Glazed Apple Bundt Cake (Week #8 of 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats)

 

 

My love for bundt cakes will never die.  I the idea of the simplicity yet beauty of such a cake makes me happy.  In one pan a delicious cake can be created, decorated and then served to friends and family and get the same "ooh" and "ahh" factor that a layered cake would get.  As you can see from the above photo my bundt pan has produced many a cake.  Cakes such as the,  Sweet and Tart Rhubarb Cake, the Peachy Bundt Cake, along with the fabulous Root Beer Float Cake, and moist Blueberry Lemon Cake and of course the Hummingbird Cake have all come from my precious stoneware bundt pan. If you have yet to treat yourself to such a baking pan put it on your holiday wish list! It is the perfect gift for a baker!

 

 

 

 

 Speaking of holidays I want to share with you today a perfect cake that can be presented at a festive party or given in a pretty basket as a gift as it is delicious beyond words and beautiful to the eye.  Sweet apples and sugary chopped nuts are surrounded by a dense cake which are then covered in a brown sugar glaze.  The perfection of a bundt cake!  Thus I present to you on this 8th week of the 12 Weeks of Holiday Treats created by the lovely Brenda of Magical Meal Planning, a Glazed Apple Bundt Cake.

 

 Glazed Apple Bundt Cake

        (recipe discovered on A Recipe a Day)

 

Cake Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Filling Ingredients:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup chopped nuts - I used walnuts, pecans are good too!

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

3-4 apples, peeled, cored and sliced

 

Glaze Ingredients:

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

2 Tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

 

 

Directions:

 

1. Grease bundt pan well and set aside. Mix together all filling ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

 

2. Beat together butter and sugar until light in color and consistency - about 4-5 minutes.  Add in eggs - one at a time.  Mixing between each until the yellow of the egg is completely incorporated to the batter.

 

3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.  Add to butter mixture alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.   Beat on low speed after each addition until mixture is just blended.  Stir in vanilla extract.

 

4. In prepared bundt pan pour in half of the cake batter.  Layer with sliced apples and then all of the filling ingredients. Pour remaining batter over apples and nuts.  Bake in a preheated oven of 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  My cake took 1 hour and 10 minutes.  I covered the cake with tin foil for the last 10 minutes so that the top of the cake did not burn.

 

5. Cool cake on a rack for 15 minutes before removing from pan.  Once cake is completely cooled make the glaze.  Melt 2 Tbsp butter just until it starts to brown.  Remove from heat and then add in brown sugar, milk and vanilla extract.  Stir all together until smooth.  Drizzle glaze over your beautiful cake and serve (or give away).

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Happy Glazed Apple Bundt Cake Baking!

 





Caramel Swirled Apple-Pear Bread (Week #3 of 12 Weeks of Holiday Treats)

 

 

Confession.  I baked this bread twice in a 12 hour period of time.  Not once but twice I say. Yes, this quick bread which is packed with chunks of apples and pears, oozing with cinnamon happiness and swirled with a rich loveliness of caramel sauce is NO joke.  I promise you that once you make it once you will then make it twice within a day.  Bake one loaf for yourself and one to give away.  EASY!   Even better, bake a couple as holiday gifts!! This bread would absolutely perfect wrapped up in a pretty package and handed off to friends and family for the holidays.   They will all love and thank you for it over and over again -  I can promise you that.  So put your apron on and get out your apples and pears!  It's time to make a lovely quick bread.

 

 

 

Thus I present to you my #3 entry for the 12 Weeks of Holiday Treats. I can't thank Brenda from Meal Planning Magic for all the hard work and dedication she has put towards making this 12 week party happen.  Hugs of gratitude to sent to you dearest Brenda!
 

 

 

 Feel free to make this bread with just apples as the original recipe only used apples.  Also feel free to use store bought caramel sauce (simplicity is crucial during the holidays!) or you can use the recipe I posted last week for Homemade Caramel Sauce - it's super yummy and very easy to make. The original recipe also called for pouring caramel sauce over the top of the bread when baked and cooled.  Such a good idea!  I did not do so for either of my breads but I promised myself that the next time I make this recipe I will. 

 

 

Caramel Swirled Apple-Pear Bread

(recipe altered slightly from one of my all time favorite blogs - Bakingdom)

 

Ingredients:

 

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 medium apples - peeled, cored and cut into small chunks (shredded is fine too)

1 medium pear - peeled, cored and cut into small chunks (shredded if you prefer)

1/4 - 1/2 cup caramel sauce - homemade or store bought

 

Directions:

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9x5 loaf pan and set aside.

 

2. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves. Set dry mixture aside.

 

3. Beat butter and sugars together until light and fluffy.  Add in eggs one at a time - mix well inbetween each one.  Add in 1/3 of flour mixture, mix to combine and continue with remaining 2/3's flour mixture.  Do not over beat as that will create a "tough" bread.

 

4.  Gently stir in prepared fruit.

 

5.  Pour 1/2 of bread batter into prepared pan and then pour caramel sauce over batter. Finish by topping with remaining bread batter.



 

6. Bake for 50-60 minutes.  Rotating pan half way through.  A toothpick inserted in center should come out with only a few crumbs stuck to it when bread is done. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and enjoying.  Don't forget, you can always drizzle some caramel sauce over the top of your bread before slicing...it sure looks good that way!

 

 

 



 Happy Caramel Swirl Apple-Pear Bread Baking!



Homemade Caramel Sauce ( Week #2 of 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats)

 

Chocolate sauce or caramel sauce....which one do you prefer? I kind of lean towards both. Especially when they are homemade! Chocolate sauce is perfect over good vanilla ice cream and caramel goes perfect over anything apple.  And well, geez both of them go perfect with just a spoon! 

 

 

 

Since I have already tried my hand at making homemade chocolate sauce I couldn't wait to do the same with homemade caramel sauce.  I seized the opportunity recently keeping in mind that caramel sauce would be a lovely present for friends and family this coming holiday season along side a jar of chocolate sauce. 

 

 

With the encouragement of my participation in the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats group (thank you so much Brenda for hosting this group!) I present to you today a super easy and extremely delicious recipe for HOMEMADE Caramel Sauce.  Hooray! Amen. YUM!

 

The recipe below will fill one good sized jar.  Double the recipe if you wish to make multiple jars.

 

 

Homemade Caramel Sauce

(recipe slightly altered from Countertop Confessions)

 

Ingredients:

 

1 stick salted butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream (the original recipe calls for milk)

2 Tbsp light corn syrup (the original recipe does not call for corn syrup - I added it to help with keeping the sugar and butter from separating)

1 tsp vanilla

 

Directions:

 

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan.  Add in brown sugar once butter has fully melted.  Stir constantly as you bring the melted butter and sugar to a boil.  Allow mixture to boil for 2 minutes or until sugar has dissolved completely.

 

2. Stirring constantly, add in milk.  Mixture will snap and pop...not to worry this is normal.  Stir in corn syrup.  Allow sauce to return to a boil and do so for 2 more minutes. 

 

 

3. Remove pan from heat.  Add in vanilla extract.  Stir well to combine.  Sauce will be smooth and deliciously beautiful.

 

 

4. Cool for 30 minutes before pouring into a pretty jar and wrapping it with a ribbon.

 

 

 

Happy Homemade Caramel Sauce Making!

 

 To enjoy the other talented bloggers of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats see links below.