Author Notes
This recipe originally delineates from my Grandma Crawford, who was known by friends and family for her cakes. I never had the chance to meet her before she passed away, but when I make her cakes, her memory lives on. This cake is tricky and persnickety if proper techniques aren't implicated (tip: don't open the oven door during the baking time, the cake will fall and you will be left in a saddened state). This pound cake is moist from the orange juice and has the perfect amount of cinnamon-apple flavors to ode to a chilly autumn day. A decadent salted sauce is drizzled on top for a salty contrast. —Nathaniel Crawford
Ingredients
- Cinnamon - Apples + Salted Caramel Sauce
-
6
Granny Smith apples, peeled & thinly sliced
-
2 teaspoons
ground cinnamon
-
3 tablespoons
sugar
-
1 cup
sugar
-
5 tablespoons
butter, cut into slices
-
1/2 cup
heavy cream
-
Pinch
sea salt
- Cake Batter
-
3 cups
all-purpose flour
-
1 cup
oil
-
1/2 teaspoon
salt
-
2 1/2 teaspoons
vanilla extract
-
2 1/2 cups
sugar
-
4
eggs
-
1/3 cup
orange juice
-
3 teaspoons
baking powder
Directions
- Cinnamon - Apples + Salted Caramel Sauce
-
In a large bowl, mix together the apples, cinnamon, and sugar. Set aside.
-
In a medium sauce pan, heat up the sugar. Whisk every so often until the sugar begins to brown, clump up, and dissolves into a caramel color. The longer the sauce is let cooking, a deeper and more biting taste will be achieved. I prefer a lighter, nuttier profile than the other. This step takes about 5-10 minutes
-
Once the sugar has dissolved, take the sauce off the heat and let rest for 30 seconds. Carefully whisk in the butter and stir until combined. Gently add the heavy cream and whisk until combined. Finally, add a pinch of salt. Let cool, about 10-15 minutes, before transferring to an air-tight container for storage.
- Cake Batter
-
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Add all the ingredients to a large bowl and mix to combine until a thick batter forms.
-
Transfer half of the batter to a greased and floured tube pan. Place one layer of apples over the batter, then layer with the rest of batter and then top with apples. Bake for 1 hour 50 minutes to 2 hours or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
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