4th of July Apple Spice Cake with Caramel Glaze
Exploding with flavors, there’s no better way to treat yourself than with this old-fashioned Apple Spice Cake! Throw on some caramel frosting for an even tastier treat!
Servings: 18 servings
Equipment
Ingredients
For the cake
- ½ cup butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup applesauce
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup toasted pecans coarsely chopped **(see note below)
For the Caramel Glaze
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup milk
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the applesauce and combine.
- On a large piece of waxed paper or in a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices and cocoa.
- Using a rubber spatula, alternately fold half of the dry ingredients, all of the buttermilk, and then the remaining flour mixture into the applesauce mixture. Stir in the raisins and pecans.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and level with the spatula. Bake on the center oven rack for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted near the center of the cake tests clean.
- Cool on a rack for about 10 minutes - then remove from the pan and allow to cool completely on the rack. Top with Caramel Glaze (recipe below).
For the Caramel Frosting:
- In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the brown sugar and butter to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and add the milk (be careful, it may splatter!) Return the pan to the heat and bring it back to a boil. Add the powdered sugar and constantly stir until it is fully incorporated. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Drizzle the frosting over the cooled cake.
Notes
- To toast pecans: Bake in a 300°F oven for about 15 minutes.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 354kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 187mg | Potassium: 203mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 310IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 2mg
