Apple Fritter Squares with Salted Caramel Glaze

One of the food icons of Autumn is a decadent apple fritter.

Deep fried, crispy on the outside, the perfect doughnut texture inside, oodles of chopped apple and spices.  What’s  not to love?  Well, the deep frying, for most people.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for deep fried foods, chicken, fish, fries, doughnuts…  But, sometimes the idea of pulling out the pot, oil, strainer etc leaves me less than enthused.

So how about, instead of deep frying our apple fritters, we bake up a cake, and cut it  into squares and pretend they are apple fritters! Trust me, the flavour is there in spades.  The fragrance as the cake bakes up is wondrous.  And no oil to clean up from around the stove. Short on investment, big on return.  Budget friendly, and will please the whole family.

What You Will Need for This Apple Fritter Cake

This is a simple batter, no strange or hard to find ingredients.  Flour (yes, a good cup for cup gluten free blend will work great), butter, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, sugar, butter, eggs, milk, vanilla. That’s it.  It is not an overly sweet batter.  The apples and spices are meant to shine here.

The apple layer consists of diced apples, cinnamon, light and dark brown sugar, and a smidge of flour.  Dice to no more than a 1/2 inch (1 cm~) cube.  Use a combo of Granny Smith (the classic apple fritter apple) or Honey Crisps, Gala etc.  Feel free to keep the skin on for the bright red apples.

The glaze is icing sugar, milk, my Salted Bourbon Caramel Sauce, and salt.

Method

Let’s start with preparing an 8 x 8 baking pan.  Spray it with non-stick spray, and then line with parchment, long enough to go over at least two sides.  I cut two strips and lay them in opposite directions, just to have all four sides lines up the sides.  If you have small metal (not painted) clips, these are great for holding the paper in place on the edges.  Spraying the pan first holds the paper in place so that it doesn’t move around on you as you work.

You may now be tempted to dice up the apples and toss them in the brown sugar blend.  Don’t do it first.  The sugars will pull out too much moisture from the apples, and you will be left with a soggy sauce at the bottom of the bowl.  This is filled with flavour. But we don’t want to pour the sauce onto the batter. Better to toss the apples well, just before assembling the cake, giving them a moment to hang out with the sugar and cinnamon, but not too long.

Start with the batter instead. Have everything at room temperature. We’re doing a reverse creaming method. 

Instead of the traditional way by starting with creaming the butter with the sugar to create a wet base for the remaining ingredients, we are starting with all the dry ingredients, and the butter.  By placing them into the bowl of your mixer, and using it on low, the paddle will incorporate the butter into the flour mixture to create a sandy texture (rather like when making biscuits or streusel).  Only then will you add the eggs, one at a time.  At first it will look like a dog’s breakfast.  But as you add the milk and vanilla, it actually smooths out into the most silky texture, with no lumps!

Assembly

Layer half of the batter into the prepared baking pan.  Use a spatula to spread it out, but don’t worry about being to fussy, it will level off as it bakes.  Then you will place half of the apples on top of the batter evenly. Use the back of the spoon to gently push them into the batter.  Repeat with the remaining batter and apples.  Place in the oven, and bake until a paring knife comes out of the centre with no wet batter.  This can take anywhere between 65 and 75 minutes, depending on your oven.  Start testing earlier just in case.  If you have to bake it a bit longer, no worries.

Place the baked cake onto a cooling rack. 

Glaze

Combine 3/4 cup of icing sugar with 1 tablespoon of milk.  Once they are incorporated, add 2 teaspoons of the Caramel Sauce, plus a pinch of salt.  Whisk till smooth.  Taste. Do you want more Caramel?  More Salt? Thinner, then add a bit more milk?  You can make a runny glaze which will create a more transparent finish, or less milk for a thicker, more pronounced glaze.  I like them both ways.  Here I am showing it on the thicker side.

Once the cake is cooled down, remove it from the pan and place it on the cooling rack set over a baking sheet.  Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the top as you wish.  Once set, using a good serrated knife, slice up into 16 squares.  These squares will mimic the size of small apple fritters, and are easy for small hands.

Final Thoughts

Every apple is different.  Some melt down faster, some release less moisture as they bake.  Depending on the apples you are using, and your oven, it may take longer or shorter to bake up.  Depending on the apples as well (how dense and heavy they are, they will sink down into the first layer, don’t worry, it’s all good.

These will keep for a few days in a sealed container.  Feel free to warm up a square in the toaster oven or even air fryer set at 300F for a few minutes just to warm through and bring back the glorious aromas!

If you make these Apple Fritters with Salted Caramel Glaze, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! It’s always lovely to hear from you guys, and I always do my best to respond to each comment or question. And of course, if you do make this recipe, and you post it on Instagram, don’t forget to also tag me so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is such a treat.

For other Autumn Apple bakes, check out my Harvest Apple Cider Glazed Waffles, Chai Spiced Apple Cake, Salted Bourbon Caramel Apple Pie