The Time for Fall Baking is Here!

Several years ago I was given a cookbook from my Great Grandma called "The All-New Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook". It was actually a Christmas present because my grandma knows just how much I love to cook! Growing up I would spend my time with her in her kitchen and she would pull out old recipes clipped from newspapers and magazines that were pasted onto 3x5 index cards. I learned a great deal about preparing delicious food from her. I'm so grateful for those memories...

At any rate, back to today, I had some left over red delicious apples that I needed to use before they started turning. So, I pulled out this handy cookbook and used this recipe for Honey Apple Cake (with a Honey Sauce drizzle! Yum!). I only made 2 changes but I'll mention them after I jot down the recipe for you.

Honey Apple Cake
Prep: 15 min Cook: 1 hour Other: 15 min

Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped pecans, divided (1/4c and 3/4c)
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 large eggs

- 3 cups all-purpose flour (I use unbleached flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I think I may have added 1/2)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (homemade with Ugandan vanilla beans!!)
- 3 cups chopped Golden Delicious apples (I used Red Delicious*)
- 1/4 cup milk *

Honey Sauce
Vanilla ice cream (optional)


Directions

Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan; sprinkle 1/4 cup of pecans evenly on the bottom. Put aside for now

Beat the sugar, oil, and honey at medium speed with a mixer until well blended. Add your eggs 1 at a time, beating just until blended.

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Gradually add this to the sugar mixture at low speed until blended. Add 1/4 cup milk, beating until just blended. Stir in vanilla, remaining pecans, and chopped apple. Spoon batter over pecans in Bundt pan.

Bake at 350F for 55 to 60 minutes. Cool IN pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan and place on a wire rack over wax paper. Pour 1/2 cup of Honey Sauce over warm cake. Cool.

Serve with heated honey sauce and ice cream, if desired.

Yields 12 servings

*The recipe didn't call for milk but I added a little because my batter looked a little dry. And I used the red delicious apples instead of golden delicious but I don't think it really matters. It's still yummy!


Recipe for Honey Sauce
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup milk


Bring all ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, constantly stirring. Let boil, while stirring, for 2 minutes.
Yields 1 1/2 cups.

Enjoy!