Apple cream cheese Bundt cake is a tall, spiced apple cake with a ribbon of sweet cream cheese filling baked into the middle and a brown sugar praline frosting poured over the top. It is the fall showpiece for Thanksgiving, a harvest party or a Sunday dinner when apples are at their best.
How to make apple cream cheese Bundt cake: Beat a cream cheese filling and set it aside. Stir together a spiced apple batter with toasted pecans. Spoon two-thirds of the batter into a greased 14-cup Bundt pan, add the filling with a 1-inch border, and cover with the rest. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, cool completely and pour on praline frosting.
Why You’ll Love It
- A surprise inside. Every slice shows a ring of cream cheese filling in the center.
- Full of apple. Three cups of chopped apples plus applesauce in the batter.
- No mixer for the batter. The cake is stirred together in one big bowl.
- A frosting you pour. The praline frosting is cooked for a minute and poured on while still warm.
Ingredient Notes
Cream cheese. Eight ounces, softened, for the filling.
Apples. Three cups, peeled and finely chopped. Granny Smith is a good choice.
Applesauce. Three-quarters of a cup, unsweetened.
Oil. Three-quarters of a cup of canola, olive or vegetable oil.
Pecans. One cup, finely chopped and toasted, goes in the cake. Another 1/4 cup, roughly chopped, is an optional garnish.
Spices. Two teaspoons of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon of allspice.
Brown sugar. It is used twice: 1 packed cup in the cake and 1/2 packed cup in the frosting.
Vanilla. One teaspoon each in the filling, the cake and the frosting.
Ingredients
For the cream cheese filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the apple cake
- 1 cup pecans, finely chopped
- 3 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 3/4 cup oil (canola, olive or vegetable)
- 3/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups apples, peeled and finely chopped
For the praline frosting
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped, optional garnish
How to Make Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake
1. Prepare the pan and filling. Grease and flour a 14-cup Bundt pan. Beat the cream cheese, softened butter and sugar until smooth. Add the filling egg, flour and vanilla and beat just until combined. Set aside.
2. Toast the pecans. Heat the oven to 350°F. Bake the cake pecans for 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly toasted and fragrant.
3. Mix the cake batter. Stir the cake flour, both cake sugars, salt, baking soda and spices together in a large bowl. Stir in the beaten eggs, then the oil, applesauce and vanilla. Stir in the chopped apples and toasted pecans.
4. Enclose the filling. Spoon two-thirds of the apple batter into the pan. Spoon the cream cheese filling over it, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges of the pan. Cover with the remaining apple batter.
5. Bake and cool. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, until a long wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 1 hour, then remove the cake from the pan and cool completely before frosting. Refrigerate the cake before it has spent more than 2 hours at room temperature.
6. Make and pour the frosting. Once the cake is completely cool, bring the frosting brown sugar, butter and milk to a boil in a saucepan. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla, then whisk in the powdered sugar until fully combined. Let cool slightly, about 5 minutes, until thickened but still pourable. Pour over the cake and garnish with the optional pecans.
Where Does the Cream Cheese Filling Go?
In the middle, with batter under it, over it and all around it. The filling is not swirled in and it is not a layer on top. It is tucked inside so that it bakes into a creamy ring in the center of each slice.
| Order | What goes in the pan | How |
|---|---|---|
| First | Two-thirds of the apple batter | Spoon it in and level it |
| Second | All the cream cheese filling | Spoon it over the batter, staying 1 inch away from the pan edges |
| Third | The remaining apple batter | Cover the filling completely |
The 1-inch border is what keeps the filling inside the cake. Keep the filling off the outer wall and off the center tube, so batter surrounds it on every side.
The frosting has its own rule: wait. The cake has to be completely cool before the praline frosting is made and poured, and the frosting should be slightly thickened but still pourable when it goes on.
Tips for Success
How do I know the cake is done?
A long wooden skewer pushed into the center comes out clean. Start checking at 1 hour. It can take up to 1 hour and 15 minutes.
What size Bundt pan do I need?
A 14-cup pan, greased and floured. This is a big cake, and the recipe gives no directions for a smaller pan.
