Sorting through a pile of my Grandmommy's recipe books and clippings, this one caught my attention. My impulse to collect cook books, tear recipes out of magazines and scribble notes on any available scrap of paper seems to be inherited directly from her. She cleaned out her stash and passed on a big pile of church cookbooks and magazine clippings and I went through the stack. The page with this particular recipe came out of the 1996 Busy Shopper Holiday Cookbook. I couldn't wait to bake and taste the cake that is tempting enough to be compared to the biblical forbidden fruit.
Eve's Temptation Fresh Apple Cake is made with fresh shredded apples and a touch of cinnamon. The truly sinful part of this recipe is the caramel coconut frosting. Soft in the middle and coated with rich frosting, the cake is very delicious without being too fussy. Good enough to get kicked out of paradise for? probly not.
Eve's Temptation Fresh Apple Cake
recipe submitted to the Busy Shopper Holiday Cookbook by Nellie Nelson
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup pecans
1/3 cup milk
3/4 cup unsalted butter -room temperature
1 and 1/3 cup sugar
1 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups grated apples
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9 inch round pans or a 13x9" rectangular pan. Sift the dry ingredients onto a large sheet of parchment or wax paper.
Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and continue mixing on high speed. Add the maple syrup and vanilla and mix well. ( I did not have a whole cup of maple syrup, so I subbed some sugar and agave syrup.) Gradually add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk, ending with the dry ingredients. Fold in the apples and nuts. (I didn't have any pecans and omitted them).
Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 5 minutes before turning out on a rack.
Caramel Coconut Frosting
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple sugar
1 stick butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup coconut
Combine the first 5 ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 8 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and coconut and beat vigorously with a whisk for 2 or 3 minutes. Spread on warm cake.
I do not live in the land of sugar maples, and do not have maple sugar in my pantry. After I began this recipe I also realized that I didn't have any evaporated milk. Reasonably confident that I could make it work, I pressed on. I subbed the maple sugar for maple syrup, I omitted the evaporated milk and the flour. I boiled and whisked vigorously. The caramel became too thick to stir, so I added some milk and kept whisking. I assumed that the frosting would sort of spread and drip down the sides of the cake. It did not. It hardened quickly, so be sure to frost the cake while it's still warm. The frosting is decadent and fabulous and rich.
Comments