Apple Spice Cake with No Fail Caramel Frosting
I am here to say, “I do not have a fear of fruitcake”. I have been called a fruitcake on more than one occasion, but I take it as a complement. My mom used to make honest to goodness fruitcakes at Christmastime to give as gifts. I don’t actually remember eating her fruitcake, but I do remember tying ribbons around them. They were like bricks made out of fruit made pretty with a red bow. “Merry Christmas, by the way be careful not to drop it on your toe……”
Amazing Raisin Cake is my mom’s recipe(or Apple Spice Cake). It reminds me of a fruitcake, in that is is actually better the next day or even three days later. The batter is heavy and sticky, extremely annoying as you spoon it into your pans. This cake is full of apples and raisins. You could also add nuts, but I put them in the frosting so I don’t add them in the cake. I guess you could pick your poison, nuts in the cake or the frosting or neither, or both! I think you need to know that this batter does well in muffin and sheet cake form. If I am taking it to a casual coffee I will make muffins or a sheet cake, but if I want to step it up I usually will make a layer cake.
This Apple Spice Cake smells, well…amazing and when you enter a room with it I promise heads will turn. Even the heads of fruitcake opposers will take notice and want to give it a try.
This cake is really very simple. Made with common ingredients that I am sure you have on hand. There is one ingredient that might be a little surprising. It surprised my son when he saw me dumping it in the batter…now he can’t wipe the tragedy of seeing mayonnaise added to cake batter out of his head. And because I have apparently scarred him for life, he won’t try it…..his loss is my gain, literally right around my jellified middle.
Grease and flour 2 9″ round pans. Beat first 10 ingredients for two minutes on low speed. Stir in apples and raisins. Spoon batter into pans. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Frost with No Fail Caramel frosting.
Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large measuring cup. Flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
In your mixer beat the eggs with the sugar for 2 minutes. Add mayonnaise and mix until incorporated, but no need to go crazy.
In your mixer beat the eggs with the sugar for 2 minutes. Add mayonnaise and mix until incorporated, but no need to go crazy.
Now alternate your dry ingredients and the 1/3 cup of milk. The batter will be sticky, like fruitcake batter, annoyingly tacky and ooey gooey. Do this until dry and wet are completely incorporated.
If you haven’t done it already, peel and chop your apples. I happen to find peeling apples therapudic. When I was a kid and my mom was making pies, apple butter, and any number of things from apples in the Fall, we would make it a challenge to see how many apples we could peel without breaking the peel. One continuous strip of peel. Then I would try to put the peel back into apple form. Those were the good ol’ days. Bushes of apples to peel, and the smell of apples sauce cooking. Singing……….
“I love you a bushel and peck , a bushel and a peck, and a hug around the neck, a barrel and heap and ….” and how about this one…. “Mares eat oats and doe’s-eat oats…and little lambs eat ivy a kiddle-eat-ivy-too wouldn’t you?”
Come on 1-2-3 sing along with me now……
Sorry, I digressed on the apple peeling and song singing. Peel and chop your apples, add them along with the raisins to the batter.
Sorry, I digressed on the apple peeling and song singing. Peel and chop your apples, add them along with the raisins to the batter.
At this point I get out my sturdiest spatula and fold the apples and raisins in to the batter. I have lost a spatula head in that stickiness before……just a precautionary note.
Like I said you can do muffins, layer(2 9″) or 9×13 sheet cake with this recipe. What ever floats your apples.
Grease and flour your pans if you are doing a layer cake. Like I said this batter has some texture. Divvy up the batter and help it into the corners with your spatula. If I am making muffins I use cup cake papers.
It will only fill the pan half way no worries it will rise. Remember this is a dense cake, however, it will not raise up past top of pan.
Place in oven for 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees.
Your house is going to smell heavenly. Beware if you are up wind of the neighbors you may find them at your door with their coffee cup. My friend Dee actually sniffed her way over to my house while I was baking this, she couldn’t keep her paws out of the frosting, it was her birthday I let it slide.Let the cakes rest for 10 minutes, then loosen the edges with a knife and remove from pans to continue cooling.
Let the cakes rest for 10 minutes, then loosen the edges with a knife and remove from pans to continue cooling.
While cakes are cooling you can start to make your “no fail caramel frosting” that’s the original name. I’m just going to call it Caramel Maple Frosting.
Can I hear an Amen for brown sugar and butter! And another….Amen! Someday when I am old and nuttier, I’m going to take a bath in this stuff. But for now I’ll just melt the brown sugar, butter and salt over medium heat in a saucepan.
Whisk to blend and create a creamy caramel. Writing about brown sugar made me think of Mick Jagar….ever see him in concert? He’s a freak of nature. I saw his Steel Wheels Tour at the Pontiac Silverdome, in Detroit….yes, that was a long time ago…and oh I’m sorry I didn’t mean for you to loose your appetite by bringing up Mick Jagar. Moving right along………
This is liquid gold. It is extremely valuable and never to be wasted. Pure Maple Syrup. I buy my syrup from a maple farm just 10 miles south of me. I would share the info, but it is so “mom and pop” that I just have their personal home phone number that was given to me by a friend. This stuff is the insiders secret maple syrup. The moonshine of syrup.
