Grandma’s Apple Cake with Caramel Rum Sauce
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 15 servings 1x
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
The Apple Cake:
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup shortening or substitute 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 cups apple, peeled and finely diced, about five average
Caramel Rum Sauce:
about 2 cups
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup cream
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons rum
Mix ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer 2 – 3 minutes until slightly thickened. It will thicken more as it cools, and it should be loose. If it is cooked too long and thickened more than it should be, you’ll likely find it cloying. It can be flavored with other flavors instead of rum.
Instructions
The Apple Cake:
Cream sugar and either shortening or butter, add eggs one at a time. Mix dry ingredients and whisk together; add to sugar mixture and mix. Mix in apples by hand. This will look thick and strange – it’s ok, just forge ahead. You’ll think I forgot the liquid in this recipe, but as the apples are mixed in, the juices moisten the cake.
Spread in a 9 x 13 pan, bake at 350 degrees for about one hour. The top should look dried and a little darkened in places. Test by pressing lightly on the top of the cake; when the indentation comes back up, the cake is done.
Notes: This batter is really thick and you will have to spread it into the pan – you haven’t made a mistake! This is the perfect recipe to use an apple/corer/slicer.
Caramel Rum Sauce:
Mix ingredients, butter, cream, sugar, brown sugar, and rum in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer 2 – 3 minutes until slightly thickened. It will thicken more as it cools, and it should be loose.
If the sauce has thickened more than it should, you’ll likely find it cloying. Simply add water by the teaspoon and mix to thin it out.