Apple cake with Brown Sugar Icing, Sea Salt and Chopped Pecans

Nothing screams Fall like a good apple cake.  This recipe is really delicious.  Forget about the old dense apple cake that feels like a brick in your tummy.  Rather, think it now like a fluffy and light apple cake, almost like a good muffin consistency, then dressed it up with this scrumptious brown sugar icing, and to balance it all up a sprinkle of flaky french sea salt and some more chopped pecans.  The result is just amazing.


Ingredients:

- For the Apple Cake:

2 eggs
1 stick of butter at room temperature
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
3 cups of flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 pinch of salt
3 cups of chopped green apples (about 4 apples)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar

- For the Brown Sugar Icing:


5 Tbsp. butter (softened)
1/2 brown sugar
3 Tbsp. Heavy Whip Cream
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt


- Optional:

Chopped pecans
French Sea Salt (Fleur de Sel)


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Prepare a bundt cake pan with melted butter and lightly dust with flour, or use the regular "joy of baking" cooking spray.

Beat butter and both sugar until creamy, for about 3 to 5 minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time.  In the meantime, mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon) and stir them with a fork.  Mix the wet ingredients (oil and vanilla).  Add the dry ingredients to the batter in three steps alternating with the wet ingredients.  Mix until just incorporated.  Finally, add the apples and pecans and mix them with a spatula.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes.  Let it rest for 10 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a cooling wrack.

Once the cake is almost cooled, start preparing the brown sugar icing.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and cook, stirring, until the sugar melts. It might look separated, but that's okay. Stir in the cream, and it should all come together. Bring the mixture to a boil, then pour it into a mixing bowl to cool for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, stir in the confectioners' sugar, salt, maple extract, and vanilla. Beat well. If the mixture appears too thin, add more confectioners' sugar, if it's too thick, add a spoonful of hot water. Be aware that it sets up QUICKLY. Pour it over the cake while it's still warm. Decorate right away with chopped pecans and french sea salt, if desired.

Enjoy!

Source:  Brown Sugar Icing - Recipe Courtesy of "Cake0rDeath"