Apple Walnut Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze

Thanks for following along with our new adventures! We recently moved from Pittsburgh to Haiti where we are starting a 5 year volunteer assignment with a non-profit relief and development organization. We will be in transition for the next few months as we complete our in-country orientation, language study, spend time living with host families in both the countryside and capital... and lest we forget, have our first baby somewhere in there as well! Please bear with us as we will not have ready access to internet or a kitchen throughout this time. We will continue to share new recipes that we've prepared in advance, and updates on our new life in Haiti as often as we are able.

As much as we love the tropical fruits and Caribbean flavors of our new home in Haiti, we are nostalgic for the apple and spice combination, so classic to this time of year in North America. We love this old-fashioned Apple Walnut Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze, pungent with cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and ginger, glazed with a salty caramel. 

Yield: one cake, serves 8-10

Apple Pecan Bundt Cake

• 2 1/3 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 8 tablespoons butter, softened, cut into small pieces
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 cups chopped unpeeled apples (about 4-5 medium apples)
• 1/2 cup diced walnuts

Caramel Glaze

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 8 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2 tablespoon chunks
• 2 tablespoons half-and-half (or heavy cream)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Steps:

1. For the Apple Walnut Bundt Cake: Heat the oven to 325.  Grease a bundt pan (or a 9 x 13 inch pan).
2. Mix the dry ingredients (flours, sugars, soda, salt and spices) in a large mixing bowl.  
3. Add the butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat at medium speed until well combined. Note that the consistency will be like wet sand (not like a traditional cake batter). The liquid from the apples will provide most of the cake's moisture during baking.
4. Stir in the apples and walnut until evenly distributed.
5. Dump the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan, smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 1 hour (until the cake springs back lightly when touched in the center and a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool before removing from the pan.  It must be completely cool before beginning the Caramel Glaze.
6. For the Caramel Glaze: Add a half cup sugar to a medium sized heavy bottom sauce pan. Over medium heat, melt the sugar, which will take about about 5 minutes. Stir constantly as the sugar begins to darken in color (about 2 more minutes). Remove from heat before the caramel begins to smoke.
7. Remove the pan from heat and add 3 tablespoons worth of butter to the hot sugar, stirring quickly to avoid chunks forming. 
8. Very carefully add the hot caramel to the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed. Add the cream and salt, and whisk until fully combined. Add the butter, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, adding additional butter chunks as the butter becomes fully incorporated into the caramel. After all the butter has been added, continue whipping the mixture until it is cooled to just above room temperature. You can measure this by putting your hand against the side of the bowl.
9. Pour the caramel glaze over the cooled cake and top with chopped walnuts. Cut into wedges, and serve.