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Please Fave the original Here

A great new gem from !

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As the endless summer continues, the minds in the kitchens of Full Moon Cuisine start drifting (and wishing) for cooler fall temperatures. And with those temperatures comes the perfect season for apples! A longtime favorite, apples are so wonderfully versatile, making their way around the kitchen from savory to sweet dishes. And while apple cakes have been around for quite some time, it's time this classic dish had the volume turned all the way up (and then some). What if we took inspiration from an autumn fair and those always delicious caramel apples? Combining the decadence of caramel, the crunch of toasted nuts and plenty of apples this cake will make a great finisher to any meal. And the best part? It couldn't be easier to make!

Here's what you'll need:

- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup walnuts (chopped)
- 3 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored and chopped)
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla
- Pinch of salt

To begin, preheat your oven to 350°F and place your chopped walnuts on a sheet pan (lined with parchment paper) and slide into your oven for 8-10 minutes, stirring after the first 5 minutes. Take out of the oven and set aside to cool. Lower the temperature to 325°F.

In a large bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, stirring to combine then set aside. Use a mixer to combine the eggs and vegetable oil until you have a light yellow mixture. Add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until they have combined with the wet. Next carefully fold in the chopped apples.

For this recipe you'll need a Make sure you spray it down with nonstick spray, especially if you have a pan with lots of edges and decoration. Next, take half of your toasted walnuts and sprinkle them along the bottom of the pan. Then spoon your batter into the pan evenly, giving it a gentle pat to make sure it settles. Place in your oven and bake for 1 hour (approximately). Start checking with a cake tester or a long bamboo skewer around the 55 minute mark and check every 5 minutes until you draw out a clean skewer. Let the cake rest in its pan for 20 minutes then turn it out onto a wire rack to start cooling.

Now let's add a decadent, easy caramel sauce to that cake, shall we?

Here's what you'll need:

- 1 stick of butter
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tsp heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Pinch of salt

Combine the butter, cream and brown sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir to help dissolve the sugar. After approximately 1 minute, remove from the burner and stir in the vanilla and salt. Set the pan aside to let the sauce to cool for approximately 10 minutes to help it thicken.

Take the cooling rack with the cake and place it over a parchment paper lined baking sheet (trust me, you'll want to do this to make clean-up easy). Gently pour the caramel sauce over the top of the cake and watch that ooey-gooey goodness drizzle down the sides. To finish, take the remainder of the walnuts and sprinkle along the top. Serve warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Once you're done with the meal, if any cake has survived, cover in plastic and store in the fridge. Take it out at least one hour to sit on the counter before you serve it next to allow it to come up to temperature. Again, that's provided any of the cake has survived the first round.

Apples are a wonderfully versatile fruit, able to be a supporting player or the main star. And when you combine them with a simple, delicious caramel and the crunch of walnuts you can help elevate this fruit to new heights. And with a little up-front prep work this dessert could not be any easier. To make sure we have more than enough apples to go around the kitchen will be staying open late. Care to place an order?

Want to know what the 2021 Cake Challenge is all about? Check out my journal on the subject and maybe submit a suggestion for a future recipe the Cake Challenge is on!