A few weeks ago I mentioned this apple cake recipe and wanted to make sure I got it out to you all. You need a serious sweet tooth for this one! Its delicious and best served warm with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream. Its very similar to one of those poke-cake recipes, which intrigued me. I swear I've pinned 500 of those poke-cake recipes but made 0 of them. They always look good and the concept sounds amazing, no idea why I haven't followed through. Probably because my baking is more often than not spontaneous and requires whatever I have on hand. Luckily I've had apples coming out my ears and I over purchased jars of caramel a few months back...so I was ready to go when I found this recipe.
Currently my son Maks is my #1 fan when it comes to my baking. He sits at the counter and eats whatever I've made and says "Mommy, you're the best cook ever." Seriously?? Does it get any better than that? He's only 5. Hopefully he'll still feel that way when he's 50. He loved this cake! The kids even helped bake this one, its very family friendly. Give it a try while apples are still in season, hopefully you'll like it as much as Maks! :)
Caramel Apple Cake
Recipe Type: Dessert
Author: Adapted from Lady and Sons Cookbook
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
2 1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. vegetable oil
3 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp vanilla
1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans
2 1/2 c. diced apples
1 jar caramel sundae topping
Instructions
Preheat oven 350 degrees.
Cream together sugar, eggs, and oil. Add flour; mix together until well blended.
Add vanilla, nuts, and diced apples.
Spread into a lightly greased and floured 13 x 9-inch baking dish; bake for 45 to 60 minutes.
Cake is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
When cake is done, punch holes in it with a knife and pour caramel topping over it.
Let stand for 10 minutes and serve warm with ice cream.
This past fall I had an abundance of apples to cook with. My mother-in-law has an apple tree that was on overload for some reason. She would go and pick the apples and then bring me a GIANT bucket to cook with. I think I tried every single apple recipe on the planet! I made applesauce, apple butter, apple pie, apple tarts, and this amazing apple cake- all in a 4 week time period. Looking back it seems like I was on a mission to make apples as unhealthy as possible. Even though this cake won't make it on any "diet" menus- it was my absolute favorite from the apple cooking bonanza.
This recipe came from the Taste of Home website. You can link to it here. My Mom had given me a magazine subscription from Taste of Home a while back and I loved it. I always find their recipes to be "normal", in a good way. Simple, down to earth, my-kids-will-actually-eat-this recipes. I would make this cake for any party, a birthday, or just because you have a ton of apples! Its very dense and very rich with a layer of cheesecake ribboned throughout and a brown sugar/praline frosting. Mmmmm.... I might need to go make this again.
~Wendy
Apple Cake
Author: Wendy
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
Cake
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar, divided
4 eggs
1 c. canola oil
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 c. chopped peeled tart apples
1 c. shredded carrots
1/2 c. chopped pecans (or walnuts)
Praline Icing
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. butter, cubed
2 Tbsp 2% milk
1/2 c. confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c. chopped pecans, toasted
Instructions
In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in 1 egg; set aside.
In a large bowl, beat oil with remaining sugar and eggs until well blended. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda; gradually beat into oil mixture until blended. Stir in the apples, carrots and pecans.
Transfer half of the apple batter to a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan; layer with cream cheese mixture and remaining apple batter.
Bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
In a large saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter and milk to a boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Remove from the heat; whisk in confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle over cake. Sprinkle with pecans.
Notes
If you don't have a bundt pan you can make this in an angel-food cake pan. Just be sure the sides are tight and won't leak. The first time I made this I used an angel-food cake pan and lined it with greased foil to be sure it wouldn't seep through the sides.
