I’m one of those rare people who look forward to summer’s end. During the summer my time is stretched to the max between the garden, the house, visitors, and the blog; the thought of being free to play in the kitchen again is just heaven – like a kid bursting out of the classroom on the last day of school!
Of course, adding to my joy is the satisfaction of baking and cooking hearty cold weather foods. Right now I have a big basket of apples in my kitchen, so I used one to make a rich, dense, finger-licking Apple Pecan Whiskey Cake.
I’ve never been one to sneak tastes of cake batter (cookie dough is a different story) but after one taste of this batter, I was like a little kid with those beaters. I’m willing to risk salmonella for that batter any day! Besides, I use eggs from our own chickens, and I trust my girls implicitly.
I was going to leave the cake plain, but at the last minute I added a simple drizzle of glaze. I was in a tearing rush and didn’t beat it well enough, so you will see tiny little powdered sugar lumps where they do NOT belong. I’m sure you’ll plan your time better than I and mix it better…right?
This recipe has been husband AND neighbor approved!
| Apple Pecan Whiskey Cake | Print |
- 3 cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- 1 cup oil (I used peanut oil)
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- ½ cup whiskey (or you could substitute apple juice)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 cup chopped, toasted pecans
- 1 cup peeled, cored, and chopped apple (about 1 average size apple)
- Heat oven to 350F. Set rack in the center of the oven.
- Sift together twice: the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, espresso powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom. Remove 2 tablespoons of flour mixture and toss it in a small bowl with the chopped apple. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together the oil, eggs, brown sugar, white sugar, and molasses for 2 minutes.
- Add the whiskey and vanilla and beat well.
- Alternately add the dry ingredients and buttermilk, beginning with the dry ingredients and ending with the buttermilk, adding one-third of each at a time. Beat on low with each addition, just until incorporated. Don't over beat!
- Fold in pecans and chopped apple.
- Grease and flour (or use a flour/oil combination spray like Baker's Joy) a bundt pan. Spoon batter evenly in pan an place in preheated oven.
- Bake for approximately 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick or wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted into the cake.
- Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn cake out to cool.
- This cake is delicious when served barely warm with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream.
To make the glaze, combine 1 cup of powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons whiskey, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Mix together well. Slowly add milk until the glaze is the correct thickness for drizzling over the cake.
To make whipped cream to serve with the cake, beat 1 cup of heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla (clear vanilla if you want the cream to be white) and beat until stiff peaks form.
There is no turning back now, you know; it’s officially fall and all of us “Foodies” will be inundating you with pumpkin, apple, maple, and cranberry recipes! Oooooh…and doughnuts. Maybe pumpkin apple maple cranberry doughnuts….
Lorinda