Sticky Spiked Double Apple Cake With A Brown Sugar Brandy Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• In a small bowl, soak the dried apple slices for 15 minutes. Don't drain! Preheat oven to 325. Butter a 9 x 13" pan. In a bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves and set aside. With a mixer, blend both sugars. Add the eggs and beat on medium until thickened and pale, 2 min. Add the cooled melted butter and blend. Fold in the dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing just enough to moisten most of the flour. Add the dried fruit mixture, chopped pecans, and diced fresh apple, then fold into batter. Scrape batter into pan and bake for 70-80 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Keep well wrapped at room temp for up to 5 days. Serve with a pour of the warm sauce. Combine butter, sugars and cream in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves, then increase heat to medium and bring to a gentle boil, stirring. Cook 5 more min, then remove from heat and stir in brandy or other liqueur. Serve immediately, or cool to room temp, then cover and refrigerate, up to 3 days. To rewarm, either microwave or heat in a saucepan.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, soak the raisins in the brandy for 45 minutes. Add the dried apple slices and macerate for a further 15 minutes. Do not drain! Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 inch pan and line the bottom and up the two long sides with a sheet of parchment paper, letting the paper hang over the edges by an inch or so. Lightly butter the paper. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves together into a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl with a hand held electric mixer or whisk, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, blend both sugars. Add the eggs and beat on medium speed until thickened and pale, about 2 minutes with a machine, 4 to 5 minutes by hand. Add the cooled melted butter and mix to blend. Fold in the dry ingredients in two additions, mixing just enough to moisten most but not all of the flour. Add the dried fruit and brandy mixture, chopped pecans, and diced fresh apple, then fold them into the batter with long, deep strokes. Don't fret about the ratio of fruit to batter - there is a remarkable amount of fruit but it bakes into a wonderfully chewy cake. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and set in the center of the oven. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until the center springs back when lightly touched, a tester inserted into the center comes out clean and the cake is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Transfer to a wire rack and cool. This cake keeps beautifully, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 5 days, although it is best within 2 or 3. Serve warm or at room temperature with a healthy pour of the warm Brown Sugar-Brandy Sauce. Makes enough for 10 to 12 people (or 2, if you give them a couple of days ...).