Cake Recipes

Secret Ingredient Apple-Spice Cake

This Secret Ingredient Apple-Spice Cake is a symphony of fall flavors: sweet cake, fragrant spices, and brisk, tangy apples. The secret is cherry juice concentrate, which subtly brightens the cake's flavor without competing with the apples.

Secret Ingredient Apple-Spice Cake recipe

Hands-on: 25 to 35 min | Bake: 55 min to 1 hr 15 min | Yield: 16 servings

Ingredients

Cake

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened but not melted
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons King Arthur Cake Enhancer (optional)
  • 2 teaspoons Apple Pie Spice, or a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/4 cup cherry juice concentrate (or substitute applesauce)*
  • 1/4 cup applesauce*
  • 3 cups peeled and cored apples, cut into 1/2" chunks (about 2 large apples)
  • 2 cups chopped walnuts

Glaze

  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons rum or brandy; or water with a drop or two of rum or brandy flavor

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10 inch, 10 to 15 cup capacity tube pan or bundt-style pan.

Cake

  1. Beat together the butter, oil, sugar, cake enhancer, spice, salt, and baking powder until light and fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes.
  2. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until the batter looks fluffy. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
  3. Beat in half the flour, then the cherry concentrate (or 1/4 cup applesauce). Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, then beat in the remaining flour and the applesauce.
  4. Fold in the apples and nuts. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
  5. Bake the cake for 55 to 65 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
  6. Remove the cake from the oven, and cool for 10 minutes before turning out of the pan.

Glaze

  1. Stir all the ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves.
  2. Brush on the warm cake.
  3. Allow the cake to cool completely before slicing.

Notes

* Use 1/4 cup cherry juice concentrate + 1/4 cup applesauce; or 1/2 cup applesauce.

Attribution

Recipe and photo used with permission from: King Arthur Flour







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