• 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups canola oil
  • 3 large eggs, one at a time.
  • 3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 4-5 medium apples peeled, cored and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chopped nuts, optional
  • Butter Glaze
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup salted butter
  • 1/4 cup evaporated milk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

I hope this photo makes you want to bake up these individual apple cakes right now! But before we talk about how I made them and the adorable cast iron pans they are in, let me just say that I am so excited by the number of people entering the COOKING WITH ELISE ACROSS AMERICA CONTEST! If you have not yet entered, please do! I’m giving everyone who enters the contest partial virtual access to my new cookbook, YOU NEVER COOK ALONE. I’m asking you to read it, listen to the audio files of the book, make some of the recipes and tell me what you think!

You can make posts about how cooking and eating together has brought your family closer. You can upload images of some of the recipes you and your family have tried from my book or recipes you have created on your own!

Each month one person who has read the book, tried a recipe or two and posted a comment or created a post will be chosen to win the monthly prize.

This month’s prize is from the Lodge Manufacturing Company! But that’s not all, the winner will also receive a $50 gift card from my favorite wholesale club, BJ’s!

One winner will receive a beautiful set of 12 (3 1/2-inch) cast iron skillets — perfect for this time of the year and the upcoming holidays!

My apple cake was the perfect recipe to bake up in these adorable skillets. Imagine your table including your favorite recipe baked in these beautiful cast iron pans lovingly placed at each table setting. How thrilled would your guests be to see a dessert like this looking up at them! I wish you were here to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and to dig into these beauties with me! You can however bake this delicious cake with and for your family and sit together and enjoy!

 

If this Apple Spice Cake does not knock your socks off into the dryer, I honestly don’t know what will! I do declare this THE BEST Apple Cake I’ve ever made! A delicious butter icing gets soaked up in this amazing spice cake filled with chunks of tart apple. This is one of our family’s most favorite spice cakes. Because I baked my cake batter in the cast iron skillets, my cake had an extra nice texture on the bottom and sides! It is out-of-this-world good!

 

Here’s how we made it:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 12 individual (3 1/2 or 5 inch) Lodge cast iron skillets.

In an electric mixer, cream together light brown sugar, granulated sugar and oil.

Add your dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.

Fold in apples, vanilla extract and nuts if using.

Bake for 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Make the butter glaze just before the cake is ready to come out of the oven.

In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the brown sugar, butter and evaporated milk to a boil, stirring constantly.

Once mixture starts comes up to a rolling boil, immediately remove from the heat and stir in vanilla extract and salt.

When the cake comes out of the oven, poke holes in it using a chopstick.

Pour the icing over the top and watch the cake soak it all up! Allow the icing to harden a bit and enjoy plain or with a healthy scoop of French Vanilla Ice Cream!
Now please do not ask me how many calories is in this recipe. I’ve never been brave enough to calculate.

CONTEST

So be sure to register for the COOKING WITH ELISE ACROSS AMERICA CONTEST. It’s super quick and easy!