Apple Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

Apple is an ingredient that makes me feel warm all over, all the way to my toes.

The deep sweetness of baked apple, typically paired with cinnamon, nutmeg and other spices… something about it is just so cozy.

Toasty.

Delicious.

Baked apple is usually found in pies, but it’s fabulous in cake too. You just need to break it down a little smaller than you do in pies.

If you have a food processor with a shredder attachment, make sure you use it. It gives you perfectly even little pieces of shredded apple instead of apple bits and apple juice. Which is what I get when I try to use a box grater. Is that just me?

This cake is yet another one of those cakes I love so much that have those extra couple steps to make it moist and rich. Where you poke it full of holes, and soak it in some kind of goodness.

In this case, a brown sugar glaze sort of goodness.

Yeah, soaking good stuff in other good stuff. I’m sort of addicted to doing this.

Spiced Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

Recipe from BonAppetit

Cake

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 3/4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, coarsely grated
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Glaze

• 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Cake: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, cloves and allspice into medium bowl. Drain grated apples in strainer. Using hands, squeeze out excess liquid from apples. Measure 2 cups grated apples.
2. Using electric mixer, beat butter, both sugars, and lemon peel in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Mix in vanilla and lemon juice. Beat in flour mixture. Mix in grated apples. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
3. Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool in pan on rack 20 minutes.
4. Glaze: Stir all ingredients in small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to boil. Reduce heat to medium; whisk until glaze is smooth, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
5. Invert cake onto rack set over baking sheet. Using small skewer, pierce holes all over top of warm cake. Pour glaze over top, allowing it to be absorbed before adding more. Cool cake 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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