Apple Spice Cake

Living at my parents is... challenging. Not only are they pack rats with non-consumables, but their fridge, freezer and deep freeze are all overflowing with food. (I will admit that me moving my refrigerated goods from my old North Vancouver home to this one didn't help). One of my "resolutions" was to help them eat all the food that hadn't expired yet.

A quick peruse of their "fruit" drawer (none of the drawers were really organized but the majority of the items in this drawer appeared to be fruit) identified that there was an abundance of apples. A quick search on the internet resulted in this Martha Stewart recipe:

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/apple-spice-cake?autonomy_kw=apple%20cake

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3 to 4 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (3 cups)
1 cup chopped assorted nuts, such as pecans and walnuts (optional)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Caramel Sauce
Nonstick cooking spray with flour
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; set aside.
Working over a large sheet of parchment paper, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; gather sifted ingredients into center of sheet; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine vegetable oil, sugar, and eggs; mix on high speed until lemon yellow.
Fold reserved parchment in half lengthwise; with mixer on medium speed, gradually shake in dry ingredients until just incorporated.
Add apples and, if desired, nuts, to batter; mix to combine. Add vanilla, mixing until incorporated.
Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 75 to 90 minutes.
Remove from oven, and cool slightly on a wire rack.
Invert cake onto rack; turn cake right-side up to cool completely on rack, and serve drizzled with caramel sauce

Here's the recipe for the caramel sauce:

1 cup light-brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until thickened to desired consistency.

My first attempt wasn't so great - mom didn't have her bundt pan readily available (it was in the depths of the crawlspace) so I had to use a 9 inch square pan. This resulted in the mix being more concentrated so it didn't rise so well. also, I used four apples instead of three and finally I didn't use any nuts. It took FOREVER for the cake to finish baking (at 325 degrees in a convection oven). Plus I was trying to juggle a crying baby.

The caramel sauce made loads - more than the "one cake" it said it would cover. I used golden sugar which I assumed was the same as "light-brown" sugar. My review? 6 out of 10.

My second attempt was much better after Mom finally found her bundt pan. Instead of 2 cups of regular sugar, I used one cup Splenda and one cup regular sugar. I still used 4 apples which I think was probably too much and I need to cut up the apples a bit more. I still didn't use any nuts. I used the regular "bake" function on the oven instead of the convection option. the result? MUCH better. after 75 minutes of baking, it was done although in my opinion it was too dry. It looked better but tasted ehhh. I would give it a 5 out of 10.

Easy recipe and both cakes were consumed within a day but will probably try another recipe next time.

The cake is still still in the pan because I didn't trust myself to take it out.