Fall is apple season in Michigan. Our apple tree seems to be on strike this year, so I’ve been buying up as many apples as I could from the local farmers’ markets. Now is the best time to stock-up on fresh apple cider too. Sure, they have apple cider in the stores, but read the ingredients. I agree, apple cider should have NO list of ingredients! So, I buy it direct from the farmers. Since I had so much cider anyway, I thought I would bake some into a cake. Turns out, not all of my ideas are crazy. This cake was amazing! It’s now on my Thanksgiving menu. (p.s. apple cider freezes well.)
The original recipe was for a Mocha Apple Cake by Rose Marie Pullar of International Falls, Minnesota. She was a junior winner in the 2nd Pillsbury Bake-off Contest in 1950. Her cake had raisins. If you like raisins in your cake, you can surely add them. I’m not a fan of raisins, so I replaced them with nuts. Oh, plus I swapped out the coffee for apple cider. Maybe rum would be a good idea for Thanksgiving day?
I mix my own flours and have put the recipe for fluffy flour in my E-BOOK. My fluffy flour mix works well for cakes, but any all-purpose gluten free flour should also work.
Cake Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cup plus 1/4 cup gluten free flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup apple cider
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- heaping 2/3 cup chopped apples
Frosting:
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3-4 tablespoons apple cider
- heaping 1/4 cup chopped pecans
For Cake:
In a mixing bowl, sift together 1 1/4 cup flour, spices, salt and soda. Set Aside.
In a small mixing bowl, toss chopped apples and chopped pecans with 1/4 cup flour. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in eggs.
Mix half of dry ingredients into butter/sugar mixture, then half of the cider. Repeat. Gently stir in apples & nuts.
Pour into greased 9×13 cake pan.
Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes, or until done. Cool and frost.
For Frosting:
Cream together butter, salt and powdered sugar. Stir in cider as needed to make the frosting easy to spread. Frost cake & sprinkle chopped pecans over top.
Find more recipes from my Pillsbury cookbook adventure here.
- 1 1/4 cup plus 1/4 cup gluten free flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup apple cider
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- heaping 2/3 cup chopped apples
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3-4 tablespoons apple cider
- heaping 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- In a mixing bowl, sift together 1 1/4 cup flour, spices, salt and soda. Set Aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, toss chopped apples and chopped pecans with 1/4 cup flour. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in eggs.
- Mix half of dry ingredients into butter/sugar mixture, then half of the cider. Repeat. Gently stir in apples & nuts.
- Pour into greased 9x13 cake pan.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes, or until done. Cool and frost.
- Cream together butter, salt and powdered sugar. Stir in cider as needed to make the frosting easy to spread. Frost cake & sprinkle chopped pecans over top.