Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce great January-blahs buster

Unlike with yesterday’s recipe, from the start I expected to be wowed by this dish; it even exceeded my expectations. But how can anything with apple as its main element be far from spectacular?

This Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce was just way terrific—easy to make, with lots of chunky, fresh apples. It baked in an 8-inch square pan and cut into nice-sized squares. Atop it went a thick caramel sauce. You could serve the cake either warm or cold as long as the caramel sauce was a warm top layer. Splendid! People normally think fall or Christmas when apples are mentioned, but to me this dessert was a great January-blahs buster.

Interestingly my sauce turned out to look nothing like the sauce in the photo of the recipe. Mine was decadent and creamy; the recipe photo had sauce resembling pancake syrup—clear and much thinner than mine. Yet I checked the recipe carefully and determined I hadn’t missed a step. Either way seemed as though it would be tasty.

Hubby enjoyed a tablespoon of sugar-free whipped topping on top of the caramel sauce on top of the cake. He really got into this dessert! And while it lasted, which for us wasn’t long, Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce was a terrific end-of-meal treat to anticipate.

Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar (or sugar substitute)

1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups chopped peeled tart apples

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Caramel Sauce

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup evaporated milk or half-and-half

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1 egg lightly beaten (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)

In a small bowl cream butter and sugar until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Combine the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Gradually add to creamed mixture. Mix well. Stir in apples and pecans. Pour into a greased 8-inch square baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center emerges clean. Meanwhile for caramel sauce combine brown sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, about 3 minutes. Serve cake warm or cold with warm caramel sauce. Makes 9 servings. (Recipe courtesy Taste of Home Thanksgiving Recipe Cards).