flavors: This cake isn’t just an apple cake; it’s an experience. Each bite delivers the comforting warmth of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger, perfectly complemented by the tender, sweet-tart apples. The rich, tangy cream cheese swirl cuts through the sweetness, adding a sophisticated depth of flavor that is truly irresistible. It’s a harmonious blend that perfectly captures the essence of autumn.
- Effortless Elegance for Any Occasion: Bundt cakes are inherently beautiful, their intricate designs transforming a simple cake into a stunning presentation without the need for elaborate frosting techniques. This makes them ideal for serving a crowd, whether it’s a casual family dinner, a festive holiday gathering, or a special birthday party. They require less intensive effort than a multi-layer cake, yet they consistently impress with their visual appeal and delicious taste.
- The Unbeatable Apple and Cream Cheese Combination: While apple and cinnamon is a classic pairing that delights year-round, the addition of a creamy, dreamy cheesecake filling elevates this dessert to a whole new level. The contrast in textures and flavors – the moist, spiced apple cake alongside the smooth, slightly tart cream cheese – creates a delightful surprise in every slice. It’s a combination that truly makes this recipe a standout.
- A Crowd-Pleaser (Even for the Picky Eaters): My own experience with a discerning spouse taught me a valuable lesson: some people have very specific dessert preferences. While my husband might turn up his nose at many apple-based baked goods, even he appreciates a well-made apple pie or crisp. This Bundt cake, with its unique cream cheese filling, often breaks through those barriers, proving that a little twist can convert even the most skeptical palate. It’s a testament to its universal appeal!
Mastering Your Apple Bundt Cake: Essential Tips for Success
Baking a Bundt cake can sometimes feel like a high-stakes endeavor, especially when the moment of truth arrives, and it’s time to invert the pan. We’ve all been there – a piece of the cake stubbornly clinging to the pan, marring an otherwise perfect creation. Fear not! Over the years, I’ve gathered invaluable tips and tricks to ensure your Apple Bundt Cake comes out flawlessly every single time, perfectly shaped and ready for admiration.
- Proper Pan Preparation is Paramount: This is arguably the most crucial step. Even if your Bundt pan boasts a “non-stick” coating, its effectiveness can diminish over time with repeated use and washing. A thorough preparation is your best defense against sticking.
- PRO-Tip: The Best Way to Grease a Bundt Pan: For a truly non-stick experience, use solid shortening (like Crisco) to generously grease every nook and cranny of the pan. Pay special attention to the intricate designs. Once greased, dust the entire interior with all-purpose flour, rotating and tapping the pan to ensure an even coating. Finally, invert the pan and tap out any excess flour. Alternatively, a baking spray that contains flour, such as Baker’s Joy, can also be highly effective, just ensure complete coverage.
- Avoid Over-mixing the Batter: Over-mixing develops the gluten in the flour, leading to a tough, dry cake. For this Bundt cake, you want a dense yet tender crumb that holds together beautifully. Mix the wet and dry ingredients just until combined and no streaks of dry flour remain. A few small lumps are perfectly fine and often indicate a well-mixed batter.
- Room Temperature Ingredients are Key: Ensure your eggs and cream cheese are at room temperature before you begin mixing. This allows them to emulsify more easily with other ingredients, creating a smooth, homogenous batter and a more uniform texture in the finished cake. Cold ingredients can lead to a lumpy batter and a denser, less airy cake.
- PRO-Tip: Don’t Overfill Your Bundt Pan: A common mistake is filling the pan too much. Aim to fill your Bundt pan about two-thirds to three-quarters full. Overfilling will cause the batter to overflow during baking, creating a messy situation in your oven and potentially altering the cake’s structure.
- PRO-Tip: The Perfect Cooling Time in the Pan: Once baked, resist the urge to immediately flip your cake out of the pan. Allow it to cool in the pan on a wire rack for precisely 10-15 minutes. Any shorter, and the cake may be too delicate and break apart. Any longer, and the cake might cool too much and create suction, causing it to stick. This crucial window allows the cake to firm up slightly, making it easier to release.
- Confident Inversion Technique: Once the cooling time is up, place a cooling rack directly on top of the Bundt pan. Using hot pads for safety, firmly hold the pan and the rack together, then swiftly invert them. Give the pan a gentle shake back and forth to help loosen the cake before carefully lifting the pan away. If it resists, a gentle tap on the bottom of the pan can sometimes help.
- Complete Cooling Before Slicing: For the cleanest slices and best texture, allow your Bundt cake to cool completely on the wire rack before attempting to slice it. Slicing a warm cake can lead to crumbling and a less appealing presentation.
- Serving Suggestions: Once cooled, use a serrated knife to cut beautiful, even wedges. This cake is delicious on its own, but it truly shines when served with a dusting of powdered sugar, a dollop of sweetened whipped cream, or a generous drizzle of warm caramel sauce.
This particular Apple Bundt Cake recipe evolved from a couple of wonderful versions I discovered in Southern Living. While those recipes featured a praline frosting, I often prefer a simpler, more streamlined approach. Having a stash of my favorite microwave caramel sauce on hand meant a quick warm-up and a simple drizzle was all that was needed. Caramel and apples are a match made in heaven, akin to peanut butter and jelly! If you’re a devoted fan of apple desserts, I’m confident you’ll fall in love with this cake just as much as I did.
