Saturday, September 27, 2014

Cooking Cove: Fresh Spiced Apple Cake


Fall has not quite arrived until an apple cake has baked in my oven. After using various spiced apple cake recipes over the years, this is the one Adam and I agreed would be the keeper. It is moist and dense with the perfect amount of sweetness. There is an indulgent Browned Butter Frosting that accompanies this, however, my husband is a purest and prefers it naked.


If the frosting gets applied, I recommend using Granny Smith apples for balance the sweetness. If going without frosting either Fuji or Granny Smith work well in this cake.



Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1/2 cup melted butter
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 large Granny Smith or Fuji apples (peeled, sliced thin)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Toast pecans 5-7 minutes. Cool.



Stir butter plus next three ingredients in large bowl.


Combine flour and next three ingredients in small bowl.


Add flour mixture to butter mixture and stir.


Fold in apples and pecans. The batter will be thick like brownie batter.


Spread into greased 9 x 13 dish. I like to use real butter to grease, yummy.


Browned Butter Frosting (which is amazing by the way):
1 cup of butter
16 oz powdered sugar
1/4 cup of milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cook butter over medium heat (6-8 minutes) until golden. Cover and chill until solid. Beat butter until fluffy. Slowly add sugar and milk. Stir in vanilla.


Hope you try out this yummy autumnal treat. I took it in to the school and my co-workers enjoyed it too. I think the next thing on the baking line up is apple pie. Do you have any must-have fall baking goodies?


9 comments:

  1. Ooh this looks so yummy!! And simple!! I'm not a fan of complex recipes, I like to keep it simple. This is so very tempting too but I don't think I can make it right now -- I'm trying to diet with Craig. But man it looks so good! I'm saving this recipe & hope to try it someday! Thanks for sharing! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really love this recipe. I am excited for you and your hubs embarking on a healthier lifestyle!!! It pays off in dividends, but the first step for me is the hardest. Proud of you!!!

      Delete
  2. Nom! Yesterday someone from America's Test Kitchen was talking about skillet apple crisp on the radio. Peeling the apples takes some time but apple desserts with vanilla ice cream are the best. I usually need seconds to get the right ratio of ice cream to dessert....that's important.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mmmmm skillet desserts intrigue me. I agree Jean, ice cream makes any dessert that much better. A yummy vanilla bean or cinnamon or caramel ice cream would go nicely with this. Hope you are having a good day!

      Delete
  3. Wait, wait, wait..............NO FROSTING???? WHAT?! Who are you, Adam!? :P Kidding!

    This looks freaking spectacular. Oh boy! I cannot wait to make this! It looks amazing! Granny Smiths for the win!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know!!!!! I love it with frosting but I really make this for him. He also likes his blueberry muffins plain (with out crumbles or glaze) and apple crisp without ice cream on top. I think next time I will frost half of it. Nice compromise? It really is good without it though.

      Delete
  4. Oh yum!!! I am so going to try this recipe, Julie. I think I'd prefer it naked also. This way it is more likev a banana nut muffin/cake, which I love. Is the cinnamon strong in it? I might cut that down to just 1 tsp.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Morning Birthday girl! I hope it is a great one for you. <3 I like extra spice so it is hard for me to judge. You would be safe cutting it down. And you are absolutely right. It does taste like a very moist banana nut bread in texture. Mmmmm!!!

      Delete
    2. you are so sweet... thank you Julie! <3

      Delete