One of my most favorite days of the year is the first day of fall. I love everything about fall: smells, crisp mornings, fall fashion, college football, and my birthday to name a few. The only thing I love more than the beginning of this time of year is the Christmas season, but that's another post in itself!
When Southern Living's September issue came in the mail I just knew that I was going to bake the cake on the cover--the Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake. But because of my insanely busy schedule at this time of year, it's taken a few weeks for me to get to it.
Total preparation time for this was 7 hours. That included making the batter, cream cheese filling, cooling completely for 2 hours, and making the icing. Was it worth it? You bet. The smell of the house alone while it was baking was enough for me to make every week. The only thing I would change next time is to bake it a little less. Possibly 1 hour and 5 minutes instead of the 1 hour and 15 minutes recommended.
This is what it looked like right after it came out of the oven. Just imagine the smell!!!
Ta-Da!!!! This is right after I put the icing on it. Excuse the missing chunks out of the side, next time I'll know to better oil and flour the bundt pan. Oh well, there's a first for everything, right?!
The recipe:
CREAM CHEESE FILLING:
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
APPLE CAKE BATTER:
1 cup finely chopped pecans
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
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 (I used cinnamon apple sauce for this)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups peeled and finely chopped Gala apples (about 1 1/2 lb.)
PRALINE FROSTING:
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar
Preparation
1. 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.
2. Prepare Batter: Preheat oven to 350º. Bake pecans in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. 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 and pecans.
3. 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.
4. 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).
5. 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
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