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CHUNKY APPLE WALNUT CAKE

from Pam Tillis's backup singer, now Chef Lona Heins
For the Cake
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/8 teaspoon ground clove
1 ¼ teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 ¼ cups Granny Smith apples peeled and cut into chunks
1 ¼ cups coarsely chopped walnuts
 3 teaspoons Calvados liqueur (an apple flavored alcohol) or apple juice
parchment paper
non stick spray
 
Directions:


Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

1.  In a large bowl, beat together oil and sugar until thick.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

2.  In a separate bowl, sift together both flours, spices, baking soda, and salt. Add this dry mixture to the oil/egg mixture and blend well.

3.  Add apples, walnuts, liqueur or apple juice. Stir until evenly mixed. The batter will be thick.

4.  Spray a 10-inch round cake pan with oil. Cut parchment paper to fit the pan and place in bottom of pan. Pour batter into pan and bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick placed in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for about ten minutes. Remove from pan, remove parchment and continue to cool on rack. With a toothpick, make holes all over the top of the warm cake so the glaze will absorb. Glaze recipe follows.
 
For the Glaze
Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
6 Tablespoons white sugar
3 Tablespoons Calvados liquer or apple juice
4 Tablespoons apple cider
2 Tablespoons orange juice
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
Directions:


1.  Melt butter in a saucepan. Add sugars and combine.

2.  Add remaining ingredients, reduce heat and cook 4 minutes until thickened and syrupy. It will bubble slightly.

3.  Place warm cake on a large serving platter with upturned sides so that glaze can pool around cake. Pour hot glaze over warm cake and allow it to drizzle down the sides and into the holes on top. Pam suggests that you make an additional batch of this "magic" glaze and place it on the table so each of your guests may add more glaze to their serving if they wish. Pam says this glaze is what makes this cake soooo good!