Apple Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

I love apples........I love cake.........I love brown sugar glaze.............let's put them all together for a dreamy dessert!  Here are the ingredients:

3cups flour
1 teaspoon each:  cinnamon, clove, allspice, baking powder, baking soda
1/2 teaspoon each:  salt, nutmeg

1 cup butter
1 cup apple butter
1/2 cup applesauce
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup apple juice
2 apples, cored, peeled and diced

Glaze:

1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Assemble all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  In your mixer, cream together butter and sugar.  Add apple butter, applesauce, vanilla, and eggs.  Add small amounts (1/2 cup) of the flour mixture to the mixer.  Add a little apple juice.  Continue alternating between adding the flour mixture and apple juice.  When that is all mixed, stir in the diced apples (by hand).

Put the ingredients in a bundt pan that has been buttered and floured/or sprayed with PAM.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until your cake tester comes out clean.  If you do not have a cake tester, stick a toothpick in the cake.  If it comes out clean your cake is done cooking.

Let that sit and cool a few minutes before turning the cake over and putting in on a cake plate.

While that is cooling, assemble the glaze:

In a saucepan, melt the butter.  Add the brown sugar and vanilla.  Stir in the powdered sugar until thick. 

Turn the cake over onto a cake plate.  Drizzle the brown sugar glaze over the top.

Applesauce!

This past weekend my husband and I were fortunate enough to spend time with our grandchildren.  The weather was beautiful so we decided to go apple picking.  My son Jonah, who is 13, was thrilled.........SARCASM.

Uncle Jonah was really excited to ride with Jossalyn...........NOT!

 

 

 

I am embarrassed to tell you how many apples we bought!  Needless to say, I needed to do some cooking!

Jossalyn, my granddaughter, and I decided to try homemade applesauce.  It was super easy and it was a great opportunity to share my love of cooking with one of the many loves of my life!

Here are the ingredients:

8-10 apples - can use a variety
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)

The above recipe will make 1 quart jar and 1 pint jar.

To begin, we washed and peeled our apples.

Then we let the apples cook about 30 minutes.  I put a little water in the bottom of the pan to make sure the apples didn't burn or stick to the bottom.

When the apples were soft, I drained them and put them in my food processor.  I left a little of the skin on.  Once the apples were in the food processor, you couldn't tell.

After the apples were smooth, we added 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and 1/2 cup sugar.  Before you add the sugar, taste the applesauce.  Some apples are sweet and some are tart.  You will need to adjust the amount of sugar you add, depending on how you like it.

Once the applesauce is the consistency you like, add it to a hot, sterilized mason jar.

Jossalyn is putting her applesauce in the jar we are sending home with her!

 

 

Once the jars are full, wipe the rims off and slide a knife or long piece of plastic (sold with canning supplies) down the sides of the jars.  This will help eliminate air pockets that have formed.  You will need to put the jars of applesauce in a hot water bath and boil for 20 minutes.

 

After you take the jars out, the lids will seal as they cool.  You know the jars have sealed when you hear the lid "pop" down.  Also, you will not be able to press down - there will be no give and take on the lid.

 

If the lid didn't seal, simple refrigerate that jar and use it first!

 

Enjoy!