Fall for Apples! Try Martie's Caramel Apple Cake

My Mom was a wonderful pie baker but rarely made cakes... she had a fantastic pound cake and she occasionally made this Apple Dapple cake... a favorite of ours for an after school treat. All week, I've been working on recipes with apples and so I dug out her old recipe (I could not believe there actually WAS a recipe) and made it better by adding delicious hot caramel. The result was this Caramel Apple Cake which is one of the best cakes I've ever made/and or tasted. Try it for your family this weekend... it's got a great fresh apple flavor and a sweet caramel apple crust. Soooo yummy!

MARTIE'S CARAMEL APPLE CAKE (Apple Dapple Cake w/ Hot Caramel topping)  

Make in a tube pan. Bakes @ 350 for 1 hour. Topping takes about 15 minutes.

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (like Wesson)

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped fine

3 apples, peeled and chopped fine

Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. Add apples and pecans. Stir to coat. Mix together oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add to the fruit mixture. Spray a tube pan with Baker's Joy or grease and flour it. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Remove from the oven and sit on a wire rack to cool. While the cake is still hot, pour over the caramel sauce and then let it cool completely before removing from the pan.

HOT CARAMEL SAUCE(optional)

1 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup whole milk

3/4 cup butter ( 1 1/2 sticks)

Put all three ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly so it does not burn. Pour the hot caramel directly over the hot cake while it is still in the pan. Be careful! Hot sugar will burn you!!

NOTE: It is important to pour the caramel over the cake in the pan because it creates this great coating on the bottom, side and top of the cake.

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MORE APPLE RECIPES FROM MARTIE KNOWS PARTIES:

Rustic Apple Crostini

Grilled Apple & Crispy Cayenne Maple Bacon Panini

Apple, Arugula, and Almond Salad

Caramel Apple Martini

Fall Favorites: Grilled Apple and Crispy Cayenne Maple Bacon Panini

What is better in the fall than fresh, crisp apples? After one trip to the u-pick-it orchard or to the farmer's market and I'm looking for new ideas for all of those apples. One of my favorite combos is semi-tart apple with bacon with a little cheese...  so why not make that a sandwich? I like wheat for this sandwich. No matter what bread you use, this sandwich tastes like fall.

GRILLED APPLE, CRISPY CAYENNE MAPLE BACON & PROVELONE PANINI

Makes 4 sandwiches

8 slices hearty wheat style bread

2 semi-tart apples, peeled and sliced into discs

1 tablespoon butter plus more to spread on the bread to grill

8 slices thick cut bacon

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

2 tablespoons maple syrup

4 slices Provelone cheese

1 tablespoon apple butter

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon thyme plus a pinch for the apples

Pinch of pepper

Pre-heat a grill pan or griddle and butter the pan. Preheat oven to 400. Place a baking rack on a sheet pan and line the bacon on the rack. Sprinkle a pinch of cayenne pepper on each slice. Roast for 12 minutes. Remove and brush with the maple syrup. Continue to roast for approximately 5 more minutes or until crispy. The exact amount of time depends on the thickness of the bacon and the maple will burn so watch it carefully. Drain when done. While the bacon is cooking, season apples with a pinch of thyme and pepper. Grill apples in the butter until they are barely softened but don't let them get too soft. Remove from heat.

Make a spread by mixing the mayo, thyme, and apple butter together. Put a thin layer of the spread on both sides of the bread. Build the sandwich by layering the apple, bacon, and cheese. Spread the bread with a little butter and grill until cheese is melted.

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