Toffee Apple Pecan Cake Recipes

APPLE PECAN COFFEE CAKE

Steps:

• In a bowl, cream butter, shortening and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Combine the dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk and mix well. Spread half into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Top with apples. Carefully spread remaining batter over apples., For topping, combine flour, sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly; stir in pecans. Sprinkle over batter. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

PECAN TOFFEE CAKE

Steps:

• Tip 100g pecans into a processor and whizz until fine, then tip into a bowl. Put the dates into a small pan with enough water to cover, boil for 5 mins until very soft. Drain, discarding the liquid, then whizz in the processor until smooth. Leave to cool.
• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line the base of a 23cm cake tin. Beat the butter, sugar and spice together until lighter and creamy, then tip in the dates, ground pecans, eggs and a pinch of salt and beat briefly until smooth.
• Fold in the flour with a metal spoon, then spoon into the tin and level the top. Sprinkle the remaining nuts over the top (don't press them in), then bake for 40 mins or until risen and golden and a skewer comes out clean. Serve warm, with generous drizzles of maple syrup and scoops of Maple crunch ice cream (see 'goes well with').

TOFFEE APPLE & PECAN CAKE

Steps:

• Grease and line a 900g loaf tin with a strip of parchment. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Using electric hand beaters, beat the caramel, sugar and butter until smooth and even. Add the eggs, flour, baking powder and vanilla, then beat again until even. Fold in the chopped apples and chopped pecans.
• Spoon into the loaf tin, then poke the sliced apples into the batter and scatter it with the broken pecans. Bake for 30 mins, then cover the top loosely with foil and return to the oven for 30 mins more, until risen and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 mins in the tin, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• For the frosting, cream the icing sugar and butter together with electric beaters until pale, then beat in 1 tbsp caramel. Split the cake into 2 and sandwich with the frosting. To finish, warm the remaining caramel with 1 tsp water until runny, then drizzle over the cake.

APPLE-PECAN COFFEE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Grease bottom and sides of 9-inch square pan with shortening and lightly flour, or spray with baking spray with flour. In small bowl, mix streusel ingredients; set aside.
• Place cereal in resealable food-storage plastic bag; seal bag and crush with rolling pin or meat mallet (or crush in food processor). In large bowl, stir together cereal and milk; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in remaining coffee cake ingredients except apple; beat 30 seconds with spoon. Gently stir in apple. Spread half the batter in pan; sprinkle streusel on top. Spoon remaining batter over streusel; spread to cover.
• Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm.

TOFFEE APPLE CAKE

Steps:

• Start by making the cakes. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line 2 x 18cm springform cake tins with baking parchment and brush with a little oil. Put the sugar and eggs in a large mixing bowl and whisk with electric beaters until glossy and pale. Keep the beaters running as you pour in the oil.
• Stir in the grated apple, then fold in all the other cake ingredients. Divide the mixture between the tins and bake for 30 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
• While the cakes cook, prepare the apple filling. Tip the lemon juice into a large bowl and fill halfway with cold water. Peel the apples, then cut into spheres using a melon baller - pop them in the bowl of lemon water as you go to stop them discolouring. In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, dark brown sugar, golden syrup, cinnamon and 200ml water, and heat until boiling. Take the apple balls out of the water and put them in the pan -if you want to make the tiny toffee apples for the top, keep 8 apple balls in the water until needed. Bring the mixture in the pan back to the boil for 8 - 10 mins or until the apples are soft but not losing their shape, and a thick syrup starts to form. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely, then chill until needed.
• Stir all the syrup ingredients together in a bowl. When the cakes are cooked, keep them in the tin but prick holes all over the surface with a skewer and drizzle the syrup over. Leave the cakes to cool completely in the tin.
• While the cakes cool, make the icing. In a small heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the butter and white chocolate together. Once melted and glossy, pour into a large bowl. Add the cream cheese, whisk until smooth, then add the vanilla. Finally, fold in the yogurt. When the mixture is cool, chill until needed.
• To assemble the cake, take the cooled sponges out of their tins and put one of them on a cake stand. Top with half the white chocolate icing - use a spoon or pipe it using a very large round nozzle. Scatter the cooked apple pieces, along with a drizzle of the syrup, over the icing, then place in the fridge to firm up for 15 mins. Add the top layer of the cake, then decorate with the rest of the icing by piping it in lots of regular little mounds all over the top using a large round nozzle. Put the whole cake in the fridge until ready to serve. Will keep for 2 days in the fridge.
• For a showstopping, but optional, finish, make some beautiful miniature toffee apples. Their effect is stunning but fleeting, so make them just before serving your cake, as the caramel will dissolve quickly due to the moisture in the air. Brush a baking tray with a little vegetable oil and set aside. Very thoroughly dry the reserved apple balls from step 3 of the cake with kitchen paper or a clean tea towel and insert a long wooden skewer into each one.
• Put the caster sugar in a small saucepan over a medium heat, stirring often, until the sugar melts. Keep cooking until the sugar has become a liquid golden caramel, then remove from the heat. If it looks like it's getting too hot, sit the base of the pan in a heatproof dish of cold water.
• Tilt the pan and, working quickly (as the sugar will continue to cook), hold the apple balls by the skewer and dip each one in turn into the caramel and twist it around to coat it. It's really important that the apple balls are well dried and that you don't turn them in the hot caramel more than twice, otherwise the apple will cook and release liquid, which will stop the caramel from sticking. As soon as they are coated, slowly lift them out vertically. Hold the apple up out of the pan and pause before transferring it to the oiled tray on its side. Holding it up like this will allow a long drip of caramel to set hard and create a beautiful long spike. Repeat the process with the rest of the apples, working quickly so that the caramel doesn't harden completely before all the apples have been coated. However, don't worry too much as you can always gently reheat it over a low heat before continuing - just be careful not to burn it, otherwise it will taste bitter.
• After a couple of minutes, the apples should have set. When they are cool enough to handle, pull out the skewers. Place the apples on top of the cake so that the spike is pointing upwards and the base of the apple (where the skewer was) is pressed into the icing. Serve immediately.

SPICED TOFFEE APPLE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line a 20 x 30cm baking tray with baking parchment. Put the dates and milk in a small pan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and set aside for 15 mins to cool.
• Whizz the date mixture to a smooth purée in a food processor or blender, then scrape into a large mixing bowl. Tip in the butter, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, eggs, mixed spice and vanilla, and set aside while you prepare the apples.
• Quarter and core the apples, then slice quite thinly, tossing in a little lemon juice as you go. Quickly beat together the cake ingredients with an electric whisk until smooth, then scrape into the baking tray. Arrange the apple slices, overlapping in rows, on top of the cake - you should be able to get 3 rows lengthways down the tray. Bake for 45-50 mins until a skewer poked into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the tray.
• Put the toffees in a small pan with a good splash of milk and gently melt, stirring, until runny. To finish, dust with a little icing sugar, then drizzle sauce all over the cake. Cut into squares or slices to serve.