Grammy's Recipe Book Desserts

Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce

From Linda Martinone tube pan

Prep
30 min
Cook
1 hr 15 min
Rest
30 mincool, then pour on the caramel
Total
2 hr 15 minstart to eating

Times are our estimates for Grammy's recipe, with unhurried prep.

Grammy's handwritten page for Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce
Page 46 · full size

As written

Word for word from her page, with her spelling and line breaks. [?] marks a word we couldn't read.

Apple Cake Linda Martin / Nude[?]

3 eggs

2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups veg oil
2 TSP of vanilla
3 cups flour
1 TSP salt
1 TSP. baking soda
3 cups chopped apple's
1 cup chopped pecans

Mix in above order
1 hr 15 min
tube pan

[in red ink]
Caramel Sauce

1/4 cup butter

1/4 milk
1 cup packed brown sugar [?]

Combine all ingredients in saucepan
boil 3 minutes stir constantly
cool slightly and pour over cake

Grammy's recipe

Her recipe, typed out to cook from: her amounts and her words, with abbreviations spelled out and the steps numbered.

Ingredients

Cake

  • 3 eggs
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1½ cups vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3 cups chopped apples
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

Caramel sauce

  • ¼ cup butter
  • ¼ cup milk
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar

Method

  1. Mix the cake ingredients in the order listed.
  2. Bake in a greased tube pan for 1 hour 15 minutes.
  3. For the sauce: combine the butter, milk and brown sugar in a saucepan and boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
  4. Cool the sauce slightly and pour it over the cake.

Modernized

A present-day cookbook version, with missing steps filled in. These are suggestions, not her words.

Ingredients

Cake

  • 3 large eggs
  • 1¾ cups sugar
  • 1¼ cups neutral oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 cups peeled, chopped apples
  • 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Caramel sauce

  • ¼ cup butter
  • ¼ cup milk or heavy cream
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • Pinch of salt

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube or Bundt pan.
  2. Beat the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla until combined.
  3. Stir in the flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon, then fold in the apples and pecans. The batter is thick.
  4. Spread in the pan and bake 1 hour 10–15 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
  5. Cool 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out.
  6. Caramel: boil the butter, milk, brown sugar and salt for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Cool slightly and pour over the cake.

Ideas to play with

Twists and variations to try. Suggestions, not hers.

  • Warm with ice cream

    Serve slices warm with vanilla ice cream and extra caramel.

  • Salted caramel

    Sprinkle flaky salt over the caramel once it’s poured.

  • Mini Bundts

    Bake in mini Bundt pans for 30–35 minutes for individual gifts.

  • Apple cider caramel

    Reduce 1 cup cider to ¼ cup and use it in place of the milk.