For the First Time . . .

When was the last time you were mesmerized by the mixing of ingredients? Today I baked an Apple Cake with my youngest daughter. Although she thinks she's "helped" me cook before, this was the first time she seemed to be interested in more than just standing on a chair and her assistance was available for more than two minutes. I thought that this might be a fitting first post. She helped me count out the eggs, pour in the ingredients, and then after realizing the mixer was not going to be too loud, was hypnotized while watching the flour and sugar disappear to form the gooey batter. For the 45 minutes or so that the cake was baking she walked around the house saying, "I smell something!" Luckily, it was quickly followed by a "yummy!" It did smell amazing.

APPLE CAKE WITH BROWN SUGAR GLAZE
Cake:
3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 eggs
1 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups finely chopped apples
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (optional)

Brown Sugar Glaze:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 9x13-inch pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until light and foamy. Add the oil and vanilla and mix well. Stir in the flour mixture with a spoon and continue stirring the batter til the flour disappears. Add the apples and nuts; mix well. Scrape the batter into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set the cake on a wire rack.

While the cake is still hot, prepare the glaze. Combine the brown sugar, butter, vanilla and heavy cream in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Continue cooking for 3 minutes. Spoon the hot glaze over the still warm cake. Let the glazed cake cool completely before serving straight from the pan.

I followed the recipe from Let's Dish, but she says it is originally from the Southern Cakes cookbook.

How I might alter: I am not the biggest fan of cakes, but I do love apples, so that offset the cake part. A jelly roll pan might work to make them less cake-like and I think the apples would keep it moist. Or perhaps cupcakes would work. My friend Mandi has an amazing caramel frosting recipe I might need to try on it. Although, it will be difficult to replace this glaze. I literally felt like I was cutting into a glazed doughnut, but it tasted so much better! UPDATE: I tried it in my jelly roll pan and I loved it.  More icing and less cake!  I made an extra 1/2 recipe of the glaze to be sure it covered the cake and reduced the baking time a little--I started checking after 30 minutes.