Autumn Temptation: Apple & Creamcheese Cake

Apples upon apples in this house thanks to my sister, Sam, who went to the orchard last weekend.  As described by Grandma, yep, you guessed it, "DE-licious!".  I would just like to give you all an update about my dislike of haunted houses from last post.  So, last night (Friday), I was at Brother's in Newport, and there was a group of guys for a Bachelor party there from out of town, and they told me and my friend Frannie that they were going to USS Nightmare over the hill on the river. They asked about it, and I quickly told them NOT to go there and they would hate their lives if they did. So of course, they asked me where they should go then, so I pointed them to The Banks over in downtown....not the haunted house. They listened. .....but I'm also thinking their first problem was that they were going to a haunted house for a bachelor party. Oh, sounds wild..............

Ingredients:
Cream Cheese Filling
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese - softened 
1/4 cup butter - softened 
1/2 cup sugar 
1 large egg 
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cake Batter
3 cups all-purpose flour 
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar - packed
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 
3 large eggs - lightly beaten 
 3/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup applesauce 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups peeled and finely chopped Gala apples

Praline Frosting
1/2 cup light brown sugar - packed
1/4 cup butter 
3 tablespoons milk 
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
 
Directions:
Prepare Filling:
-Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended and smooth. -Add egg, flour, and vanilla; beat just until blended.

Prepare Batter:
-Preheat oven to 350º.
-Stir together 3 cups flour and next 7 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in eggs and next 3 ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.
-Stir in apples.
-Spoon two-thirds of apple mixture into a greased and floured 14-cup Bundt pan.
-Spoon Cream Cheese Filling over apple mixture, leaving a 1-inch border around edges of pan. Swirl filling through apple mixture using a paring knife.
-Spoon remaining apple mixture over Cream Cheese Filling.
-Bake at 350º for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
-Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 2 hours)

Prepare Frosting:
-Bring 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and 3 Tbsp. milk to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly; boil 1 minute, whisking constantly.
-Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
-Gradually whisk in powdered sugar until smooth; stir gently 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture begins to cool and thickens slightly.
-Pour immediately over cooled cake.

It's that time...Apple Pie.

So it's that time of the year again. Summer has come and gone, and I'm sitting here in long pants again.  Have you ever noticed everything is never as it seems?  Fall for instance.  We think fall is like the greatest time of our lives "hoodies, bonfires, pumpkin patches, haunted houses, and hayrides" when in fact, when you put on a hoodie, I'm willing to bet you don't think twice about it or dwell about how fantastic your day just got because you put on a hoodie. And bonfires, sure they're great, if done properly, but 9 times out of 10 it's windy and the smoke is blowing straight into your eyes, or the guy building the fire who thinks he knows how to do it and claims he was a boy scout, can't get the fire even to spark. And haunted houses?  No. Don't even go there with me.  Because they aren't even scary, and you stand in line longer than you're actually in the "haunted house". So needless to say, fall is only good for apple pies......apples straight from the orchard, mind you. And I would take my lovely summer weather, and summer tanning, over a rainy, 65 degree fall day. Enjoy this apple pie recipe......it's simple as pie! Oh wait..... 

 

Ingredients:
1 refrigerated pie crust (from 15-ounce package)
1 egg white, lightly beaten
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 cups thinly sliced peeled apples (about 4 medium)
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 425°F.
-Prepare crust as directed on package.
-Place on foil-lined 12-inch pizza pan.
-Brush crust with about 1/2 of the beaten egg white.

-Mix 3/4 cup sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon in medium bowl. Toss with apples.
-Spoon into center of crust, spreading to within 2 inches of edges.
-Fold 2-inch edge of crust up over apples, pleating or folding crust as needed.
-Brush crust with remaining egg white; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar.

-Bake 20 minutes or until apples are tender.

Enjoy!