This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy.
Fall baking dreams are made of this apple praline bundt cake! We start with a spiced apple cake, flavored with apple cider and warming spices. Layered with a delicious cinnamon-sugar and pecan ribbon, this cake is simply irresistible even before we add the praline topping!
Topped with praline glaze (a delicious combination of brown sugar, butter, and vanilla), this apple bundt cake makes the perfect dessert or weekend brunch indulgence!
Apple Bundt Cake Success
- Bring all of your cake ingredients to room temperature before beginning. When your butter, eggs, egg yolk, and apple cider are all at room temperature, they mix together uniformly.
- Use crisp and sweet apples in this cake. A mix of your favorite apple varieties is delicious!
- I especially love homemade apple cider in this cake. To make your own, combine 2 cups pure apple juice with 1 apple, cut into 1/2-inch wedges and 4 teaspoons of mulling spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. Strain into a glass bowl or measuring cup and let cool to room temperature before using.
- To create the swirl, spoon half of the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan. Smooth the batter with an offset spatula and tap the pan sharply to reduce air bubbles. Sprinkle evenly with cinnamon-sugar mixture and chopped pecans. Spoon the remaining cake batter evenly over the pecans, carefully smoothing with an offset spatula. Tap the pan sharply again to reduce air bubbles.
- Bake cake until golden and the top springs back to the touch. A tester inserted in the center should come out with a few crumbs attached. Your baking time may vary depending on the shape of your bundt pan, so start testing for doneness after 45 minutes.
- The praline topping comes together quickly on the stovetop, so prepare all of your ingredients ahead. Allow the warm topping to cool for about 5 minutes to thicken slightly before drizzling over the cake.
Apple Praline Bundt Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Apple praline bundt cake makes a delicious taste of fall! You’ll love this easy apple bundt cake topped with praline glaze.
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 3/4 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 10 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 cup apple cider
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups peeled and finely chopped apple
Ribbon
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped
Praline Topping
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, cubed
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp milk
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and butter and flour a 10-cup bundt pan. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Beat butter and sugars in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add eggs and egg yolk one at a time. Beat in flour mixture in three additions, alternating with apple cider (begin and end with flour mixture), just until almost incorporated. Gently fold in apples.
- Spoon half of the batter into prepared bundt pan and smooth with an offset spatula. Tap pan sharply to reduce air bubbles. For the ribbon, combine sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the cake batter, then sprinkle evenly with pecans. Spoon remaining batter evenly over the pecans, and carefully smooth with an offset spatula. Tap pan sharply again to reduce air bubbles.
- Bake for 48 to 50 minutes, until cake is golden, springs back to the touch, and a tester inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes; carefully invert onto rack and cool completely.
- For the praline topping, combine butter, brown sugar, milk and salt in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring mixture to a boil; boil for 1 minute while stirring constantly. Turn off the heat and whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Remove pan from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.
- Pour praline topping over the cake and let set before serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.
Notes
The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products I use and love!
Homemade Apple Cider: Combine 2 cups pure apple juice with 1 apple, cut into 1/2-inch wedges and 4 teaspoons of mulling spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. Strain apple cider into a glass bowl or measuring cup and let cool to room temperature before using in the cake.
More fall bundt cakes you’ll love:
Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake
Apple Cider Bundt Cake
Spice Bundt Cake
Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice Cakes
Do you have a video making this cake? I want to make it for Rosh Hashana. Also can you make it ahead of time and freeze it or how far in advance can I make it? Does it taste better the next day if I make it a day before. Thanks
Hi Mimi, I don’t have a video for this recipe. You can make the cake a day ahead, or you can make the cake in advance and freeze it (unglazed). If you want to freeze the cake, let it cool completely on a wire rack, then wrap well in foil and place in a freezer safe bag. Let the cake thaw (still wrapped) to prevent condensation from forming. Once the cake is thawed, add the praline topping. Hope that helps!
I’ve made this cake twice now. I baked it for thanksgiving & for a white elephant Christmas party gathering. It was gone on both occasions!!Folks asked that I bake two Bundts next time. Ha!
I used a mixture of Honeycrisp & Fuji apples.
I can assert that this is a great recipe, a crowd pleaser; one can’t go wrong with!
Thank you so much, Jessica! So happy to hear that! 🙂
I used store bought apple cider vinegar and the cake is really sour. Should I really mske my own apple cider vinegar?
Hi Penny, apple cider vinegar and apple cider are very different from each other. Apple cider vinegar is made from fermented apples, which gives it a very sour flavor. Apple cider is made from apples and mulling spices, and that’s what we use in this recipe. Hope that helps for next time!
That’s what I did wrong! Thank you!
You are definitely leading to my delinquency with your delicious recipes. I’m trying to loose some weight and yet I keep pinning your wonderful desserts. 😘
Instead of using my 10 cup capacity bundt pan, I’d like to use my 6 bundlet pan (so I can share the love of this deliciousness!) I know the baking time will be less but would you have an idea as to how long it should bake?
Hi Ledys! I usually bake mini bundtlettes for 25-30 minutes. I also like to spoon the cake batter into a pastry bag to make it easy to fill the molds! Here’s a past recipe for reference: https://tutti-dolci.com/2018/12/cranberry-white-chocolate-cakes/
Hope that helps! 🙂
Laura: Thanks so much for the tip & the link! I just took them out of the oven – my house smells like Christmas!! If they taste as good as they smell they’ll be absolutely delicious. Can’t wait to try! I’ll post & tag you 🙂
Yay, so happy to hear that! Can’t wait to see! 🙂
I love pralines so I knew I had to make this cake from the second I saw it pop up on Instagram. It was delicious, moist and loaded with apples and pecans. Such a perfect fall cake. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Amanda, thank you so much! I’m so glad you loved this cake! 🙂
What a beauty!! I need to make an apple cake for a coffee and yours is perfect!
In the cake ingredients, after the 10 T of butter, it’s 1-1/4 cups of??? White sugar??
Hi Roseanne, it’s 10 Tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup light brown sugar. Happy baking! 🙂
Apple cider is not available where I’m at. Will apple juice work?
Hi Jeanne, you can make your own apple cider using pure apple juice! Combine 2 cups pure apple juice with 1 apple, cut into 1/2-inch wedges and 4 teaspoons of mulling spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. Strain into a glass bowl or measuring cup and let cool to room temperature before using.