This month’s edition of #BundtBakers is a little different. No, you won’t notice anything unique about this month compared to any of the previous #BundtBakers events but behind the scenes I’ve gotten to try my hand at hosting! #BundtBakers is a group of bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bundts with a common ingredient or theme. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme or ingredient.

Because Halloween happens this month I chose the ingredient of Caramel. I considered making candy the ingredient of choice but I couldn’t get Caramel Apples out of my mind. Looking at the day’s offerings it looks like I wasn’t alone! And there are even two recipes that use some popular Halloween candy in their bundts!

I must admit though, in all of my excitement at getting to host this month I ended up scrambling to make my bundt. Thankfully our leader Stacy of Food Lust People Love sent me a friendly reminder. If you’ve been following me on Instagram you may have noticed that I am in the market for a planner. If I had a super fun beautiful planner I wouldn’t have gotten my weeks messed up and this bundt would’ve been made in a less stressful environment. When it comes to #BundtBakers I’ve usually completed my cake and blog post by the first of the month!

But it all worked out in the end. My mother-in-law was visiting over the long weekend and although we had to lose some sewing time I got to bake with her! I did use a boxed cake mix as I was in a rush and because it was due to expire next week! I haven’t used a box mix in quite some time, hence it was about to expire. I needed to adjust the cooking time to accommodate for the deeper baking vessel. Feel free to use your favorite chocolate cake recipe if you so desire, but a little “semi-homemade” action isn’t a bad thing. It’s the apple crumble and the homemade caramel that set this cake apart.

Chocolate Caramel Apple Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 box chocolate cake mix and ingredients required (or use your favorite chocolate cake recipe)
• 1 1/2 C brown sugar, divided use
• 1/2 C heavy cream
• 10 tbsp butter, divided use
• pinch of salt
• scant 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 C flour
• 1/2 C old-fashioned oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 C finely diced green apple

Steps:

1. Prepare boxed cake mix to instructions. Pour batter into a well greased bundt pan and bake until a knife inserted comes out cleanly. Allow to cool. (I baked mine at 325 degrees F for 40 minutes.)
2. Make caramel: In a saucepan over medium-low heat, combine 1 C brown sugar, heavy cream, 4 tbsp butter, and salt. Once butter melts cook stirring constantly for 8 minutes until thick. Add vanilla and cook another 2 minutes. Allow to cool.
3. Make crumble: In a large bowl whisk together 1/2 C brown sugar, flour, oats, and cinnamon. Cut 6 tbsp butter into cubes and fork into oat mixture until a crumble consistency is achieved. Pat the diced apple dry with a paper towel before adding to the crumble.
4. When cake is cooled remove from bundt pan and cut a well in the top. Fill well with crumble and top with 1/2 C of the prepared caramel.

*This cake was inspired by Averie at http://www.averiecooks.com/2014/10/caramel-apple-cheesecake-crumble-bars.html *

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. All recipes and photographs can be found on our individual blogs, on our Pinterest board, and the #bundtbakers homepage.

And don’t forget to take a peek at what other talented bakers have baked this month:

Apple Butter Bundt Cake with Cider Caramel Glaze by Cassie of Cassie’s Kitchen

Apple Pecan Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze by Aisha of La Cocina de Aisha

Brown Butter Praline Bundt Cake with Salted Caramel Drizzle by Tux of Brooklyn Homemaker

Caramel Apple Bundt Cake by Kaylin of Keep it Simple, Sweetie

Caramel Banana Bundt Cake by Kathya of Basic N Delicious

Caramel Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Icing by Rebekah of Making Miracles

Caramel Chocolate Bundt Cake by Natalia of Principiando en la Cocina

Caramel/Chocolate La Belle Helene by Jelena of A Kingdom for a Cake

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake with Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce by Laura of Baking in Pyjamas

Cornmeal Bundt Cake with Caramel Popcorn by Patricia of Patty’s Cake

English Toffee Bundt with Drunken Dulce Drizzle by Stacy of Food Lust People Love

Fall Classic Caramel Bundt Cake by Maleka of La Luna en Dulce

Fair Toffee Apple Bundt by Jane of Jane’s Adventures in Dinner

Milky Way Bundt Cake by Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm

Salted Caramelized White Chocolate Glazed Butterscotch Pecan Bundt Cake by Laura of The Spiced Life

Snickers Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze by Bea and Mara of I Love Bundt Cakes

Spiced Apple Bundt Cake with a Caramel Brickle Drizzle by Teri of The Freshman Cook

Spiced Caramel and Pear Bundt Cake by Rocío of Kids&Chic

Three Flavor Zebra Bundt Cake – Vanilla, Caramel and Chocolate by Caro of En la Cocina de Caro