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To celebrate the first day of Autumn, I decided to make something special ~ CAKE! I’d made this recipe only once before and actually forgot how crazy good it is. With apples in season, I had lots of great varieties to choose from, and I mixed things up a little, using Granny Smith and Gala. The ingredient list and process may seem a little daunting….but, really it’s not a hard recipe. Just gather everything together and get started. Once you pour on that yummy praline frosting and scatter it on the pecans, just grab a cup of coffee, sit back and give a toast to fall!
The ingredient list and process may seem a little daunting….but, really it’s not a hard recipe. Just gather everything together and get started. Once you pour on that yummy praline frosting and scatter on the pecans, just grab a cup of coffee, sit back and give a toast to fall!
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Filling
- 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese , softened
- ¼ cup butter , softened
- ½ 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
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 3 large eggs , lightly beaten
- ¾ cup canola oil
- ¾ cup applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups peeled and finely chopped Gala apples (about 1 ½ lb)
Praline Frosting
- ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup butter
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
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.
Prepare Batter
- Preheat oven to 350º.
- Bake pecans in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.
- 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.
- Spoon two-thirds of apple mixture into a greased and floured 14-cup Bundt pan.
- 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.
- 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).
Prepare Frosting
- Bring ½ cup brown sugar, ¼ 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. Sprinkle on remaining pecans.
Nutrition
Calories: 986kcal · Carbohydrates: 142g · Protein: 10g · Fat: 45g · Saturated Fat: 11g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g · Monounsaturated Fat: 22g · Trans Fat: 1g · Cholesterol: 113mg · Sodium: 567mg · Potassium: 275mg · Fiber: 4g · Sugar: 100g · Vitamin A: 525IU · Vitamin C: 3mg · Calcium: 84mg · Iron: 3mg
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Looks wonderful. Do leftovers need to be refrigerated?
Hey Dee. I don’t think it’s necessary to refrigerate the leftovers but you can if you feel like it. I hope you enjoy the cake!
Have a great day,
~Donya