Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

 

Ingredients

Cake

1/2 stick butter, plus extra for loaf pan

3 medium apples

1/2 lemon, juiced

1 cup apple cider (I substituted )

1 3/5 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for loaf pan

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 or 4 grates fresh nutmeg (about 1/2 teaspoon)

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

Pinch kosher salt

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup toasted and chopped walnuts

Cream Cheese Frosting

One 8-ounce package Philadelphia cream cheese, at room temperature

1 stick butter, at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 lemon, juiced

                                                                         Plan of Attack

                                                                                Cake

Chop the apples into medium dice, toss with lemon juice

Add butter to medium sauce pan, toss the apples and add juice/cider; Cook apples until they reduce and then transfer to a food processor where they can be processed into a paste.

Mix flour, sugar, vanilla, egg, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, baking powder in a bowl and then add the apple mixture. Mix completely and pour into a buttered loaf pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted is clean when extracted. When cool, remove cake from loaf pan and slice lengthwise so there is a top and a bottom.

                                                                            Frosting

Prepare the frosting by mixing butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and remaining lemon juice. You can use a hand mixer or ya can mix by hand - awesome either way. Mixing my hand ensures ya burn the calories ya need in order to actually deserving eating this decadent of a dessert! ( your biceps'll send a "thanks" notice)

Spread frosting on the inside of the cake and then put the top on. Mindfully spread the frosting not he cooled cake to cover the entire thing. If ya so desire, decorate with patterns of cinnamon (as pictured in the photograph).

My comments: This recipe was introduced to my kitchen by a very special lady, and I make this cake in her honor and the honor of her gente. I have made this cake over and over again and it is always enjoyed. It freezes well, and I because of the apple mixture, is actually not as bad for ya a traditional cakes which generally require more butter than this recipe indicates.  It is possible to over-nutmeg and I suggest being very mindful about how much ya add. I did try and add five sm apples instead of the required 3, and the result was a very tasty but very dense puddingesque version of this cake.