Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Best-Ever Apple Cake

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I love fall and all of the wonderful flavors and smells that go with the foods associated with it.  Hard to believe then that I spend my life living in SWFL right?  We do have fall here but it is very subtle.  Not the glaring colors of leaves changing, more like our grass just going brown…but fall is fall and changing temperatures, shorter days and lower humidity are all good things in my book!
When I got this months Southern Living magazine on of the first things that caught my eye as I quickly scanned through was “Our Best-Ever Apple Cake”  and I knew as soon as I saw the recipe for Browned Butter Frosting that I was going to have to make it my own…
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Our Best-Ever Apple Cake (Southern Living October 2010)

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2  cups  chopped pecans
  • 1/2  cup  butter, melted
  • 2  cups  sugar
  • 2  large eggs
  • 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
  • 2  cups  all-purpose flour
  • 2  teaspoons  ground cinnamon
  • 1  teaspoon  baking soda
  • 1  teaspoon  salt
  • 2 1/2  pounds  Granny Smith apples (about 4 large), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.
2. Stir together butter and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl until blended.
3. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; add to butter mixture, stirring until blended. Stir in apples and 1 cup pecans. (Batter will be very thick, similar to a cookie dough.) Spread batter into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch pan.
4. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack (about 45 minutes). Spread your choice of frosting over top of cake; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup pecans.
Browned-Butter Frosting

Ingredients:

  • 1  cup  butter
  • 1  (16-oz.) package powdered sugar
  • 1/4  cup  milk
  • 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Cook butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, 6 to 8 minutes or until butter begins to turn golden brown. Remove pan from heat immediately, and pour butter into a small bowl. Cover and chill 1 hour or until butter is cool and begins to solidify.
2. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add powdered sugar alternately with milk, beginning and ending with powdered sugar. Beat mixture at low speed until well blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
***This cake is delicious.  Tony said it was one of the best.  I think he just loved the frosting and I could have put it on anything and he would have been in love.  The one thing about this cake is that they recommend 2 other frostings to go with it.  You can take you pick but I highly recommend the Browned-Butter Frosting…

  • Dark Chocolate Frosting,
  • Cream Cheese Frosting signature
  • 5 comments:

    Jersey Girl Cooks said...

    Yum. Nice cake for fall baking. You can'r beat the smell of apples baking in the house.

    Megan said...

    This looks excellent!

    Elle said...

    Love apple cake! Add browned butter frosting, and it's over the top fabulous!

    Oh, and also love your new blog look!

    Denise Michaels - Adventurous Foodie said...

    That's it! I have an apple cake recipe I've been pining over all week. I'm going to make it this weekend. It's chock full of apples, walnuts and the fall spices we love. It's more like the density of a Christmas fruitcake but without those gross colored "fruit" pieces and real fruit instead.

    My apple cake recipe is topped with a caramel rum sauce and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. It's time.

    Linda from GA said...

    We just got home from a halloween party and someone made this cake. I believe it is the BEST cake I have ever eaten. I had to come home and look it up on the web. She used walnuts instead of pecans. It will definitely make one for Thanksgiving. And maybe Christmas.