Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
Complex and embellished with fragrant cinnamon, this Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake is a buttery and moist autumn cake with a bonus rich cream cheese filling. Oh, and did I mention there is a praline frosting, too?
This recipe adapted from the Southern Living Magazine original recipe with appreciation.
This popular recipe for Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake comes to us from the kitchens of Southern Living Magazine where it was first published in 2001. According to SLM, this recipe became an instant hit, and it continues to delight its readers who subscribe to the magazine for their exceptional recipes.
Never argue the merits of a lovely combination of fall ingredients. I will take apples, cinnamon, vanilla, and pecans any way you bake them up. And now that the cooler autumn weather is just around the corner, it is game on for the comfort foods of the season like pumpkin and apple.
This apple cake with cream cheese filling is a rock star recipe that scores with family and friends every time I bake it.
If you like apple cake, you will love this moist cinnamon-flavored cake with chunks of apples and sweet pecans throughout, and a ribbon of sweetened cream cheese filling in the middle. I began baking this cake back in 2003 when I was still living in New Jersey. It is now something I bake annually.
I enjoyed sharing this baked masterpiece, so much so that I made a weekend out of it every year and invited friends (who I knew would appreciate this) to accompany me to Melick’s orchard for some apple picking.
While we were there, I purchased my autumn porch décor and loaded the Explorer with hay bales, corn stalk bundles, pumpkins of all colors, gallons of FRESH cider, and of course, apples. We would caravan back to my house, mull the cider, and bust out the step ladder for decorating the porch.
Cake inspiration, and some fabulous recipes to consider!
Cast Iron Cranberry Brown Sugar Cake
Grapefruit Sugar Pound Cake
Raspberry & Rhubarb Swiss Roll
Pistachio Cake
Pistachio-Cardamom Bundt with Rosewater Glaze
Semi-Homemade Cranberry Orange Christmas Cake
Huguenot Church Blueberry Brunch Cake
This Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake recipe is perfect for fall. It is truly THE BEST apple Bundt cake.
By the time we were done, and our cider grogs sufficiently spiked ?, it would be time for dinner. Growing up with the heritage of my German and Dutch immigrant roots, my Grandmother had an entire cache of Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch recipes. She was so versed in them, everything she put up was from memory.
A few recipes I was able to master by watching and by eating for all those years. I was fortunate enough to have Gram around until I was 48 years old. By then, I was paying close attention, and thank God.
As it heats the sweet cream middle bakes up into a delectable ribbon of yumminess with a taste and texture similar to cheesecake. Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake is every bit the essence of fall.
Foods like her sweet and sour ham, Penna-Dutch potato salad, Sweet and Spicy Pickled Red Onions, and a recipe for what she always called Shaker Chicken. I will soon be posting the recipe for Shaker Chicken, as it is utter autumn perfection. It is also the easy dish I would prepare for dinner on the eve of our fall decorating day for all my helpers.
The following afternoon, each household would receive one sixth of this cake as a ‘thank you’ for the perfect weekend. Yes, I cut it into sixths because there would be no way for me to eat this monster on my own. One sixth was still a darn HUGE HUNK OF CAKE! And hey, wrapped and tied off in jute, it looked perfectly pretty.
I have been told by many that this is just about the best apple cream cheese cake they have tasted. SERIOUSLY, print this recipe!
The most extraordinary thing about Bundt cakes is how easy they are to prepare. I am of the opinion that rather than instructing a person on how to bake a Bundt cake, it is better to instruct a person on the little details that make any cake recipe a success.
Use name brand ingredients. Why? Decades ago, I lost a baking contest at our local 4-H Fair due to my cake being what the judges dubbed as “overly sweet, and a bit too heavy.” My 4-H leader helped me to bake another cake, all the while consoling me. I was 8 years old so it was a big deal in my life at that time. She taught me that generic sugars are oftentimes more finely ground than name brands, yielding more sugar per cup. This caused my cake to be “too sweet.” And generic butter may contain more liquid fat or flours than a brand name, quality butter. This made my cake “too heavy.”
No matter what, ALWAYS have ingredients at room temperature. Why? For maximum height and volume.
Bundt pans require a bit of extra prep. I melt about a tablespoon of butter and I use a pastry brush to “paint” the butter in all of the nooks and crannies and folds of the Bundt pan. Do this BEFORE you begin. Dust with flour by tapping the pan and eliminating any excess.
Measure your ingredients CAREFULLY. Always read through the entire recipe. Prepare and pre-measure your ingredients. Assemble them in the order they are called for in the method so that if distracted or called away, you are less likely to make a mistake when you return to the process.