How long does the frosting cook?
Bring the brown sugar, butter and milk to a boil, boil for 1 minute, then take it off the heat before adding the vanilla and powdered sugar.
Why does my frosting run off the cake?
It was poured too hot or onto a warm cake. Let the frosting cool for about 5 minutes, until it is thickened but still pourable, and make sure the cake is completely cool.
How finely should I chop the apples?
Finely, after peeling, so the pieces are spread through every slice.
How Long Does It Take?
Plan on about 4 hours, most of it waiting. Prep is 30 minutes and baking is about 90 minutes. Then the cake cools in the pan for about 1 hour and needs more time out of the pan to cool completely before frosting. It will not be frosted and ready 2 hours after you start.
Because of the cream cheese filling, do not let the cake sit at room temperature for more than 2 hours while it cools. Move it to the refrigerator to finish cooling.
Storage & Reheating
This cake is not reheated. Keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. USDA FSIS says to refrigerate perishable food within 2 hours, or within 1 hour when the temperature is above 90°F, so put the cake back in the refrigerator after serving.
What to Serve With It
For more apple baking, try the easy cinnamon apple cake, the 3-ingredient apple pie cake or the 4-ingredient slow cooker caramel apple dump cake. If the cream cheese is your favorite part, there are raspberry cream cheese bites and the 4-ingredient lemon cream cheese dump cake. A spoonful of cream cheese whipped cream is good next to a slice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does cream cheese go with apple?
Yes. The tangy, creamy filling sits against the sweet, spiced apple cake, and the two bake together in this recipe.
Can you give me a recipe for a cream cheese Bundt cake?
This is one: an apple Bundt cake with a cream cheese filling baked inside and a praline frosting on top.
When do I make the praline frosting?
Only after the cake is completely cool. It takes a few minutes and is poured while still pourable.
How many slices does it make?
Twelve servings.
Final Notes
I spoon the filling into the middle of the batter ring and check the 1-inch gap all the way around before I cover it. If you make it, leave a comment to tell me how it turned out or ask a question.
Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake
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Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese filling; softened
- 1/4 cup butter filling; softened
- 1/2 cup sugar filling
- 1 egg filling
- 2 tablespoons flour filling
- 1 teaspoon vanilla filling
- 1 cup pecans cake; finely chopped
- 3 cups flour cake
- 1 cup sugar cake
- 1 cup brown sugar cake; packed
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon cake
- 1 teaspoon salt cake
- 1 teaspoon baking soda cake
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg cake
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice cake
- 3 eggs cake; lightly beaten
- 3/4 cup oil cake; canola, olive or vegetable
- 3/4 cup applesauce cake; unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla cake
- 3 cups apples cake; peeled and finely chopped
- 1/2 cup brown sugar frosting; packed
- 1/4 cup butter frosting
- 3 tablespoons milk frosting
- 1 teaspoon vanilla frosting
- 1 cup powdered sugar frosting
- 1/4 cup pecans frosting garnish; roughly chopped; optional
Instructions
- Grease and flour a 14-cup Bundt pan. Beat the cream cheese, softened butter and sugar until smooth. Add the filling egg, flour and vanilla and beat just until combined. Set aside.
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Bake the cake pecans for 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly toasted and fragrant.
- Stir the cake flour, both cake sugars, salt, baking soda and spices together in a large bowl. Stir in the beaten eggs, then the oil, applesauce and vanilla. Stir in the chopped apples and toasted pecans.
- Spoon two-thirds of the apple batter into the pan. Spoon the cream cheese filling over it, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges of the pan. Cover with the remaining apple batter.
- Bake at 350°F for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, until a long wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 1 hour, then remove the cake from the pan and cool completely before frosting. Refrigerate the cake before it has spent more than 2 hours at room temperature.
- Once the cake is completely cool, bring the frosting brown sugar, butter and milk to a boil in a saucepan. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla, then whisk in the powdered sugar until fully combined. Let cool slightly, about 5 minutes, until thickened but still pourable. Pour over the cake and garnish with the optional pecans.
