Tonight starts my blogging journey.  I've been following tons of awesome blogs for awhile now and decided to start one of my own. I am sooo excited to be able to document my "life" for others to explore.  To start out, I wanted to post an awesome recipe for a dessert I made last night.  Now that Fall is around the corner I love to cook and bake with apples.  If you are looking for something different to make with your apples, you should definately try this.  The cake was so rich and delicious!

Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

 

Cream Cheese Filling:

1 (8oz.) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Apple Cake Batter:

1 cup finely chopped pecans

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground allspice

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup canola oil

3/4 cup applesauce

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups peeled and finely chopped apples (about 1 1/2 lb.)

Praline Frosting:

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup butter

3 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

1.  Prepare Filling: Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended and smooth.  Add egg, flour, and vanilla; beat just until blended.

2. Prepare Batter: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake pecans in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.  Stir together 3 cups flour and next 7 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in eggs and next 3 ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in apples and pecans.

3.  Spoon two-thirds of apple mixture into a greased and floured 14-cup Bundt pan.  Spoon Cream Cheese Filling over apple mixture, leaving a 1-inch border around edges of pan.  Swirl filling through apple mixture using a paring knife.  Spoon remaining apple mixture over Cream Cheese Filling.

4.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely, about 2 hours.

5.  Prepare Frosting:  Bring 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and 3 Tbsp. milk to a boil in a 2-qt. sauce-pan over medium heat, whisking constantly; boil 1 minute, whisking constantly.  Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.  Gradually whisk in powdered sugar until smooth; stir gently 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture begins to cool and thickens slightly.  Pour immediately over cooled cake.

End Result:

You can see my kids patiently waiting in the background for a slice.  The directions are a bit lengthy, but I promise, this cake will NOT dissapoint you. :)