Fall Apple Cake

What is fall without a little fall baking?!  

I couldn't justify making this cake, in all its sweet-tasting glory, without having someone to share it with.   I decided a dessert night with friends was waaay past due.  I doubled the original recipe and it fit nicely into a 9x13-inch pan.  I also doubled it for you below in case you're thinking a dessert night spent with friends sounds as appealing to you as it did to me.  

The cake turned out super moist and the glazy top was just spectacular!   

So here's to cooler weather and to friendship!

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Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

For the Cake:

3 cups all purpose flour

2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

4 eggs

1 cup canola oil - I used vegetable

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups finely chopped apples

1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (optional) - I didn't use any

Brown Sugar Glaze:

1 cup packed light brown sugar

6 Tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 Tablespoons heavy cream

For the Cake:  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13-inch pan with butter and set aside.  In a large bowl, mix the eggs with a hand mixer til light in color and foamy.  Add the oil and vanilla and beat well. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Stir with a whisk to mix everything together.  Stir in the flour mixture with a spoon and continue stirring the batter til the flour disappears.  Add the apples and nuts (if using) and stir to mix them into the batter.  Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Place the hot cake on a wire cooling rack. While it's still hot, prepare the glaze.

For the glaze: Combine all the ingredients into a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Cook for 3-5 minutes.  

Spoon the hot glaze over the still hot-from-the-oven cake. Let the glazed cake cool completely before serving straight from the pan.