Food & Swine

Mom’s Fresh Apple Cake

Fresh Apple Cake
Fresh Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce is the most delicious cake I’ve ever eaten. In fact, this may be my MOST favorite recipe to date.  I promise. Growing up, each fall when apples were bountiful on the apple trees in our front yard, this cake made a regular appearance on the dinner table. Maybe that’s why I love fall so much.  This is also one of the easiest dessert recipes ever.  Ever.  If you’ve met my Mom, having this cake will bring the comfort of her, right to you.  I hope you can pass this recipe down through the generations of budding bakers in your home.  I certainly will.

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Fresh Apple Cake serves two roles in my house.  When baked in the afternoon, it plays “dessert” (think cinnamon ice cream) and then the leftovers are served for breakfast the next day.  With or without the Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce, I still think this is my all time favorite cake.  I love the warm spice of cinnamon, incredibly moist cake, chunks of tender apples (nope, they don’t even get mushy during baking) and the sweet sauce spooned over the top.  Slam Dunk. Home Run. Hit for the Cycle. Perfect Game. Triple Double.  I don’t care what you want to call it… this cake is IT.

GrandmaHalle1

Thanks for letting me share your recipe, Mom.
PS: I should have served this cake at my wedding!

As usual, a few photos and the complete recipe to follow.

Here’s what the batter and apples will look like.  The batter is quite thick, fyi. Also, did I mention that I got my apple peeler out yesterday and was so ticked when I couldn’t get IT to work?  Well, turns out I’m the smart one… I was using it backwards.  (Seriously, after all of the years using a peeler?  Yes.  What on Earth?)

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Pretty little Honeycrisp apples played the starring role.

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Hello caramel sauce.

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I hope you have the best weekend… and if you bake this cake, let me know!  I love to hear from you all when you’ve tried a recipe. It really makes my day, more than you know!

I swear.  This is the easiest recipe.  It merely looks long because I like to interject all kinds of commentary, just to make sure you know the reasoning behind some of my directions.

Fresh Apple Cake with Easy Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce

Makes one 9"x13" cake
Author: Cristen

Ingredients

Fresh Apple Cake:

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 C vegetable oil
  • 2 C sugar regular ol' white sugar
  • 2 C all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
  • 4 C raw apples chopped into 1/2 inch pieces (about 5 medium sized apples)

Easy Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce:

  • Ingredients:
  • 1 C brown sugar
  • 1 TBSP cornstarch
  • 3/4 C cold water
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
  • 4 TBSP butter

Instructions

Apple Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large bowl combine eggs and oil and whisk for 2 minutes, or until foamy and pale.  Gradually add sugar, while whisking.  Add flour, cinnamon, soda and salt (yes just throw it on top of the mixture of oil/egg/sugar.  You probably think I should be telling you to 'sift ingredients', blah.  Don't waste your time.)  Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients only until combined.  Don't overmix.  Add chopped apples.  Fold in gently.  Pour batter into a greased 9x13 inch glass baking dish. Spread evenly.  Bake for 50-55 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F oven.  Remove from oven, let cool a bit.  Serve warm with Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce. (recipe below.)
  • *I like larger pieces of apples in my cake and sometimes make 3/4" pieces.  Try 1/2" pieces if you are unsure.
  • *Try to use a flavorful baking apple, tart in flavor works well.  About the only apple that won't work is "Red Delicious" and any apple that is mushy.)

Caramel Sauce:

  • In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar and cornstarch until well blended. (This will prevent the cornstarch from clumping.)  Add water and whisk well.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Boil for 6 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add vanilla and butter.  Mix well until combined.  Set aside to cool to warm.  (The sauce will thicken as it stands.  When it is hot, it will look thinner than it will turn out.  Don't worry!)  You can pour this on the cake, or serve it on the side.
  • *If you make the cake with Honeycrisp apples, you could add 1 TBSP of honey to this sauce to play off of the honey flavored apples in the cake.

 

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5 Comments

  • Reply prettypolymath November 8, 2014 at 6:53 pm

    this looks so easy and quick to make- drooling over that caramel sauce right now! yum :-)

  • Reply Beth Ann November 9, 2014 at 1:27 am

    Yum. I want to make some right now but I don’t have any honey crisp apples and I bet they would be perfect for this!!! Definitely going to be making this one. Thanks, Mom!!! :-0

  • Reply sandyrmiller November 10, 2014 at 2:40 am

    Just served the apple cake to guests tonight and we all loved it. The Carmel sauce is so good too. Can you freeze the cake or keep several days in the ref.?

  • Reply Jan December 22, 2014 at 1:12 am

    I don’t know what I am more excited about. The cake or the caramel sauce! Can’t wait to try this one out! Thank you so much for sharing this deliciousness with us over at Country Fair Blog Party! I do hope you’ll come back and link up with us again at the first of January!
    See you there!
    Jan

  • Reply akansasfarmmom December 22, 2014 at 3:15 am

    Like everything on your site that cake looks so good! Thanks for linking up the Country Fair Blog Party!

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