I love Fall, I love caramel, and I love apples. I think if you search the blog there are like seven caramel apple recipes of some kind or another. And who can blame me?? The combo is so classic that it works over and over again for all different types of desserts. My love affair with all thing caramel apple continues with this Caramel Apple Angel Food Cake!
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This Caramel Apple Angel Food Cake is a light, fluffy apple angel food cake drizzled with a caramel glaze and homemade salted caramel sauce, then topped with cinnamon apple chips!
Using an Angel Food Cake Pan
Angel food cakes are so light, they must be cooled upside down to prevent collapse after baking. An angel food cake pan has small feet on it that allow you to invert the pan (see here). If you don’t have an angel food cake pan, you can try using a regular tube pan, then inverting the cake pan on a wire rack to cool. (I’ve honestly never done this, but it seems like it should work).
You’ll also want to note that there’s no need to grease the pan! Greasing the pan for an angel food cake will make it more difficult for the cake to rise in the pan, and your cake will likely collapse!
For the Best Angel Food Cake
Flavoring an angel food cake can be tricky, because you can’t introduce too much moisture or too much weight. The structure of the angel food cake is too delicate to just throw fruit in there. I relied on these ingredients for best cake structure and the fantastic apple flavor in this cake:
- Cake flour is a must for this recipe! The texture of the cake won’t be right (or could collapse completely) if you use another type of flour. If you can’t find it at your local store, you can find some here.
- Freeze-dried apples are pulverized in a food processor and added right to the batter. Aaaall that flavor without the moisture or weight that might collapse the cake on us! Make sure to use *freeze-dried* apples, as it is free of moisture and will process into a powder along with the sugar. If you don’t see them at your local store, you can find them here.
Making the Caramel Glaze
I wanted a caramel glaze that had caramel flavor, but that would set up when cool. This way, the glaze can be poured over the cake without the cake getting soggy.
The glaze comes together quickly and easily, mixing up in a single pan. I specify to sift the powdered sugar before adding it, but even when using sifted powdered sugar you may end up with some lumps. If you want to ensure a smooth glaze, you can strain the glaze through a fine-mesh strainer at this point to remove any lumps.
Just because I can't help myself, I drizzled the glazed cake with some homemade salted caramel sauce. You can use store-bought caramel, or if you'd like to make it yourself, there's a recipe included in my post for my Chocolate Caramel Tart.
Making Cinnamon Apple Chips
Now, I wouldn't exactly call these cinnamon apple chips a necessity when the cake is already glazed and drizzled, but they're so pretty and soooo yummy! All you do is slice the apples, sprinkle with cinnamon, and the rest of the time is completely hands-off for the apple slices to dry in the oven. I just love how they looked on top of the cake, they just gave it that little bit of extra WOW, you know?
This Caramel Apple Angel Food Cake is sure to be a new favorite! Whether you're just making it for a Fall treat or to grace your Thanksgiving table, you'll be so glad you made this one! <3
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Caramel Apple Angel Food Cake
Ingredients
Apple Angel Food Cake
- 1¾ cup sugar
- 1.5 oz freeze-dried apples (see note)
- 1⅓ cups cake flour (see note)
- 1½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups egg whites, at room temperature (from ~10 eggs)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Caramel Glaze:
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup heavy (whipping) cream
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter, diced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
Garnish:
- salted caramel sauce, if desired (see note)
Apple Chips (optional):
- 2 small apples (I used Fuji)
- ground cinnamon
Instructions
For Angel Food Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350° F. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the sugar and freeze-dried apples (see note) until thoroughly combined.
- Sift flour and ½ cup apple/sugar mixture into a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Combine egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar in a mixer bowl. Using the whisk attachment, beat mixture on medium-high until firm peaks form.
- Reduce mixer to medium and gradually add remaining apple/sugar mixture and ground cinnamon. Beat on high speed until thick and shiny.
- Sift ¼ of flour mixture into mixer bowl and carefully fold in, being cautious not to deflate the egg white mixture. Once fully combined, repeat with the remaining flour mixture in three more additions. Ensure that the mixture is completely combined, with no unmixed dry ingredients.
- Pour batter into an *ungreased* 10-inch tube pan, preferably an angel food cake pan with small feet (see notes). Smooth top of the batter.
- Bake 30-35 minutes, or until top of cake springs back when touched. Invert pan on counter or cooling rack (see note), and allow to cool completely. Run a thin knife around the cake to remove it from the pan.
For Glaze:
- In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, cream, butter, and salt. Warm over medium heat until butter has melted and sugar has dissolved.
- Add powdered sugar and stir until smooth. Even when using sifted powdered sugar you may end up with some lumps. If desired, you can strain the glaze through a fine-mesh strainer at this point to remove any lumps.
- Pour the glaze over top of the cooled angel food cake. The glaze will set, and will not make the cake soggy. If desired, drizzle some salted caramel sauce (see note) over the top of the glaze.
For Apple Chips:
- Preheat oven to 200° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut apples into thin slices, about ⅛" thick, and lay in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
- Bake apples for about an hour. Turn the pan around, then bake another 1-1½ hours, or until apples are crisp.
- Place apple chips on top of the glazed cake. Cake will keep, covered, at room temperature for several days.Enjoy!
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