Apple Pecan Cake

     There are so many good cooks in my family and in my hometown church. I could share their amazing recipes with you every day for a year and I still wouldn't have shared them all. The recipe I am sharing today is from a lady in my church, Mrs. Joan. I was talking on the phone with my mom, telling her I was making dessert to take to a chili dinner party and I wasn't sure what I wanted to make. She told me about the Apple Pecan Cake Mrs. Joan had brought to church, about how amazing it was, and how my dad brought two slices home with him. If my dad thinks this cake is good enough to take home two slices-- it must be good. Mom called up Mrs. Joan and asked if she could get the recipe to give to me and Mrs. Joan graciously told my mom how to make it. When my mom called me back with the recipe you would have thought we were talking about some buried treasure she had found! It's kind of sad how excited we get over a good recipe-- but I'm not ashamed. Because Mrs. Joan, one of the best cooks in our church, had just given us one of her recipes. That's something to get excited about. Here is what Mrs. Joan uses to make her Apple Pecan Cake:

1 ½ cup sugar

2 cups self-rising flour

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ cup oil

½ cup butter, melted

¼ tsp vanilla

3 eggs

2 large red delicious apples, peeled and diced

3/4 cup chopped pecans

     This recipe couldn't get any simpler! And it tastes SO amazing!

So gather your ingredients like I did here, and get ready to make one amazing cake.

Start by peeling, halving, coring, and dicing the apples. Set aside.

Next whisk together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a large measuring cup.

Beat eggs, butter, oil, and vanilla in a separate bowl until eggs are broken down.

In a large bowl combine the wet and dry ingredients.

Mix by hand until just combined.

Next fold in the apples and pecans.

The finished batter will be very thick.

Generously grease a bundt pan...

and evenly pour in the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, or when a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack for five minutes before turning out onto a platter.

I pride myself on making things that taste good, and I like things to look good, too-- but it is not a necessity. As long as my mouth likes it my eyes can get over it. And now I have to confess something:

my cake stuck to the pan.

   I let the cake cool on the rack for five minutes, and then inverted the pan over a platter. I kept waiting for a little thud-- but it never came. I turned the pan back over and it had not budged. That's when I broke out my knife to cut around the edges. When I inverted the cake over the platter this time I did hear a thud-- a little thud. I turned over the pan to see three-quarters of the cake on the platter and a quarter of it still stuck to the pan. At this point I almost had a little mental breakdown. I said food that looks good isn't a necessity for me-- and that's true when I make something for us to eat at home. But I was taking this to a dinner party! I wanted this cake to look good in the worst way. So I scraped what I could from the pan, turned the cake over one more time so you couldn't see it's naked bits, and quickly threw together a glaze to drizzle over the top in an attempt to redeem my cake. Mrs. Joan used PAM non-stick spray just like I did and she had no problem getting her cake out of the pan-- so I am calling it a fluke, a freak accident. The picture above is the cake before the drizzle, and after I put it back together again-- without help from all the King's horses and all the King's men.

Honestly-- it didn't look bad at all. And really, when I tasted it all of that went out the window. The cake got rave reviews from the people at the dinner party, and Adam has already asked me to make it again. I have to tell you this little story: Adam and I were getting ready to leave for the dinner party and I stepped out onto the porch (that is right off the kitchen) to let the dogs out. Adam didn't know I could see him from where I was standing, but I watched him skeptically sample cake. He took one bite, and his eyes lit up. He hurriedly stuffed two more bites in his mouth before realizing he was being watched. If that doesn't speak to how good this cake it I DON'T KNOW WHAT WILL! It really is sooo good. 

I made the glaze by melting together 1/3 cup brown sugar and 3 tablespoons of butter. I poured that hot liquid over 2 ounces of cream cheese and beat until smooth. I lightly drizzled the glaze over the cake... but feel free to dunk it in the glaze if you want-- I did!

I think it looks good enough to eat! And maybe a little better :)

     I hope you are staying dry if it's raining where you live, because it's coming down where I live! I didn't realize how hard it was raining and my poor puppies got soaked to the bone on the porch before I could let them in. Now I've got two wet dogs laying on towels on the floor. Thank goodness I just gave them a bath or else they would smell like wet dog, too!

Thanks for reading today! Love y'all!