Caramel Apple Cake

I'll be the first to admit that I have the mother of all sweet tooths (or is it teeth?)
When I eat supper, I always stop shy of being full.

I must save room for dessert.

It doesn't even have to be anything fancy, because let's face it, I'm not a fancy gal by any means.

But I just love something a little sweet after supper.

It can be a cookie, pudding or even a popsicle or an orange.

And I'll admit, when I get my hands on a new cookbook, I always start at the end of the book.

Because the end is always where the dessert recipes are located in most cookbooks. 

And that's exactly what I did when I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a new Gooseberry Patch cookbook, 
The Harvest Table. 

It's not even on store shelves yet, but y'all can get a sneak peak of it here.

If you aren't familiar with Gooseberry Patch cookbooks, then let me help you get familiar.

Each cookbook is filled with loads of recipes that have been shared by homecooks.

So you know you are gonna get tried and true family recipes.

It's like hanging out with your Grandma, and she's sharing her secret recipe for beef stew that you've always loved.

In this cookbook, I was immediately drawn to the Caramel Apple Cake recipe.

First of all, it starts off with a boxed cake mix. 

If you follow my blog at all, you know I'm a huge sucker for dressed-up boxed cake mix recipes.

And this one only has 4 ingredients.

How do you like that for easy?
Plus, I knew these were flavors my husband really loves so I just had to make it.
And I was right too because he really liked this cake.
We all did. It was so easy to throw together and it was incredibly moist.

 Ingredients:
1 (18.5 oz) pkg. yellow cake mix
1 (21 oz.) can apple pie filling
2 eggs, beaten
1 (12 oz.) jar caramel ice cream topping, divided use
2 tsp. ground cinnamon (optional, see Cook's notes below)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray (I like the kind that has flour in it).

Did ya see? I painted my nails. It only lasted for a day before it started chipping. {sigh}

In a medium bowl, combine dry cake mix, pie filling, beaten eggs and 1/4 cup caramel topping.

 If using an electric or stand mixer, mix on low speed for one to 2 minutes.
If you want larger pieces of apple in your cake, be careful not to mix too vigorously or the apples
will break up fairly small like mine did here.

Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Batter will be thick.

 Bake for about 30-35 minutes.
Keep in mind oven times do vary but your cake should be golden and bounce back to the touch.
And if you insert a toothpick or a butter knife in the center, it should come out clean and dry.

 Remove cake from oven and pour remaining caramel topping over warm cake.

 Some of the caramel topping will go over the sides as you spread it out.
Don't worry. All of it is just going to add to the moistness of this cake.
The warm cake is going to absorb most of the sauce as it begins to cool.

Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

This cake is so yummy served warm.

We would reheat individual slices for a few seconds in the microwave.

Gene thought it was best served with an ice cold glass of milk.

Cook's Notes: The ground cinnamon was not in the original recipe for this cake. 
 I added it because I just love the flavors of apple and cinnamon together.

Enjoy!

Printable Recipe Here

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Click on the link below.

This recipe was submitted by Liz Davies from Spanish Fork, UT and can be found on page 185.

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Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review as well as one to giveaway to a reader of this blog. No other stipend was given for this review. 

And anyway, money can't buy a positive review from me folks.

Also, just so we're clear, if you click on any of the amazon affiliate links above, and you buy the book, I earn a few cents, maybe even a dollar. 

I'm not even sure how much, but now you know all the details and we can stay friends.