Not to be wasted, every last drop. Whisk in at the end of cooking time. Let bubble for a minute more and remove pan from heat.
Add the vanilla and milk. Whisk. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Then add 1 cup of powdered sugar.
You could get out your hand mixer at this point, or you could whip the dickens out of the frosting with your whisk and give your wrist muscles a good work out.
You want the frosting to be loose, not stiff. Gradually add the last 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and beat with whisk until smooth. Add chopped nuts if you like. I always use pecans, but I believe my mom used walnuts….didn’t you?
It takes every ounce of will power for me to actually frost a cake with this frosting. I really just want to sit down with the pan and a spoon and watch Sponge Bob and get a brown sugar buzz.
Set the first layer top down or bottoms up (however you see it) on a cake plate, pour approximately 1/3 of the frosting over the cake, spread to help frosting fall over the sides.
Like so.
Place the next layer on, bottom side down. Bottoms together.
Pour the rest of the frosting over the top of the cake. Being careful to leave yourself a few licks in the pan.
If you are a lover of caramel, this frosting is going to push you over the top. Salty, maple, buttery….finger licken’ good!
Prepare to be comforted by this Fall treat.
I also made muffins from the batter. For the muffins I cut the frosting recipe in half and left out the nuts, spooning it over the hot muffins right out of the oven.
The three on the edge I tried a crumble topping on. That worked well too. Crumb topping =1/2 cup of flour, brown sugar and butter in food processor until crumbly.
If I haven’t said it already…I’ll say it again. Fall is my favorite time of year for food. Summer is good, but Fall is the BEST! So many comforting foods. This cake recipe is one of my comfort foods. I hope you find it comforting too.
XO Sheila![]()
Amazing Raisin Cake
This cake is an old recipe from my family recipe box. This cake is moist and chock full of apples and spice and also includes what some may find as very surprising ingredients for baked goods. The caramel frosting is perfect with this cake.
Equipment
- 2 9" cake pans
Ingredients
Preheat oven to 350°, prepare cake pans by spraying with non stick baking spray.
- 3 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground clove
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 cup Hellmans mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup milk
- 3 cups apples peeled and chopped small
- 1 cup raisins I use golden and regular raisins or a combo of both
Caramel Frosting
- 1 cup butter 2 sticks
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup chopped nuts I’m partial to pecans
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake pans with by lining with parchment and spring with non-stick baking spray.
- Peel, core, and dice apples set aside.
- Measure dry ingredients into a large measuring cup, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
- Add eggs, sugar to mixer and beat until smooth and frothy. Add mayonnaise and mix until combined.
- Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk to sugar egg mixture. The batter will be thick.
- Scrape bottom and sides of bowl down making sure ingredients are completely mixed. Remove bowl form mixer, add apples and raisins, fold in with spatula.
- Divide batter into prepared cake pan. Bake for 25 minutes at 350° or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool for 10 minutes before flipping them out onto a cooling rack.
Caramel Frosting
- Add brown sugar and butter to 3 quart sauce pan over medium heat. Stir continuously as butter is melting. Stir until sugar and butter become one and start to boil. Allow to bubble and boil for 2 minutes, stirring.
- Remove pan from burner and add vanilla, maple syrup, and milk stir to combine. Now with a whisk add powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. At this time add in chopped pecans.
- Place 1 cake top side down onto a cake plate and frost with caramel frosting. Take 2nd cake and place on top of 1st cake bottom side down, so bottoms of cakes are together. Pour remaining frosting over cake and smooth it out letting it run down the sides.
- Store any leftover cake in airtight container. I find if you have room in your refrigerator that the cake stays moist longer.
Nutrition
Calories: 541kcalCarbohydrates: 75gProtein: 4gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 471mgPotassium: 179mgFiber: 2gSugar: 54gVitamin A: 15IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 34mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @eat2gather or tag #eat2gather!
Are these the muffins you brought to our most recent Meet The PRC???
YES! ; )
They are DELISH!!!
OK…that was SOOOO good. Quote from Mr. F
I AM afraid of fruit cake, but your recipe and tips just might have given me hope! Great job!
Blessings-
Amanda
Sheila, I am dying to try this one–especialy the frosting! Looks great! Ooooh la la
That frosting looks too good to be true! Yum 🙂
Melissa I think you could leave out the raisins, but they really just add to the moisture of the cake, you hardly notice them…are you allergic? 😉
Sophia, I is intense, the frosting is crazy good. Hope you do try it!
That is intense! I have to try this!
This looks fan-dan-tas-tic! I will for sure try this…maybe minus the raisins…wonder if it would spoil the flavor?
Do you need my address or do you remember how to bring me over goodies? Those look AMAZING!
This looks so amazingly good. I'll have to try it when our weather gets cooler!
It's 7 am and that is what I want for breakfast. So yummy. Those would not last long in my house! Thanks for sharing all the delicious details. I made a yummy apple recipe yesterday, too. I have a whole bunch I need to use up. Luv u!