Best queso dip, hands down! I’m from Texas, so I know my queso, and I believe this one tops them all. It uses only fresh ingredients and is flavorful. If preferred, you can use heavy whipping cream instead of half-and-half. With tortilla chips on the side.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 25 mins |
| Additional Time: | 45 mins |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 40 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 1 Bundt(R) cake |
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- ¼ cup water
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup white sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup sour cream, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored, and diced
Instructions
- Combine heavy cream, butter, vanilla, and salt for caramel sauce in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat until butter is melted and mixture begins to bubble, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and keep warm.
- Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in a large, light-colored saucepan with high sides. Cook over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until mixture is amber in color, 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and very carefully whisk in reserved cream-butter mixture; stir constantly as caramel mixture will bubble up and steam. Continue cooking over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat. Set out 1/2 cup of caramel sauce for the cake, and reserve the remainder for the topping. Allow to cool to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10-cup Bundt® pan.
- Prepare cake: Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg in a bowl until combined.
- Beat together brown sugar, butter, and white sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in applesauce, sour cream, reserved 1/2 cup caramel sauce, and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Add in 1/2 of the flour mixture, and mix until just combined. Mix in remaining flour mixture until just combined. Fold in diced apples. Pour batter into the prepared Bundt® pan and smooth into an even layer.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a bamboo skewer inserted into the cake comes out with a just few moist crumbs, 55 to 60 minutes. Allow cake to cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Gently run a knife around the edge to loosen and remove cake to a wire rack and cool completely, 15 to 30 more minutes.
- Just before serving, pour remaining caramel sauce over the top of the cake. If needed, reheat the caramel slightly to make it a pourable consistency.
- Nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of caramel sauce. The actual amount of caramel sauce consumed will vary.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 615 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 88 g |
| Cholesterol | 137 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Saturated Fat | 17 g |
| Sodium | 388 mg |
| Sugars | 58 g |
| Fat | 28 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
My sister told me about this recipe and said it was delicious. She did mention that the caramel turned out a very light color. When I made it, I also thought the caramel color was too light (it tasted fine), so I added not quite a tablespoon of dark brown sugar right after taking the caramel off the heat. That was just what the color needed. Guests enjoyed this cake. It is a bit time-consuming, but I think worth the effort. I drizzled just a little bit of caramel over the top of the cake. I used the rest to add to each slice before serving.
The cake itself is amazing, but add the caramel sauce and it takes it to a whole other level!
The Caramel sauce took much longer to make than I expected, But it is the best I have ever eaten!! The cake too is allot of work but delicious. I would ask the author to separate the ingredient amounts for the sauce and cake to make it easier for novice cooks like myself.
Perfect fall dessert! I’ve made it twice! I only pour caramel sauce over each piece as I serve.
This made a wonderfully moist and rich cake. I used the recipe as written. The caramel sauce was a little challenging but well worth the effort. I’m sure I’ll make this again.