Happy Hump Day, you crazy baking fools. I hope you’re crushing this week, so much so that you’ve earned yourself a slice (or three) of this brown sugar apple bundt cake.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may know that last week I made a wedding cake. It wasn’t my first time preparing a wedding cake, but because this was the biggest one I’ve made to date I was also pretty nervous. Like any cautious amateur would do, I prepared the layers a week in advance, froze them in plastic wrap, and traveled with the unassembled cakes in a sub-zero temperature car to Atlanta where the wedding was being held.

Some of you are probably thinking that this is not a big deal. Maybe you think that I do this all the time or that I’m a professional cake maker. Maybe you assume that tasks like this come naturally to me or are not even remotely intimidating. I’ll have you know, you are entirely wrong.

I am a giant, sugar-coated ball of anxiety when it comes to baking for weddings. I literally lose sleep over the details and what-ifs and tiny lists of ingredients and supplies that I need to remember to pack. What if the cake is dry? Collapses? Tastes like garbage? What if I drop the entire thing while placing it on the stand? Or if someone finds a weird hair or a giant eggshell in it? What if, what if, what if?

Brown Sugar Apple Bundt Cake

I’m getting stressed just reliving it. This all goes to say that until further notice I’m sticking with one-bowl, single layer, easy peasy cakes like this brown sugar apple bundt cake. Aside from the risk of a stray hair or eggshell, there are very few things you could actually do to screw this up.

I was inspired to make this brown sugar apple bundt cake from flipping through some of Brett’s Nana’s old recipes. There were multiple recipes for old fashioned apple bundt cakes, and I knew this was the type of thing you guys would want coming out of your ovens around the holidays.

In most of the older recipes I’ve seen, the bundt cake is baked and a warm, syrupy mixture is poured over the cake before removing it from the pan. This yields a super moist cake, but to be honest, it’s not the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen. To add extra flavor AND pizzazz, I went with a brown sugar glaze, thick, ultra-sweet, and with just a hint of bourbon because we love ourselves. This brown sugar apple bundt cake is faithful to its Southern roots and festive enough to add to any holiday table. Let’s chat the ins and outs on this treat.

Making the Cake

We start by mixing the sugar with all of the wet ingredients. Oil and plenty of eggs keep this cake moist. The dry ingredients which includes cinnamon and apple pie spice get stirred in before finely diced apples and pecans are folded in. Spread the mixture into a bundt pan (I used this one!) and bake in the preheated oven. Be careful not to overbake it! I like to remove it from the oven when just a few large moist clumps remain on a cake tester or toothpick.Allow the cake to cool in the pan for a few minutes before cooling completely on a rack.

When it’s room temperature, prepare the glaze and spoon it on top. I test out the glaze on the side of a drinking glass to make sure that it’s the right consistency. If it’s too thin it will drip completely off the cake and if it’s too thick it won’t be pourable. Find the consistency that works best for you and pour away.

This brown sugar apple bundt cake is a delightful little autumnal treat to prepare in the coming months. Give it a try and let me know what you think! I promise it’s easier than a wedding cake.

If you like this brown sugar apple bundt cake you should try:

Maple Apple Cake

Pecan Apple Dutch Baby

Caramel Apple Pie

Apple Crumb Cake

Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

Carrot Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Glaze

Brown Sugar Apple Bundt Cake

Print Recipe

This brown sugar apple bundt cake is a warmly spiced season favorite with a brown sugar glaze that you’ll love sharing these winter months!

• Author: Kate Wood
• Prep Time: 15
• Cook Time: 90
• Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
• Yield: 10
• Category: Dessert

Ingredients

For the apple cake:

• 1–3/4 (350 gm) cups sugar
• 1–1/2 cups (360 gm) vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs, at room temp
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups (420 gm) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
• 2 cups (250 gm) of peeled, finely chopped apples (I use Jonathan or Granny Smith Apples)
• 1 cup (125 gm) finely chopped pecans

For the brown sugar glaze (Adapted from Fine Cooking):

• 3/4 cup (150 gm) light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (110 gm) unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1–1/2 tablespoons bourbon
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup (80 gm) heavy whipping cream
• 1–1/4 cups (130 gm) sifted confectioner’s sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

To prepare the cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until smooth and combined. Add the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and apple pie spice and stir just until barely combined. Fold in the apples and pecans. Spray and flour a 10-cup bundt pan and spread the batter into the pan. Bake in the preheated oven for an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Be careful to not overbake the cake! Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes and then invert onto a cool rack to cool completely.

To prepare the brown sugar glaze:

1. Combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, bourbon, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat, allowing the mixture to melt. Add the cream, increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to boil, stirring occasionally. Boil the mixture for exactly one minute and remove it from heat. Whisk in the confections sugar and vanilla until the mixture is smooth and no lumps remain. Allow the glaze to cool and thicken slightly, stirring occasionally to keep it from forming a thick top shell. Once the mixture is a bit thicker but still warm to touch, pour over the finished cake. You can test the pour barely on one size to see if it glazes how you’d like. If it doesn’t glaze thin enough allow it to cool slightly and if it glazes too thick just warm it up slightly. The cake is best enjoyed the day it is made.