Caramel Apple Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup butter (at room temperature)
• 1/2 cup of plain Greek Yogurt
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced or cubed 1/4" thick

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.

2. In a large bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Whisk until smooth. Gently fold in the yogurt until evenly mixed. Gradually whisk in dry ingredients just until combined. Important: do not overmix! Using a rubber spatula, fold in apples by hand. Spoon batter into the 5 cup nonstick Apple Pans, filling them 3/4 full. Bake until a tester inserted in the cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes; remove from the pan and place onto the rack to cool completely.

3. When cool, return cake halves to the pan. With a serrated knife, gently saw off the excess cake above the edge of the pan. This ensures a nice smooth fit between the top and bottom halves. Stack the top of the cake on top of the bottom layer, securing them using a little glaze or frosting between the layers. Dust the cake with a sugar mixture using a sieve to sprinkle the desired amount. Another option is to pour a caramel glaze.

Glaze:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a shallow 6-inch saucepan, thoroughly mix brown sugar and flour. Stir in butter and milk, and cook over medium-high heat until the mixture comes to a rolling boil. Boil exactly 1-1/2 minutes.

2. Remove from heat. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture begins to thicken. Mix in vanilla and continue beating until the frosting is the consistency of thick honey, no more than 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Immediately pour caramel frosting onto the cooled cake and quickly spread it with the back of a warm spoon before the frosting begins to set up. Quickly sprinkle the top of the cake with toasted pecans. The frosting will set up completely in a few hours. Glaze recipe from allrecipes.com.