A Southern Grace: sloth love chunk

March 19, 2014

sloth love chunk

Yum

I think I've tried every recipe for apple cake known to man, and here's the thing: They're all good. Bringing together moist, tart apples and crunchy nuts and surrounding them with cinnamon-scented cake batter simply can't ever be a bad thing.


Like most other apple cakes, the most time-consuming part of the process is preparing the apples. The recipe makes use of only two bowls and there's no mixer required, which is good news for those of us who hate washing dishes. The resulting cake is so tender and so aromatic that you'll want to make it again and again.


What sets this particular apple cake recipe apart from the others I've tried is the amazing glaze. It's basically a caramel sauce that comes from adding sugar and cream to apple cider and reducing it to its most sticky, most delicious form. Even Bella was enticed, and she usually could care less about my cooking feats.

Chunk Cake
Makes a large bundt cake, serves 10-12
Ingredients:
Cake:
  • 1-1/2 cups vegetable oil
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1-1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
  • 3-1/4 cups tart apples, peeled, cored, cut into chunks
  • 3 tablespoons Applejack (or apple cider)
Glaze:
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup apple cider
  • 3 tablespoons heavy cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
In a large bowl, beat vegetable oil and sugar until thick and opaque. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add to oil and egg mixture and mix until well blended.
Stir apples, walnuts, and Applejack into batter along with until pieces are evenly distributed.
Pour batter into greased and floured bundt pan. Bake 80-90 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.
Let cake rest in pan 10 minutes, then unmold and pour glaze over warm cake.
To make the glaze, melt butter in small saucepan and stir in both sugars.
Add remaining ingredients, stir, and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat slightly and cook until thick enough to use as a glaze, about 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and cool slightly. Pour over cake while still warm.

27 comments:

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Heavenly! Your kitty is very cute.

Cheers,

Rosa

Gloria Baker said...

yay!! this look amazing and tempting Grace!!
ANd your cat is cute!!

José Manuel said...

Que pintaza tiene.

Saludos

Alicia Foodycat said...

Gorgeous cat! The cake looks good but that glaze... I'll have a bowl of that and a spoon, thanks!

~~louise~~ said...

Oh my heavens, Grace, Chunky Apple Walnut Cake! I'm in heaven! I Love the notion of Applejack and no mixer!

It looks heavenly Grace. I would love a piece with my afternoon tea:)

Thank you so much for sharing, Grace... Soooooo....pinning!

Juliana said...

Oh Grace...Bella is so cute...
Can you believe that I never baked an apple cake...after reading your post, I know what IO have been missing...the cake looks delicious!
Hope you are having a great week :D

Marjie said...

I love your guard cat! I've been doing apple cakes lately, although they have been yeast raised coffee cakes. You're right; chunks of apple and tons of cinnamon are perfect together.

vanillasugarblog said...

your tater tot kitty looks just like mine!!

Acf57 said...

Love the Goonies reference and the cake!

Rosita Vargas said...

Se ve muy delicioso es irresistible....lindo su gato me encantan soy gatera,abrazos.

Choc Chip Uru @ Go Bake Yourself said...

Awww adorable little kitty :D
And I love your chunky delicious cake!

Cheers
Choc Chip Uru

Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic said...

You had me at two bowls, no mixer. Actually I lied, you had me at cake.

Jenn said...

Delicious!! I'd need to make 2 -- one for me and one for everyone else.
I smell ice cream.

Angie's Recipes said...

So very moist and wonderful! Can't believe it's so easy to make.

lisa is cooking said...

I think I need to spend more time trying apple cakes. Starting with this one! That glaze sounds lovely.

Pam said...

To be honest, I've never been a fan of apple baked goods, but I have to say, this one could change my mind. It looks moist, flavorful, and delicious.

Beth said...

I can't believe how great this looks! A true winner.

Jackie@SyrupAandBiscuits said...

Beautiful cake. Gorgeous kitty! This cake reminds me a lot of an Apple Dapple cake. I completely agree with the notion that only good can come from apples, nuts, spices and caramels.

pam said...

that looks amazing!

Barbara said...

Love your kitty! She posed nicely. :)
Crazy about that glaze....over ice cream maybe?

sprinklesandsauce said...

great looking cake!

I Wilkerson said...

Mmmm! And I can just imagine how nice a gooey, caramel-y glaze would be!

Joanne said...

I'm feeling a strong compulsion to just drink that glaze!!

Caroline Taylor said...

Love the sound of this as I can't get enough of apple cakes.

Katerina said...

Well, I am a sucker for apple cakes and this is another one in my to do list!

Cris @ Home made easy cakes said...

This looks very tasty.

Your cat is very cute :)
Keep up the good work
Cris

Big Rigs 'n Lil' Cookies said...

Sounds amazing. Super cute kitty too :)