Kardeas Caramel Apple Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter and flour a 10-cup bundt pan.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, 1 1/3 cup of the sugar and 1 teaspoon of the pie spice together in a large bowl.
• Toss the apples with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon pie spice and set aside. Whisk the eggs and oil together in another bowl.
• Whisk in the sour cream, orange zest and juice, and vanilla. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon just until combined but still a bit lumpy.
• Using a slotted spoon, scatter about 1/2 cup of the apples in the bottom of the bundt pan. Put about a third of the batter on top. Repeat, alternating with the remaining apples and batter, ending with the batter.
• Bake the cake until it pulls away from the sides of the pan and a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and invert the cake onto a rack placed over a baking sheet. Cool. (The cake can be prepared to this point a day ahead.)
• To make the caramel: Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and 2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook, swirling the pan but not stirring, until the sugar is dark amber-colored caramel, about 15 minutes. Pull pan from the heat and carefully pour in the cream (take care it will splatter). Stir in the pecans, vanilla, and salt. Cool until caramel becomes thick and syrupy, then evenly pour over the cake and cool until set.

Steps:

• Coat four 9-inch-round cake pans with cooking spray and prepare the cake mixes as directed (or coat 2 pans and make the cakes in 2 batches). Divide the batter among the pans and bake as directed. Let cool 20 minutes, then remove from the pans and let cool completely.
• Stack the cakes on an upside-down cake pan, spreading frosting between the layers. Freeze 30 minutes. Using a small serrated knife, trim the bottom 2 layers of the cake on an angle to resemble the bottom of an apple.
• Trim the top layer just enough to round the edge, then carve out a 3-inch-wide cone-shaped piece of cake from the middle where the stem would be (about1 1/2 inches deep). Gather all of the cake trimmings in a bowl.
• Crumble the cake trimmings and mix with just enough frosting to moisten. Clump the mixture together and mound in a ring around the hole to form the top of the apple.
• Cover the cake with a thin layer of frosting (this is the crumb coat-it doesn't have to be perfect). Freeze 20 minutes. Remove from the freezer and completely cover the top 4 inches of the cake and inside the cavity with more frosting.
• Mix the red food coloring with a dash of vanilla. Use a pastry brush to paint the top few inches of the cake a streaky red, blotting the brush on paper towels as needed. Repeat with the yellow food coloring to add a few yellow streaks.
• Unwrap the caramels and microwave until soft but not melted, about 20 seconds. Gather together, then flatten into a rectangle with your hands. Roll out on parchment paper to make a 7-by-26-inch rectangle, stretching with your hands as needed.
• Lightly brush the caramel rectangle with water where you want the peanuts to go. Sprinkle the nuts on top, then press them in with the rolling pin.
• Transfer the cake to a flat platter or sheet of parchment using your hands (don't touch the red part). Wrap the caramel around the cake, leaving the red top exposed. Tuck the caramel around the bottom of the cake; trim the excess with a knife so it looks like a pool of caramel. Insert a dowel into the top.