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Apple Fritter Squares with Salted Caramel Glaze

All the goodness of donut shop apple fritters, but in a baked square. Fragrant apples and spices fill your kitchen with the best aroma. The salted bourbon caramel glaze adds the best sweet and salty contrast to the cozy cake.
Course Baking, Dessert
Cuisine North American
Keyword apples, caramel sauce, cinnamon
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Cooling 30 minutes
Servings 16

Ingredients

Cake

  • 2 1/4 cups 270 g all purpose flour, (can use a gluten free cup for cup blend as well)
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 cup (149g) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg or allspice
  • 1/4 tsp cardamom
  • 12 tablespoons (170 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cubed
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup (170 g) milk, at room temperature

Apple Filling and Topping

  • 1/4 cup (53 g) dark brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup (53 g) light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon flour
  • 3 3/4 cups (420 g~) apples, diced, see Notes

Glaze

  • 3/4 cup (85g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
  • 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons (21 g to 30 g) milk, see Notes
  • 2 teaspoons Salted Bourbon Caramel Sauce see Notes
  • salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 8" square pan and line with parchment, leaving two lengths longer to drape up and over the sides. I use small metal (not painted) clips to hold the parchment in place. These will create the handle to lift the cake out with once cooled.

Cake

  1. In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and spices. Add the cubed butter and mix on low until the mixture is sandy looking.
  2. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl between additions as needed.
  3. With the mixer running at low speed, add the vanilla and milk. Once the milk is absorbed, scrape the bowl and mix at medium-high speed for 1 minute. Set aside.

Apple Filling Layers

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugars, cinnamon, and flour. Add the diced apples and stir to coat; set aside.

Assemble

  1. Spread half the batter in the prepared pan. Spoon half the apple mixture over the batter and press in lightly. Spread the remaining batter over the apples and spoon the remaining apples on top.
  2. Bake the cake for 60 to 70 minutes. The cake is done when a paring knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. Depending on your oven and the apples you use, this may take longer, don't fret. Remove it from the oven and cool for 30 minutes before gently using the parchment lengths on the side to pull it out and place it onto a rack to cool completely.

Glaze

  1. Combine the glaze ingredients, stirring until smooth. Taste and see if you like the amount of caramel flavour. Add a pinch more salt for a great contrast to the sweet apples. Drizzle over the cooled cake.
  2. Store cake, covered, at room temperature for several days. For longer storage, wrap airtight and freeze.

  3. See blog post for more details.

Recipe Notes

Feel free to use a combination of apples. I like to use Honey Crisp, Gala, Granny Smith etc. Leave the skin on the red apples. Just don't dice too large, this will make the pieces of skin a little intrusive. I like somewhere between a 1/4 and 1/2 inch dice.
Use the amount of milk you desire. More will create a thin almost transparent glaze. Less (or more sugar) will create a thicker ribbon glaze.
Here is the link to my Salted Bourbon Caramel Sauce
Recipe adapted from King Arthur Baking, here