It’s time for a big question.
Cake: Is it a snack or dessert?
Does it depend on the time of day or the size of the slice?
Does it have to be individually wrapped or can it be fresh from the oven?
Does it have to have less sugar or some kind of “nutritional value”?

For me, cake has always been a dessert. Apples are snacks. Granola bars are snacks. Pieces of chocolate are snacks. Cake was strictly a dessert.

But when it came down to naming this recipe and having to choose between “Caramel Apple Cake” (290,000 hits) and “Caramel Apple Snack Cake” (1,700 hits), well.. that helped me make my decision.

Outside of the realm of typical-pumpkin-y-desserts, this cake tastes like fall. It is sweet, moist, cinnamon-y, caramel-y, and apple-y. I guess if you tack “-y” onto anything, you can make an adjective. Righty? Yummy? Ok, I’ll stop.

But for real, this cake is good, easy, and crowd-pleasing. I made it for my coworkers and then again for my family. It was a hit everywhere. You can’t go wrong with caramel apples and cake. (Unless you’re a dentist, maybe.)

Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Snack Cake

Created by Jenny Barrett on March 23, 2016



• Prep Time: 30m
• Cook Time: 45m
• Total Time: 1h 15m

• Yield: 24 slices

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 large apples

Crumb Topping

• 1 1/2 cups oats
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/3 cup caramel topping

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 13x9-inch pan.
2. Mix sugars, oil, and eggs together until smooth.
3. Add dry ingredients to batter, mixing in buttermilk and apples last. Be careful not to overmix.
4. Pour the batter into prepared pan.
5. Now make the crumb topping by mixing oats, butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, pecans, and cinnamon, ensuring that all ingredients are combined well and evenly distributed.
6. Sprinkle the crumb topping mixture onto the cake, distributing it evenly. Reserve the caramel sauce for when the cake is done baking.
7. Bake the cake for approximately 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Allow the cake to cool.
9. Drizzle caramel sauce on top of cake.
10. Serve with whipped cream, ice cream, nuts, and/or more caramel sauce. Tastes best when warm!

Source: The CostCo Connection

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