Salted Caramel Apple Skillet Cake

I recently saw a tweet that said, “I don’t want to be warm. I want to be cold and made warm by a blanket.” Such is the plight of a #BasicFallGirl - forever in search of pumpkin spice, bundled in a loose turtleneck – perhaps mohair, definitely creme – and manifesting that she lives in a cabin in the woods.

Let’s be clear, I am not the #BasicFallGirl in this blog post. No - the #BasicFallGirl in this post is the cake. Like the best of ‘em, she’s really leaning into it this year.

This cake is baking-spice speckled and laced with pieces of soft caramelized apples. It’s baked in a cast-iron skillet and slathered with sweet frosting swirled with melted caramels. It’s got a lot of butter and sugar in it.

It’s ready to go to a gathering or be nibbled on a la mode at home and is definitely up for being photographed in Portrait Mode with Fall foliage in the background. It should exclusively be baked and consumed between the months of September and December. Anything outside these months would be completely irrational.

Whether you identify as a #BasicFallGirl or not, this is the cake version of a warm blanket on a chilly day, and we can all get behind that. We’re not so different after all! So queue up a coffeehouse singer/songwriter playlist on Spotify, slip on your fuzzy socks, light a friggin’ candle, and bake this cake.

Recipe adapted from NYT Cooking

Ingredients:

For the caramel apples:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large or 3 small baking apples, peeled, cored, and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
½ cup brown sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

For the cake:

½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature, plus more for the pan
1 ⅓ cup brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for topping

For the caramel frosting:

½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
4 ounces unwrapped soft caramel candies
2 tablespoons oat milk or cream
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Flaky sea salt

Recipe:

Make the apples: Melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed skillet. Add the apples, brown sugar, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until apples are soft and caramel is gooey. Pour into a bowl and pop it into the freezer while you make the cake batter. Alternatively, do this step a couple of hours ahead and leave the apples on the counter to cool to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with butter.
Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl.
In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar until fluffy, 4-5 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time. Then add the vanilla.
Add the flour mixture, a bit at a time, until just incorporated.
Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold in the apples and their caramel.
Pour the batter into the skillet and spread evenly. Bake for 30-35 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean. Let cool to room temperature.
Make the frosting: Clean out the cake batter bowl and attach the whisk attachment to the mixer. Cream the butter and confectioners’ sugar until fluffy, 4-5 minutes.
Add the caramels to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave them for 20 seconds at a time until they’ve liquified but not burned. Stir the caramel between microwaving. Stream the melted caramel into the frosting while the mixer is set to low.
Scoop the frosting onto the cooled cake and spread evenly. Top with flaky sea salt and more freshly grated nutmeg.