“The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes.” – Frank Lloyd Wright
NOTE: I spend my Wednesdays Unplugged from appointments. It’s my day to stay home, enjoy cooking and welcome our kids and grandkids for dinner in the evening. We end our meal with quotes from the Norwegian ‘Quote Cup’ passed on to me from my grandmother. I share a quote and a recipe here each week, along with an update and photos of what has been going on in our lives. I love trying new recipes…and love getting recipes you would like to share!
Thanksgiving week is the wonderful start of the holiday season. It was fun having both Khalen and Kennedy here with our daughter… and seeing the sweet mini Cooper that just became a part of our son’s family. His family always cuts a Christmas tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving. They got a big one this year!
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
I found this recipe for apple Bundt cake this fall, when we had lots of fresh apples… but I didn’t have time to make it. Last week I was busy cooking for Thanksgiving, but this week I had more baking time… so I made Apple Bundt Cake by Amanda Rettke of iambaker.net. It was our son who really expressed how good it was. He isn’t a cake lover, but he ate a few crusty crumbs of this cake when he first came in this week… and had a full slice of cake after dinner. He was giddy over how good it was… said it was the best cake he had ever eaten!!! It had a complex flavor so I went back to check on the spices… all it had was cinnamon, kosher salt and 2 teaspoons of vanilla! My family said I should double the amount of caramel glaze next time… pour half over the cake and the rest on each piece as it is served. This one is a keeper!
BEST APPLE BUNDT CAKE
CAKE
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (I used extra light olive oil)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3-4 small to medium size apples peeled, cored and diced (scant 4 cups – I used honey crisp)
CARAMEL GLAZE
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 2 teaspoons heavy cream, room temperature
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
CAKE
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly spray a 9-inch Bundt pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl using a hand mixer on medium speed, beat the sugar, oil, vanilla, and eggs until combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients and blend until just combined.
Gently fold in the diced apples by hand until just combined.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan.
Bake for 55-70 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to cool for about 15-20 minutes in the pan ad then invert it onto a wire rack. Thile the cake is cooling, prepare the caramel glaze.
CARAMEL GLAZE
In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the butter, heavy cream and brown sugar to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved.
Remove the pan from heat, and add vanilla. Stir to combine.
Allow the caramel glaze to sit for 5-10 minutes to thicken.
Drizzle over the warm cake and serve.
