Apple Spice Cake

To continue the fall themed desserts from the freshly picked apples, I made an Apple Spice Cake with a caramel glaze. I found this recipe from Bon Appetit which is one of my favorite cooking magazines!

Cake

3 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1 3/4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, coarsely grated (about 3 apples)

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Glaze

1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and make sure the rack is in the center of the oven. Butter the bundt pan in every nook and cranny to make sure the cake will not stick once flipped. Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and allspice into a bowl. Peel the apples and remove the cores. Using a cheese grater, grate the apples into a strainer over a bowl. Using your hands, squeeze the juice out of the grated apples. Save the liquid to make apple juice for later. You should have 2 cups of drained, grated apples. 

With an electric mixer, cream the butter, both sugars, and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs, one egg at a time, and then add the vanilla and lemon juice. On a low speed, beat in the flour mixture. Fold in the grated apple into the mixture until well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for about 1 hour, but start checking about 5 to 10 minutes beforehand. Test with a toothpick to make sure it is done and comes out clean. Cool in pan for 20 minutes. 

While the cake is cooling, make the caramel glaze. Stir all of the ingredients over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves and it comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. 

Flip the cake onto a wired rack and poke with a skewer. This allows the glaze to soak into the cake. Place the wired rack over a rimed backing sheet with parchment paper. This catches the liquid so you can pour it back onto the cake. Let the glaze absorb into the cake before adding more. Cool for 30 minutes before serving. 

The spices and lemon in this cake help balance the sweetness from the caramel glaze. Even though the liquid is squeezed out of the apples, the caramel glaze keeps the cake from being too dry. Happy fall!