Apple-Pecan Pound Cake with Caramel Glaze

This recipe for apple-pecan pound cake with caramel glaze is based on one I cut out of The Los Angeles Times over twenty years ago. I love making cakes in a bundt pan because I don’t have to fiddle with extra pans and worry about fancy frostings. This is a wonderfully rich cake to showcase apples at the peak of their season right now. Granny Smiths work well here, my favorite apple for baking.

I have learned to double the ingredients for the caramel glaze and my version reflects the adjusted amounts.  The original recipe called for cream instead of milk in the caramel sauce and either will make a thick glaze. No need to peel the apples unless you prefer to do so.

Apples, pecans and caramel sauce – what’s not to like?

TIP: This recipe makes a lot of caramel sauce. You can hold some aside to add to the cake as you serve it, or else freeze it. It is delicious over vanilla ice cream.

Yields one cake, about 10 servings

• 2 1/2 cups Granny Smith apples, chopped into small pieces (2 large apples)
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon Meyer lemon zest
• 5 large eggs
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 pinch kosher salt (optional)
• 3/4 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 pinch kosher salt (optional)
• 1 cup whole milk or cream

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Using a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and sauté the apples over medium heat for 3 minutes. Set aside.

3. Using a standing mixer on medium speed, cream remaining butter with sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla, lemon zest, and then the eggs, one at a time.

4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and salt.

5. Turn on mixer to low and add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Next, fold in the apples and pecans.

6. Spoon the cake batter into a greased and floured bundt pan and bake for 1 hour.

7. While the cake bakes, make the caramel sauce. Using a medium-sized saucepan, combine the brown sugar, white sugar, salt and milk. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, for 5 minutes, until sugars have melted.

8. When cake has baked and cooled for 15 minutes, turn out of bundt pan onto serving plate. Drizzle with caramel sauce.