Apple Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Glaze

This easy Apple Bundt Cake was made for fall baking! A moist apple cake topped with an irresistible brown butter vanilla bean glaze. You’ll love how much apple flavor is stuffed into this dessert!

Looking for more apple dessert ideas? Try this simple Apple Crisp recipe!

Easy Apple Cake with Vanilla Glaze

This easy apple cake is everything I love about fall baking. Fresh apple flavor is pushed to the limits thanks to shredded apples, apple cider, and applesauce in the cake batter. Add a beautiful combination of warm spices to all that apple goodness, and you have coziness in every bite of this Apple Bundt Cake.

To make this cake even more autumn-magical, a brown butter vanilla bean glaze compliments the apple cake with just the perfect amount of sweetness. The glaze is thick and silky smooth, with a deep almost caramel-like flavor from the browned butter.

This apple cake makes your home smell like heaven. You are going to love this simple cake!

What is the Point of a Bundt Pan?

One of the questions I often get is: Why use a Bundt cake pan? Why not just use a regular loaf or springform pan?

The defining characteristic of a Bundt cake is a tube (called a “chimney”) down the center, as well as grooved sides. (Sometimes these sides will have a fancy design as well.) The shape allows more of the cake batter to come into contact with the edges of the pan, which results in a crisp cake edge with a moist interior. So that’s the point of a Bundt pan: It reduces the cake batter-to-pan ratio so that you get a perfectly baked, tender cake.

And I’ll also add another great point, from an eater’s point of view. Bundt cakes are pretty!!

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Recipe Ingredients

You won’t need anything complicated to make this cake. Here’s a quick run down – be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for specific amounts.

FOR THE APPLE BUNDT CAKE:

• Unsalted butter
• Apples – I recommend Haralson, Honeycrisp, or Granny Smith apples, or a combination of them. You want crisp, tart apples that hold up well when baked.
• Lemon juice – This helps prevent the apples from browning and also adds a little brightness to the flavor.
• White sugar
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Spices: Cinnamon, mace & nutmeg.
• Kosher salt
• Brown sugar
• Vegetable oil
• Unsweetened applesauce – You could also use homemade applesauce!
• Eggs
• Apple cider – I love using fresh pressed apple cider in my fall baking!
• Vanilla extract – Please only use pure vanilla extract (not imitation vanilla extract).

FOR THE BROWN BUTTER VANILLA BEAN GLAZE:

• Half and half – This adds creaminess to the glaze.
• Powdered sugar – Make sure you sift it before using it, to avoid lumps.
• Vanilla bean seeds – I like to use the scraped inside of a vanilla bean for the glaze instead of an extract alone. It gives the glaze incredible vanilla flavor, plus makes it extra pretty!
• Unsalted butter
• Vanilla extract – Same as in the cake, only pure vanilla extract please!

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How to Make Apple Bundt Cake with Vanilla Glaze

Let’s make this cake! Even though it looks all fancy schmancy, it’s super easy to make. Here’s how:

Make the Apple Cake

Prep your tools. Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare a 12-cup Bundt pan by schmearing butter over every little nook and cranny of its interior. Add some flour and tilt the pan so flour sticks to all of the buttery surface. Set pan aside.

Prep the apples. In a medium bowl, stir the shredded apple with lemon juice and 1/3 cup of the white sugar. Set aside.

Mix dry ingredients. In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.

Combine wet ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the remaining 1 cup white sugar, brown sugar, oil, applesauce, eggs, apple cider, and vanilla. Mix to combine.

Add dry ingredients and apples. Then add the flour mixture and mix once again. Add the apples and mix on medium-low speed until the apples are evenly distributed.

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Bake. Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out of the cake clean.

Cool & invert. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert it onto a serving platter. 

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Make the Glaze & Add to the Cake

If you are going to top the cake with the glaze, start making the glaze immediately, while the cake is still warm!

Measure half and half. First, pour 3 tablespoons of half-and-half into a small bowl and set aside. This is just to take the chill off while you prepare the rest of the glaze.

Mix sugar and vanilla bean seeds. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the sifted (don’t skip the sifting!) powdered sugar and vanilla bean seeds. Set aside.

Melt the butter. In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the butter until golden brown. It should smell delicious and toasty!

Make the glaze. Pour browned butter into the powdered sugar and vanilla bean seeds, leaving any overly darkened butter sediment behind. Add 2 tablespoons of the half and half, then add the vanilla. Stir vigorously until smooth.

Pour the glaze over the cake while both the glaze and cake are still warm. The glaze cools quickly, so don’t delay!

Let the glaze set. Then slice your cake and enjoy! The cake fares well on the counter for a few days, covered with a cake dome.

Tips for Success

Here are a few simple tips to keep in mind:

• Add the glaze while the cake is still warm (but not hot). This will help you get that beautiful drizzle down the sides of the cake. The glaze will set fairly quickly so be sure to add it before the cake has cooled to room temperature.
• Don’t over mix. After you add the dry ingredients and apple, only mix the batter until the apples are well incorporated and no visible bits of dry batter are visible.
• Add dried fruit. If you wanted to, you could add some dried cranberries or raisins to this cake. I would not add more than 1/2 a cup.
• Try confectioners sugar. Instead of the glaze, another option for serving this cake would be to finish it with a simple dusting of powdered sugar once it is cool.
• Serving ideas? A dollop of slightly sweetened whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream would be very good additions.

How to Store

You can store this cake on the counter for up to 3 days. I recommend storing it in a cake stand that has a cover, or loosely covered with saran wrap.

You can also store the cake in the fridge for up to 5 days, in a covered container.

Can I Freeze This?

Yes! Either leave the cake whole or cut into individual slices. Then place in a freezer-safe container. If freezing individual slices, separate any layers of cake with parchment paper. The cake will keep well for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to eat it, simply defrost in the fridge overnight or on the counter for a few hours.

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