Fresh Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

(recipe adapted from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott)

 Makes one 13x9inch sheet cake or two 8-9inch round cakes

(Note: 1/3 of a recipe makes one 8.5”x 4.5” loaf pan)

Fresh Apple Cake

3 cups all purpose flour (can substitute 3/4 cup with whole wheat flour)

2 cups sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3 eggs

1½ cups vegetable oil (or 1 cup oil plus 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce)

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups finely chopped apples

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts

Brown Sugar Glaze

1 cup tightly packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp evaporated milk, half-and-half or cream

Method – Fresh Apple Cake

-Heat the oven to 350F. Grease a 13 by 9 inch pan or two 8-9 inch cake pans.

-In a medium bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir with a fork to mix everything together well.

-In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a wooden spoon or a mixer at low speed until pale yellow and foamy. Add the oil and vanilla and beat well. Stir in the flour mixture with a wooden spoon and continue stirring the batter just until the flour disappears. Add the apples and nuts, stir to mix them into the batter until fairly uniform. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans.

-Bake for 45-50 minutes (start checking at 25 minutes if making a 1/3 recipe loaf) or until the cake is golden brown, springs back when touched lightly near the centre and is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Place the cake (still in the pans) on a wire rack and spoon over the glaze while still hot.

Method - Brown Sugar Glaze

-Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Then cook for 3-5 minutes.

To Finish

-Spoon the hot glaze all over the hot-from-the-oven cake. Let the glazed cake cool completely before serving straight from the pan.