DO NOT OVERBEAT. You’ve read this before, but what does it mean? Overbeating the eggs causes cake batter to overflow the sides of the pan during the bake. Overbeating may also create a flakey, this crust that crumbles and separates from the cake as it cools.
Follow these tips and take your time. This Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake is worth every moment you’ll spend in your kitchen!
So, in my photos, you will notice the sort of spiky terminals of the praline drizzle. It is intentional. I LOVED the crown on this cake when I removed it from the oven. High, crazed just a little letting me know it was cooked through to perfection, I really was not sure I wanted to turn out a traditional looking Bundt on the cake plate.
I considered flipping the cake from the Bundt pan over onto the wire rack, allowing it to cool, and then re-flipping so I would get the side I wanted facing up. The matter was settled when I was asked to submit three recipes for an upcoming Halloween-inspired magazine article.
The praline frosting is smooth and thick and hardens up almost the second it hits the cake. A gorgeous autumnal pre-Halloweenie presentation is exactly what I was looking for. I would tell you that if you want a dramatic look, do as I have done. If, however you like the swathing flows as you would see from a normal Bundt drizzle, do not re-flip your cake once it has cooled.
This beautiful Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake is the most popular cake I bake. Maybe that is because Fall is my favorite time of year to bake. There is just something extra special about filling the house with warm, rich fragrances when there is a nip in the air.
Although this recipe is requiring several steps, the result is nothing short of delightful. It is impressive gracing a dessert table and ideal for any fall celebration. I can almost guarantee you will be making this cake part of your fall baking every year. I can also guarantee that your guests will come back for seconds.
All images and text ©Jenny DeRemer for Not Entirely Average, LLC
Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake
Equipment
- 14 cup capacity Bundt pan
- electric hand mixer
- wire cooling rack
Ingredients
for the cream cheese filling
- 1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon quality vanilla extract I am using Heilala
for the apple cake batter
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar or dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- ¾ cup canola oil
- ¾ cup applesauce I am using unsweetened but sweetened works fine, too.
- 1 teaspoon quality vanilla extract I am using Heilala
- 3 cups peeled and finely chopped Gala or Granny Smith apples (about 1 1/2 lb.) I am using Granny Smith
for the praline frosting
- ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar or dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup butter
- 3 tablespoons milk I am using buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon quality vanilla extract I am using Heilala
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- additional pecans for decorating the top if desired
Instructions
prepare the cream cheese filling
- Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended and smooth. Add egg, flour, and vanilla; beat just until blended.
prepare the apple cake batter
- Preheat oven to 350º. Prepare a Bundt pan by greasing (with butter) and flouring.
- Bake pecans in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.
- Stir together 3 cups flour and next 7 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in eggs and next 3 ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in apples and pecans.
- Spoon two-thirds of apple mixture into the prepared Bundt pan. Spoon Cream Cheese Filling over apple mixture, leaving a 1-inch border around edges of pan. Swirl filling through apple mixture using a paring knife. Spoon remaining apple mixture over Cream Cheese Filling.
- Bake at 350º for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 2 hours).
prepare the praline frosting
- Bring 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and 3 Tbsp. milk to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly; boil 1 minute, whisking constantly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar until smooth; stir gently 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture begins to cool and thickens slightly. Pour immediately over cooled cake.
The nutrition value can vary depending on what product(s) you use. The information below is an estimate. Always use a calorie counter you are familiar with.
Please note that table salt and iodized salt are NOT substitutions for Kosher salt. Do not deviate unless otherwise specified.
Nutrition
Love apple desserts? Peek at my methods for
Amish Apple Fritter Bread
Walnut-Bottom Peach & Apple Pie
Magic Cake With Autumn Apples
Apple Bottom Bourbon Pecan Cheesecake
Best Cider Doughnuts
Insanely Delicious Cinnamon Roll Cake With Apples And Pecans
Need some main dish apple inspiration?
Shaker Chicken Pudding
I have been making this cake for decades! So so delicious! The first time I made it, my little niece picked most of the icing off to eat BEFORE it was served at Thanksgiving! I was wondering thought, can you make it ahead and free it sans icing?
Lisa, I think you are asking if the cake may be made ahead, frozen without icing, and iced later, correct? The answer is yes if so! If you go apple picking, do yourself a favor and bake a couple of these for the freezer for the holidays. And by golly, send pics!!! x – Jenny
Looks yummy. Thanks so much for linking up with me at #AThemedLinkup 32 for All Things Thanksgiving. Shared.