Old-Fashioned Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting

Recipe Author: Conne Ward Cameron

It’s the first day of fall and that calls for an apple cake at my house. How about yours? This one’s from King Arthur flour. Use all-purpose or whole wheat. Your choice. Love a cake recipe that doesn’t require a mixer. Just be sure your butter is nice and soft before mixing up this cake.

Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups flour 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar 2 teaspoons baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 2 large eggs 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened 4 cups peeled, cored, chopped apple, about 1 1/3 pounds whole apples 1 cup diced toasted walnuts or pecans Frosting 7 tablespoons unsalted butter 2/3 cup brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup milk 2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/4 teaspoon vanilla-butternut flavor

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9″ x 13″ pan.

To make the cake: Mix all of the ingredients except the apples and nuts in a large bowl. Beat until well combined; the mixture will be very stiff, and may even be crumbly. Add the apples and nuts, and mix until the apples release some of their juice and the stiff mixture becomes a thick batter, somewhere between cookie dough and brownie batter in consistency. Spread the batter in the prepared pan, smoothing it with your wet fingers.

Bake the cake for 45 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few wet crumbs clinging to it. Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a rack to cool completely; don’t remove the cake from the pan.

To make the frosting: Melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and salt and cook, stirring, until the sugar melts. Add the milk, bring to a boil, and pour into a mixing bowl to cool for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat well; if the mixture appears too thin, add more confectioners’ sugar. Spread on the cake while frosting is still warm.