A vintage jewel of a recipe, Apple Dapple Cake is a classic cake “dappled” with apple chunks and pecan pieces. Warm fall spices and aromatic vanilla scent the cake, and after you pull it hot out of the oven, the entire cake is then soaked in a butter-brown sugar sauce. Fresh and natural Schermer Pecans give each bite a toasted, nutty flavor that plays perfectly with the rich caramel notes of the buttery brown sugar sauce and the sweet, fruity bites of apple. Tender and bursting with toffee notes, this richly spiced cake offers a delightfully warm finish to any autumn day.
With pecan harvest season currently at its peak, you can be sure you’re purchasing the freshest, most premium quality pecans when you choose Schermer Pecans. Buying pecans at the peak of harvest promises the finest-tasting pecans. And there’s no need to rush to bake! Store your pecans in the freezer, and you can enjoy them throughout the year.
Founded in 1946, Schermer Pecans takes pride in its pecans every step of the way. From tree to table, Schermer oversees every step of the process. This ensures consistent quality and freshness throughout the entire pecan-growing and -selling life cycle. Today, Schermer Pecans is one of only a few family-run pecan companies that grows, shells, and distributes its own pecans. You can purchase Schermer Pecans online at its website in a variety of sizes, whether in bulk or by the case. The Baker’s Box offers the perfect supply of pecans for the artisan home baker, including 3 (12-ounce) bags of medium pecan pieces and 3 (12-ounce) bags of fancy pecan halves.
Apple Dapple Cake
Ingredients
- 1⅓ cups (267 grams) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (160 grams) vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs (150 grams), room temperature
- ⅔ cup (150 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- 1⅓ cups (293 grams) firmly packed dark brown sugar, divided
- 1 tablespoon (13 grams) plus 1 teaspoon (4 grams) vanilla extract, divided
- 3 cups (375 grams) plus 2 tablespoons (16 grams) all-purpose flour, divided
- 2¼ teaspoons (6.75 grams) kosher salt, divided
- 1½ teaspoons (3 grams) ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (1 gram) ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 3½ cups (438 grams) ⅓- to ½-inch-chopped peeled Golden Delicious apples
- 1½ cups (170 grams) chopped toasted pecans
- ¾ cup (170 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup (60 grams) heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons (26 grams) dark spiced rum
- Garnish: chopped toasted pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine granulated sugar, oil, eggs, melted butter, ⅓ cup (73 grams) brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon (13 grams) vanilla; beat at medium-low speed until well combined, about 2 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 cups (375 grams) flour, 1¾ teaspoons (5.25 grams) salt, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, allspice, and cardamom. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating until combined and stopping to scrape sides of bowl. (Batter will be quite thick.)
- In a medium bowl, stir together apples, pecans, and remaining 2 tablespoons (16 grams) flour. Fold apple mixture into batter.
- Spray a 15-cup Nordic Ware Anniversary Bundt Pan with baking spray with flour. Spoon batter into prepared pan; tap pan on counter several times to evenly spread batter and release any air bubbles.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour, rotating pan halfway through baking and loosely covering with foil to prevent excess browning, if necessary.
- Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine softened butter, cream, remaining 1 cup (220 grams) brown sugar, and remaining ½ teaspoon (1.5 grams) salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently; cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in rum and remaining 1 teaspoon (4 grams) vanilla.
- Remove cake from oven, and poke all over with a wooden pick; pour ¾ cup (about 195 grams) butter mixture over top, spreading evenly with a small offset spatula. Let cake cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Transfer remaining butter mixture to a small microwave-safe bowl, cover, and refrigerate.
- When ready to serve, using a small offset spatula, gently loosen cake from center and edges of pan. Remove cake from pan, and place, flat side up, on a serving plate.
- Heat remaining butter mixture on high in 10-second intervals, stirring between each, until melted and smooth. Using a large spoon, pour butter mixture over top of cooled cake, smoothing and spreading as needed. Garnish with pecans, if desired.
Cake was easy to whip together. I couldn’t find out Bundt pan so I used a deep 8×8 pan – it took a little over an hour to cook at 325F. Cake was moist and dense. The crumb was tender and so tasty. Great cake for fall!
If you’re allergic to nuts, how do you replace that much volume in the recipe? That’s a LOT!
Hi Deserie,
Thanks for reaching out! Yes, nuts and apples are characteristic of this Apple Dapple Cake. You can omit the nuts, and you will still get great results. It is a very dense cake, so the nuts do help to punctuate the structure, but you will enjoy the cake regardless!
Making this tonight. Wondering why not brown the melted butter for both the cake and the soak. Any thoughts? I’ll keep you posted.
How long would this cake keep? And does it need to be refrigerated?
Hi Melinda,
This is a great question! We recommend storing in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
We hope this helps, and happy baking!
Hi there! Do you have the nutrition info for this cake?
Hi Anna,
Thank you for your question! Unfortunately, we don’t typically post nutrition information with our recipes, and therefore don’t have this information available. So sorry for the inconvenience, but we hope you enjoy the recipe!
Happy baking!
Poorly written recipe. I just wasted $25 in organic ingredients because the drizzle components are included with the measurements for the cake with the dreaded “divided” written at the end. I caught the divided vanilla and flour, but had added all the brown sugar to the batter and the cake was in the oven when I realized I’d missed that important detail. Needless to say, the cake did not turn out well.
Why isn’t the drizzle portion of this recipe not noted at the end of the cake ingredients in the same fashion as all the other recipes here? “Brown sugar drizzle – recipe follows.”
I did remake the cake, and it was tasty enough, but I’m not sure I’ll add it to my regular rotation of cakes.
Please make this recipe change!!
Thank you for your comment, and I’m sorry you had trouble with your cake!
Using “divided” helps to keep our recipes short and concise, and is also a part of our formatting guidelines. That being said, we understand that it can be hard to follow for some, so we always include volume and weight measurements in the instructions if that step of the recipe isn’t using the entirety of an ingredient. In this case, in step 2 of the recipe, it’s made clear that you add “⅓ cup (73 grams) brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon (13 grams) vanilla” to the batter. For recipes with more complicated glazes, we will sometimes include a separate recipe, but because this one is rather straightforward and the recipe itself is otherwise rather short, we chose to format it in this way.
Please let us know if you have any further questions, and happy baking!