Caramel Apple Cake

Jee Hyun, co-worker is moving to Korea tomorrow due to the evil nature of U.S. immigration. We had a small going away party for her today and I provided dessert.

Saeyoung and I had a caramel apple the other day and it tasted incredibly comforting and was just plainly fun to eat. Going off of that I thought I'd use the caramel apple as inspiration.

It's all in the trimmings here. The cake is a very reliable recipe for yellow cake. But the caramel is not overly sweet and the roasted apples give it a little tartness. And the peanuts bring everything together.

I like this one very much.

I am sad to see Jee Hyun go. Good luck in Korea.

Ingredients:

for cake:

1 cup buttermilk

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sifted cake flour (you can use all-purpose in a pinch)

2 large eggs

for caramel:

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

for apples:

4 large granny smith apples

3 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

other:

chopped peanuts for topping

1. preheat oven to 350

2. beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes

3. add in eggs one at a time

4. add vanilla

5. sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder

6. alternate 3 separate additions of flour mixture with 3 additions of buttermilk

7. pour batter into a buttered and parchment lined 10 inch cake pan (you can use 8 inch as long as it's a high walled pan)

8. tap the pan a few times to get rid of air bubbles

9. bake in the oven for about 35 minutes

10. let cool for 10 minutes and then invert and let cool completely

11. in the meanwhile bring the oven up to 400 degrees

12. peel, core, and slice the apples into about 1/2 inch wedges

13. combine the apples with melted 3 tablespoons of butter, 4 tablespoons of brown sugar, and vanilla

14. lay out the slices in one layer

15. bake for 30 minutes or until slightly golden and fork soft

16. while the apples are in the oven make the caramel

17. bring the heavy cream, brown sugar, salt and corn syrup to a low boil over medium heat

18. use a candy thermometer to measure when the caramel reaches 220 fahrenheit (about 12-15 minutes)

19. take the caramel off the heat and mix in the vanilla extract

20. pour the hot glaze over the center top of the cake, the excess should drip over the sides

21. arrange the apple slices in a concentric circle around the top of the cake

22. top with peanuts

23. let cool completely-about 30-45 minutes