This cinnamon sponge cake with caramel apples is as tasty as it is pretty. The sponge is soft and simple, making it a perfect base for some cream cheese whipped cream and caramel apple topping. This is a dessert that you have to try!
Fall is upon us and it’s time to celebrate, with cake of course! This spongy cake is spiked with cinnamon and topped with a super fluffy vanilla and cream cheese mixture.
The pile of caramelly apple goodness on top really drives it home as a dessert to be remembered. This cinnamon sponge Charlotte cake with caramel apples is a fall dream come true!
Have you ever made a traditional Charlotte? Do you know what one is?
Generally they are a no bake dessert that is encircled in a ring of lady fingers and often tied up with a bow. I made a orange cranberry Charlotte Russe in the early days of the blog.
I loved the look so much, it inspired the lady finger crust of other goodies such as my orange creamsicle no bake cheesecake and chocolate no bake cheesecake. There is just something about that ring of lady fingers that draws me in every time.
So of course I was instantly intrigued when I started seeing pictures of Nordic Ware’s Charlotte inspired cake pan. It has that look of the lady fingers surrounding the dessert, but in cake form! Plus it has the perfect well built in for yummy toppings.
I ended up adapting the recipe that came with the pan. It is a 6 cup pan, so smaller than most, and I wanted to make sure what I made would fit in the pan. Plus the recipe looked so simple and had a nice spongy appearance that seemed like a perfect homage to the pan’s namesake dessert.
The cake smelled of cinnamon while baking and turned out beautifully, just as I expected! Then I went to work making a filling.
A nice cloud of vanilla scented cream cheese seemed like it would be a perfect base layer.
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On top of the cloud of cream cheese whipped cream went a pile of cinnamon caramel apple filling. These apples were so dang good! I can already see us making them all fall long for a variety of things.
Oatmeal? Stir them in! Ice cream? Pile them on top! Pancakes? Yes! Waffles? Of course! Empty bowl? Fill it up!
I mean really, these apples will be on and in everything!
I did what I do with most of our desserts, took it to share with my family at our weekly dinner at MiMi and Pops’ house. Everyone thought it looked amazing and tasted even better.
A few people went back for seconds even and I went home with a nearly empty cake plate!
That is really saying something because we always have snacks and a large dinner when we are over there, so sometimes we are a bit full by the time dessert rolls around.
My husband usually prefers meat and potatoes to dessert, so he said he was too full for a slice. He thought he would just steal a bite of mine.
He did, then he got a plate and got himself a slice too! It was that good! They are already wondering when I will make this one again.
If you don’t have the Charlotte cake pan, don’t despair. You can bake this recipe in an 8″ pan and just put the fillings on top!
Cinnamon Sponge Charlotte Cake With Caramel Apples
Ingredients
Cake
- 4 eggs at room temperature
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Apples
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 3 apples
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Whipped Cream
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup heavy cream
- Optional: caramel sauce for drizzling
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease your Charlotte or 8″ cake pan.
- In your mixer, beat 4 eggs on high for 1 minute.
- Add ⅔ cup granulated sugar and beat for 7 more minutes on high. The mixture should be really light and voluminous.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together ⅔ cup all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder and ½ teaspoon cinnamon to ensure there are no lumps.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the egg mixture and carefully fold in. Add remaining flour mixture and fold in until incorporated.
- Put cake batter in prepared cake pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Apples
- Peel and dice 3 apples.
- In a sauce pan over medium low heat, melt 2 Tablespoons butter. Add the apples, ¼ cup water, ¼ cup light brown sugar, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon grated nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the apples start to soften. This will take about 5 minutes.
- Stir together 1 teaspoon cornstarch and 2 Tablespoons of cold water. Add cornstarch slurry to apple mixture and stir in. Continue to cook until it is bubbling and thick, about 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Allow to cool completely before topping cake.
Whipped Cream
- Beat 4 ounces cream cheese until creamy and smooth.
- Add 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, mixing until incorporated.
- With mixer running on low, slowly drizzle in ½ cup heavy cream until it is incorporated. Turn the mixer to high until the mixture is fluffy and holds stiff peaks.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Assembly
- Spread cream cheese whipped cream over completely cooled cake.
- Top with cooled cinnamon caramel apples and drizzle with caramel sauce if desired.
- Serve immediately or if assembled ahead of time, store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
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Makes a pretty cake and liked the whip cream and apples. Overall not a fan of the cake and would not make again. Just seemed to be missing flavor.
I am sure you could figure out a way to do a pound style cake or something instead.
Hi Carlee! I can’t wait to try this recipe, but noticed the amount and form (such as ground or powder) of nutmeg to be used in the apple topping wasn’t specified in the list of ingredients. Guidance on this would be appreciated. Thanks!
I used a few grates of fresh nutmeg, however a pinch of ground nutmeg works as well. Just enough to give it a little depth of flavor. Sorry I didn’t make that more clear in the recipe, I will try to clarify it. Thanks for asking and I hope you love it!