Frequently Asked Questions About Apple Bundt Cakes
For an outstanding apple Bundt cake, you want apples that hold their shape well during baking and offer a good balance of sweetness and tartness. Excellent choices include Northern Spy, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Jonathan, Pink Lady, and Winesap. A pro tip for the best flavor and texture is to use a combination of 2-3 different apple varieties. This allows you to leverage their varying degrees of sweetness, tartness, and firmness, creating a more complex and interesting apple profile in your cake.
A Bundt cake refers to any cake baked in a specific type of pan known as a Bundt pan. What makes a Bundt pan unique is its distinctive fluted or decorative sides and a hollow tube in the center. This design ensures even heat distribution, allowing thicker cakes to bake through without drying out the edges. It’s different from other popular tube pans, like an angel food cake pan, which typically has straight, smooth sides and often detachable bottoms for lighter, airy cakes.
Determining doneness for a Bundt cake is crucial for a perfectly textured result. The most reliable method is to use a wooden toothpick or a thin skewer. Insert it into several spots between the two sides of the pan – not directly into the cream cheese filling, if applicable, but into the cake batter itself. If the toothpick comes out clean or with only a few moist crumbs clinging to it, your cake is done. If you see wet batter on the toothpick, continue baking for another 5-10 minutes and then recheck. The cake should also appear golden brown and spring back slightly when gently pressed.
Apples pair wonderfully with a range of warm, aromatic spices that enhance their natural sweetness and create that quintessential fall flavor. Cinnamon is undoubtedly the star and a must-have. Beyond that, consider adding ground ginger, cloves, and nutmeg for a deeper, more complex spice blend. Allspice, with its notes reminiscent of cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg, is also an excellent addition. And while not a spice, a good quality vanilla extract always complements these flavors beautifully, adding a touch of smooth sweetness.
Explore More Delicious Apple Recipes
If you’ve fallen in love with the comforting flavors of this Apple Bundt Cake, you’ll be thrilled to discover other apple-centric desserts that celebrate the bounty of the season. Here are some fantastic recipes to inspire your next baking adventure:
- Old Fashioned Apple Crisp from Barefeet in the Kitchen – A timeless classic with a buttery, crunchy topping.
- Sweet Apple Hand Pies with Cheddar Shortcrust from An Edible Mosaic – A delightful individual treat with a savory twist.
- Salted Caramel Apple Sheet Cake from Handle the Heat – Perfect for feeding a crowd with its irresistible sweet and salty notes.
- Deep Dish Apple Pie – A hearty, generous pie overflowing with tender apple filling.
- Dutch Apple Pie – Featuring a sweet, crumbly streusel topping for added texture.
- Plus, delve into even more of My Favorite Apple Recipes for endless inspiration!
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Apple Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Filling
20 minutes
1 hour 15 minutes
1 hour 35 minutes
16 servings
A wonderful spiced apple Bundt cake with a surprise creamy filling in the middle – perfect for fall baking!
Ingredients
For the Cream Cheese Filling:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Apple Bundt Cake:
- 1 cup finely chopped toasted* pecans, optional (I did not use in this version)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 3/4 cup canola oil (or other neutral-flavored vegetable oil)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups peeled and grated Granny Smith apples (approximately 1 1/2 lbs), or a mix of baking apples
Instructions
Part 1: Prepare the Cream Cheese Filling
- In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and egg at medium speed with an electric mixer until the mixture is well blended and smooth.
- Add the 2 tablespoons of flour and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the cream cheese mixture; beat just until all ingredients are blended. Set the filling aside.
Part 2: Prepare the Apple Cake Batter
- In a large bowl, whisk together the 3 cups of flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup light brown sugar, ground cinnamon, salt, baking soda, ground nutmeg, ground allspice, and ground ginger until thoroughly combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine the lightly beaten eggs, canola oil, applesauce, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Add this wet mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring just until the dry ingredients are moistened and no streaks of flour remain. Be careful not to over-mix.
- Gently fold in the peeled and grated apples, and the toasted pecans if you are using them, until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Part 3: Assemble and Bake the Bundt Cake
- Spoon about two-thirds of the apple cake mixture into a thoroughly greased and floured 12 or 14-cup Bundt pan, spreading it evenly.
- Carefully spoon the prepared cream cheese filling over the apple mixture in the pan, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges to prevent it from spilling out during baking.
- Spoon the remaining apple cake mixture over the cream cheese filling, spreading it gently to cover the filling.
- Bake the cake in a preheated oven at 350ºF (175ºC) for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the cake (avoiding the cream cheese layer) comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Once baked, cool the cake in the Bundt pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. This crucial cooling time allows the cake to set and firm up before inversion.
- After 15 minutes, carefully invert the cake onto a wire rack and remove the pan. Allow the Bundt cake to cool completely on the wire rack before slicing.
- Serve your magnificent Apple Bundt Cake with a light dusting of powdered sugar, a dollop of whipped cream, or a warm drizzle of homemade caramel sauce for an extra touch of indulgence.
Notes
*To toast pecans: Spread the chopped pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place them in a preheated 350ºF (175ºC) oven for approximately 5-7 minutes, or until they become fragrant and lightly golden. Watch them closely, as nuts can burn quickly.
Recommended Baking Tools
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- Baking Rack Cooling Rack Set of 2
- KitchenAid 9-Speed Digital Hand Mixer
- Classic Bundt Pan
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16
Serving Size:
1 slice
Approximate Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 430
Total Fat: 21g
Saturated Fat: 4g
Trans Fat: 0g
Unsaturated Fat: 16g
Cholesterol: 61mg
Sodium: 278mg
Carbohydrates: 56g
Fiber: 2g
Sugar: 34g
Protein: 6g
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