Apple Pecan Cake with Caramel Glaze

After the sucess of my pumpkin cake last week, my students requested (demanded) that I make another cake this week. I had found this recipe for an apple pecan cake on Pinterest and thought it would be a nice fall recipe to try. This cake proved to be an extremely easy cake to prepare (though I'm not quite sure why it calls for quite so much vanilla extract!) The original recipe called for an 9"x13" pan, but I simply halved it and prepared it in an 8" round pan. (The original posting said that the secret to this cake was a thin, flat surface that would allow the glaze to seep in.)

The original recipe also stated that this cake would bake in 30-35 minutes; however, mine required at least 40 minutes (though my oven temperature might have been lower than the required 325°F since my toaster oven doesn't have clear settings.) After letting the cake cool, I prepared the glaze without any difficulties (though my glaze is far darker than that in the original recipe - I believe this is because I used a very dark brown sugar.) Before pouring the thin glaze atop the cake, I pierced the top of my cake with a fork (like you would for a tres leches cake to help the cake absorb more of the glaze.) I also discovered that the glaze is extremely messy when first poured over the cake. When I transferred the glaze, about half of the glaze ran off onto my cake platter. I had to transfer the cake to another plate and and re-pour the glaze collected at the bottom of the original platter. If I were making this recipe again, I believe I would allow the glaze to cool and solidify more (maybe 10-15 minutes) before coating the cake.



Apple Pecan Cake
(yields one 8"-9" round cake layer)

¾ c. vegetable oil
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1½ T. vanilla extract
1½ c. flour
½ t. salt
½ t. baking soda
½ t. nutmeg
½ t. cinnamon
½ c. pecans, chopped
1½ c. apples, diced

For the glaze:
¼ c. butter
½ c. brown sugar
½ t. vanilla
¼ c. milk

Preheat oven to 325°F (162°C). Mix vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until well blended. Sifted together the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Add to the liquid mixture. Stir until just combined. Fold in apple chunks and pecans. Pour into a prepared 8"-9" round cake pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes (or until a knife comes out clean.) Turn onto a wire rack and allow to cool complete. For the glaze, combine all ingredients in a saucepan and mix over medium heat until the mixture comes to a rolling boil. Pour the mixture atop the cake while the glaze is still hot. Allow to cool again before serving.