Apple Cake with Salted Caramel Drizzle

Since all my friends and family read this blog, there's a certain level of pressure that comes with cooking good food over the holidays. I've been put in charge of making half of the desserts for Thanksgiving and have spent the last few weeks testing out different recipes. Apple pie is traditional but can also be controversial (some like a lot of filling, some are all about the crust, etc.), so I tried out this apple cake recipe instead. In the end, I decided that the cake wasn't traditional enough for a feature at Thanksgiving, but it certainly has a spot at future dinner parties and more casual celebrations. Because layers of buttery sliced apples sandwiched between a perfect yellow cake wasn't decadent enough, I covered the whole thing in Trader Joe's salted caramel sauce before serving. The cake is thin and surprisingly light (the lemon zest helps to keep it tasting fresh), making the leftovers a passable breakfast item.


Related Recipes:
- Apple Tart
- Plum Skillet Cake
- Caramel Apple Bundt Cake


Apple Cake with Salted Caramel Drizzle:

• Peel, core, and thinly slice 4 large apples.*
• Meanwhile, melt 2 tbsp. butter in a skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add in the apples and sprinkle them with 2 tbsp. sugar and stir.
• Cook apples for 10-12 minutes, or until soft and starting to brown in places.
• Let cool slightly.
• Meanwhile, whisk together 1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour, 1 c. sugar, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. grated lemon zest, and 3/4 tsp. salt in a mixing bowl.
• Whisk 10 tbsp. melted butter and 3 eggs into the dry ingredients until combined.
• Divide half of the apples into the bottom of a greased 8" cake pan.
• Pour half of the batter over the apples, then repeat with another layer of apples and batter.
• Bake in a 350F oven, rotating the pan once, for 45 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
• Let cool for a few minutes, then remove from the pan and allow to finish cooling on a baking rack.
• Drizzle the top of the cake with salted caramel sauce.**

Serves eight

*A semi-tart apple is best here.

**Or any store-bought caramel sauce you like best.