Fall in the Form of a Bundt Cake…

Happy Hump Day everybody! I don’t know about you, but I am ready for the weekend already…only two more days…Anyway, I’ve got another dose of fall for you! Yay fall. This weekend, my friends Mike and Katie were visiting from out of town (more on their visit later!) so of course, I wanted to make some sort of baked good for their arrival because baking for company is pretty much my favorite thing ever. I saw this recipe on the cover of Southern Living last month (yes, I still get Southern Living even though I live in Colorado, and I’ll probably keep my subscription not matter where we live because I love that magazine/the South is awesome) and I had been dying to try it, so I thought that their visit was the perfect opportunity.
This Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake is basically fall in baked good form. It’s got apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, toasted pecans, and it’s just overall deliciousness. It’s so good that I even broke my cardinal rule about no nuts in baked goods, and the pecans do add a nice crunch. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to take photos as I was making the cake due to the fact that I had company coming the next day, my apartment was a mess, and I was trying to do a million things at once. However, I did get some photos of the finished product to give you an idea of how mine came out, and I went back through the original recipe and added my notes/recommendations in red italics for ya. You’re welcome. Now just a fair warning, this cake takes some time; you’ve got to cut up all the apples (which is Cam’s job in our house since I’m terrible with knives and so when I’m cooking/baking, he’ll often ask if he can cut anything up for me…I tell myself that he’s trying to be nice but really I think he’s just afraid I’ll literally sever off one of my fingers), you’ve got to make the filling, wait for the cake to bake, wait for it to cool, and then make the frosting. But overall, I’d say the effort is totally worth it because in the end because you’ll end up with this yummy little slice of autumn on a plate:

Here are the ingredients you’ll need, broken down by component:

CREAM CHEESE FILLING:

  • 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
APPLE CAKE BATTER:
  • 1 cup finely chopped pecans
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 3/4 cup canola oil
  • 3/4 cup applesauce
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups peeled and finely chopped Gala apples (about 1 1/2 lb.)
PRALINE FROSTING:
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
Here’s what you’ll need to do:

1. Prepare Filling: Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended and smooth. Add egg, flour, and vanilla; beat just until blended.

2. Prepare Batter: Preheat oven to 350º. Bake pecans in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. (Warning: DO NOT overtoast the pecans…I baked mine for 8 mins and they ended up getting totally burnt so I had to throw them away and start over…I’d keep a really close eye on them after 4 mins, as you’ll probably only need to cook them for like 6 mins max) Stir together 3 cups flour and next 7 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in eggs and next 3 ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in apples and pecans.

3. Spoon two-thirds of apple mixture into a greased and floured 14-cup Bundt pan. (I personally love Pam for Baking, just spray some in your pan, and boom, you’re good to go and nothing ever sticks!) Spoon Cream Cheese Filling over apple mixture, leaving a 1-inch border around edges of pan. Swirl filling through apple mixture using a paring knife. Spoon remaining apple mixture over Cream Cheese Filling.

4. Bake at 350º for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 2 hours). (Might I starting to bake the cake earlier than 9pm on a weeknight when you have to work the next day? Just a thought…)

5. Prepare Frosting: Bring 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and 3 Tbsp. milk to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly; boil 1 minute, whisking constantly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar until smooth; stir gently 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture begins to cool and thickens slightly. Pour immediately over cooled cake. (I would definitely wait a little longer than I did to let the frosting cool so it’s nice and thick when you pour it on…I poured mine on a little sooner than I should have which is why my frosting was a little thinner than the picture in the original recipe…that’s why my frosting kind of pooled up in the middle of the cake…oh well…)

*Recipe Credit: Robert Kindred, Seagoville, Texas,
SEPTEMBER 2011

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