Apple Pudding Cake with Cinnamon Butter Sauce

My sister's recipe for a simple, rustic apple cake that’s dark with cinnamon and then, to top it all off with a little heaven? drizzled with a sweet cinnamon and butter sauce. And look who helped "Auntie Al" bake the cake, that's Bella!

“Have you seen our new cookbook?” asked my sister as we sipped coffee the first morning of my visit last week. We were both still in PJs and the sun had yet to appear across the Texas great plains but yes, already we were talking recipes. :-)

Adanna is rightfully proud of her church’s efforts. The new cookbook has a hard cover but keeps the familiar plastic comb that makes church-style cookbooks so easy to keep open on the counter. (For anyone looking to publish a church or group or family cookbook, she says her church had great luck with their publisher, Morris Press Cookbooks from Kearney, Nebraska.)

Adanna contributed five recipes but it was her recipe for Apple Pudding Cake that first caught my eye. “Haven’t you made that yet?” she asked with surprise, trying not to sound just a little bit peeved.

Ooops. Adanna first shared her recipe in the family cookbook we published in 2002. That’s how far back it goes, what a favorite it is with her family. And me, I’d missed it. :-(

So when her family gathered on Saturday, I took to the kitchen with seven-year old Bella and we made the cake together in just a few minutes and it was warmly –– WARMLY –– received. After dinner, the young men at the table almost-willingly tackled the dishes, just to earn rights to the last two squares.

This is a simple rustic apple cake that’s worth sharing, at the table, in church cookbooks, from family to family, from generation to generation. It’s that simple. It’s that good.

ALANNA’s TIPS Adanna's flour was a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat pastry flour. The extra nuttiness was very good! I wouldn't hesitate to make this cake with half or all whole wheat flour. When a child is “helping” make the cake, you might want to cream the butter and sugar, assemble the dry ingredients, peel the apples and then, at the end, combine the three. This way, the apples don’t turn brown but the leavening doesn’t weaken from an apple-peeling delay. Our apples were unevenly chopped. The small pieces “melt” into the cake but I liked having a few larger pieces too, just enough to visually identify that it’s an apple cake.

APPLE PUDDING CAKE with
CINNAMON BUTTER SAUCE

The apples “melt” into the moist cake

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Time to table: 1 hour
Makes 8x8 or 9x9 cake

CAKE
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature or melted and cooled
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup flour, fluffed to aerate before measuring (see TIPS)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 2 cups peeled and finely chopped apple (from about 2 large apples, see TIPS)

CINNAMON BUTTER SAUCE
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup half ‘n’ half
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon cinnamon

CAKE Preheat oven to 300F. Lightly butter a 8x8 or 9x9 cake pan.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy with an electric mixer. Add egg and beat until fluffy.

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix into butter mixture, just until mixed.

With a spatula, fold in apples. Turn into cake pan and bake for 25 to 35 minutes until top is crinkly and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool.

To serve, cut into squares and drizzle warm sauce over top.

CINNAMON BUTTER SAUCE In a small saucepan, combine all sauce ingredients and stir over medium heat just until ready to boil. Can be made ahead and rewarmed just before serving.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per Square, Assumes 9 Squares: 286 Calories; 11g Tot Fat; 7g Sat Fat; 53mg Cholesterol; 292mg Sodium; 44g Carb; 1g Fiber; 32g Sugar; 3g Protein; Weight Watchers Old Points 6, PointsPlus 8 This recipe has been Adanna-sized and 'Alanna-sized' with reductions in sugar and fat and increases in fiber with whole-wheat flour.

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Apple Pudding Cake with a Drizzle of Cinnamon Butter Sauce

Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Do you have a favorite apple recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. Follow Kitchen Parade on Facebook!

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