Caramel Apple Snack Cake

This is one of my favorite cakes for several reasons: 

1) It's easy. Really easy.

2) The recipe is so weird. I like weird.

3) It is actually quite healthy (comparatively, anyway)

4) Most importantly, it's SOOOO delicious!

I could eat this whole cake in one sitting.

Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure I have eaten about half of it in one sitting before.

No judging.

But seriously, this cake is fabulous, and I don't feel at all bad about eating it because it's mostly just apples and whole wheat flour (okay, and a little sugar). It's perfect for autumn, but I'll take it any time of the year!

Start by peeling and chopping two apples into 1/2 inch pieces. I like a slightly tart apple such as Granny Smith or Braeburn, but any variety will do.

To the apples, add one cup of sugar. Then just let that sit for a while and get all juicy and delicious while you mix up the rest of the cake ingredients.

Into another bowl goes one cup of flour. I like to use whole wheat pastry flour, but you can use white flour, or a combination of both. If you're really adventurous, go grind your own flour like my dad does! It's amazing to think how much we take for granted - like how much work goes into grinding the grain for one cup of flour. 

To the flour, add one teaspoon of baking soda...

...one teaspoon of cinnamon...

...and a quarter teaspoon of salt.

Please excuse the blurry picture - photography isn't as easy as it seems!

Mix up your dry ingredients well, and then stir them into the apples. It's going to be very thick and sticky.

Then, whisk an egg, pour it over top, and mix it well. Right now, the batter looks like a lumpy, gluey, unattractive mess. But trust me. It's going to bake up just fine.

Scrape your very strange looking batter into a greased 8"x8" or 7"x9" dish, smoothing out the top so that it's even. This is very important because it will not really spread out when baking.

Pop it into a 375 degree oven and let it bake for 30 minutes or so.

While the cake is baking, let's move on to the real star of this circus - the caramel glaze icing!

Into a saucepan, over medium heat, goes 1/2 stick of butter (1/4 cup).

Let's stop and think about this for a second. This is the ONLY fat in the whole cake. A quarter cup. That's pretty crazy! I mean, I'm not Paula Deen or anything, but I appreciate the role fats - and especially butter - have in baking. Such a small amount is kind of strange.

But it works, fantastically, and I'm not one to complain at a recipe that's a little healthier!

Add a cup of brown sugar. Brown sugar, in case you're interested, gets its distinct color and texture from molasses, which is either left in the sugar (it has not been fully refined), or is added back into refined white sugar. I like brown sugar because it has that slightly richer, nutty taste that comes from the molasses, and because it adds a touch more moisture to baked goods.

Add three tablespoons of flour. This is to help the glaze icing thicken to the perfect consistency.

Next comes a half teaspoon of salt, to add depth of flavor...

...and finally, a cup of water. Whisk all the ingredients until they are well combined, and continue to stir occasionally as the mixture heats. Cook it until it gets thick and begins to simmer, and then remove it from the heat.

Once you've taken it off the heat, add a teaspoon of that deliciously ubiquitous flavoring, vanilla. Mmmm, vanilla. Did you know that vanilla beans grow on an orchid plant?

I'm just full of interesting facts today.

By this time, your cake should be done. Doesn't it look about a million and three times better now than it did before it was baked?

Now, pour your hot glaze icing all over the cake. It's going to seep down the sides and into all the little pores and turn this cake into something out of this world.

Holy shnikeys!, as my sister would say.

Before you ask, I have absolutely no clue what a shnikey is.

As tempting as it might be to eat this right now, you should really wait until the glaze icing is set. It will firm up at room temperature, but the process is greatly sped up if you refrigerate it for about an hour. 

And that, my friends, is some fiiiine cake. Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Snack Cake

Cake

2 c. chopped apples

1 c. sugar

1 c. white or whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1 egg, beaten

Glaze Icing

1/2 stick (1/4 c.) butter

1 c. brown sugar

3 Tbl. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. water

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Mix chopped apples and sugar together, let stand until juice forms. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix into the apples. Add beaten egg and pour into a greased 8"x8" or 7"x9" baking dish. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

While cake is baking, combine butter, brown sugar, flour, salt, and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until well combined, and continue to stir occasionally as it heats. Continue heating until mixture is thick and beginning to simmer. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Pour hot glaze over cake as soon as it is removed from the oven. Refrigerate for at least an hour to set the icing. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

If you liked this post, you'll also enjoy Bread Pudding with Vanilla Bourbon Sauce