Dorothy Mae Brown’s Apple Spice Cake
There’s a great foodie blog I recently discovered & I absolutely love what she does. She bakes WONDERFUL stuff, mainly cakes, & I’m really having a hard time keeping up. Seem to get into a bookmarking frenzy each time I get to the Food Librarian, and the Dorothy Mae Brown Apple Spice Cake was no exception. 
This cake is one I bookmarked off her blog on Friday, the 13th, quite the minute I laid my eyes on it. I felt an instant ominous ring to my bookmarking because of the date, LOL, but everything went along just fine.I love apple cakes, especially after the earlier Apple Almond Cake I had made from a recipe @ Dragon’s Kitchen. Dorothy Mae Brown’s cake was called spicy & I planned to make it ASAP. I had apples on the counter, & wanted to pair this up with pumpkin pie spice, nuts & raisins. 
As the Food Librarian said, Dorothy Mae Brown’s Apple Spice Cake is one of the most popular recipes on Martha Stewart’s website. Didn’t make the caramel syrup to top the cake, since I wanted to cut back on sugar, and substituted a bit of wholewheat flour for plain flour, which is something I often do. Also used pumpkin pie spice in the cake as I like the flavour. If you check out the pictures on that post at the Food Librarian, you might just get tempted to make the caramel syrup as well coz it looks really nice on the cake. Her cake is much prettier than mine.
Mine was not too pretty, but it was certainly pretty delicious. Was absolutely wonderful served warm, & kept very well for the couple of days that it lasted. It made for a fine dessert with a dollop of delicately spiced pumpkin pie spice cream …. very indulgent indeed!
APPLE SPICE CAKE
as taken from the Food Librarian
adapted from Apple Spice Cake on Martha Stewart’s website
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3 to 4 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (3 cups)
1 cup chopped assorted nuts, such as pecans and walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup green & black dried raisins
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
Method:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; set aside.
- Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Reserve in a bowl.
- Beat vegetable oil, sugar, and eggs; mix on high speed until lemon yellow. Beat in extract.
- With mixer on medium speed, gradually shake in dry ingredients until just incorporated. I had to finish it off by hand because the mixture became very thick.
- Add apples and nuts to batter; mix to combine.
- Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 75 to 90 minutes.
- Remove from oven, and cool slightly on a wire rack.
- Invert cake onto rack; turn cake right-side up to cool completely on rack, and serve drizzled with caramel sauce, or just a light dusting of powdered sugar & pumpkin pie spice.
I served a few special slices with a pumpkin spice flavoured whipped cream!
This one if off to Bookmarked Recipes, an event started by Ruth @ Ruth’s Kitchen Experiments. The event now has it’s very own spot on the net, & is a nice tribute to thank someone or something for a recipe that you’ve enjoyed making.
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Deeba @ PAB
About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.
41 Comments
Mary
I love these rich cakes !
DG
Yum! That’s one to try. We LOVE a good apple cake.
Miakoda
I can almost smell the wonderful spicy aroma 🙂 But I was wondering, are the chunks of apple in the cake noticeable when you bite into it? I’m asking because I don’t really like apple pie too much because of the taste of the baked apple in it.
Lucy
Don’t ya just love it when you get to make something that you’ve bookmarked! I have so many in waiting LOL!!
This cake looks so good!
Helene
With cream, ice cream or syrup that cake sounds delicious. First time I see this recipe. Glad you shared with us.
Poornima Nair
Cake looks awesome…great pics.
Happy cook
Beautiful cake and i would love to have with the dollop of cream.
I am so bookmarking this recipe, just that i dodn’t think i have ever seen pumpking spice here.
Should check it out in the shop.
Not Another Omnivore
Oh man, this and the strawberry yogurt below look absolutely to die for!
And I think cutting out some unneeded sugar is a good idea every now and then…
NAOmni
Snooky doodle
what a nice cake. Surelu its delicious. I bet with the caramel sauce its even more delicious. Your photos are great as usual. 🙂
Laurie
Now I’m craving Apple Spice Cake with a dollop of cream.. and on your pretty dishes too! 🙂
Gera @ SweetsFoods
Deeba the apple spicy cake looks absolutely gorgeous and irresistible!
I want to tempt it with a dollop of full cream 🙂 Mmmmmm
Elra
Oh Deeba, I really like this cake. So delicious and that dripping cream on the cake is killing me. I feel like eating my screen at the very moment.
Cheers,
elra
Reeni♥
That is just the perfect tea cake. It looks wonderful! Full of delicious goodies!
Fitri
wooow.. your picture always make me happy 🙂 *sst..i love the blue plate too.
btw, i have award for you Debba, here : http://mommy-nisa.blogspot.com/2009/03/roti-manis-mini-sweet-bun.html
Soma
looks good, without the caramel too:-) I make apple spiced cake & love the flavors in it.. & love it with a cuppa.
meeso
These kind of cakes smell so amazing while baking!
Sam
Apple cake is probably my favourite of all cakes, this one looks amazing!
Bharti
The house must have smelled wonderful with this spicy cake.
noble pig
Oh my word I have never seen this cake…I absolutely love it. That last picture has me in heaven! Just an amazing sounding recipe. Now I am bookmaking it from you.
Arwen from Hoglet K
Yum! It sounds like a beautiful cake. I like the addition of nuts.
A_and_N
Oh, this is what you tweeted about. Looks so good for snack with chai!
Ivy
Remember I made your Apple crumble? I think that now it’s time to make the Apple spice cake. Thanks very much Deeba for sending it to Bookmarked Recipes.
Astha
Hi Deeba,
I just came to your blog while looking for a cookie recipe and must tell you that have been addicted since!! I am quite new to cooking as I have just got married and before that never even entered the kitchen!! (Though I regret it now..) I have some queries.. they might seem silly to you but consider my inexperience as an excuse pls… What exactly is whipping cream?? Do you get it in store or can you prepare at home??
Nachiketa
hmmm… so now i’ll have to come over for tea to eat this yummy cake… 🙂
Parita
wow the cake looks rich and i bet it smells delicious too 🙂 I wonder how do you manage to bake and cook so many recipes..amazing 🙂
Nicisme
You’ve been busy!
That photo with the cream was taken just for me! Delicious.
Donna-FFW
OHMY GOD!! This is just chock full of everything delicious.. It looks wonderful
Asha
Deeba, you are so right, we are spoiled here by so many choices!:D
Even I was surprised to see “Half loaf” pan, never had heard of that before when I saw it and then had to buy it.It’s cute although not necessary to baking! 🙂
Apple spice Bundt cake looks mouthwatering. I love sweet Cinnamon in anything, smells so yum. Great looking cake, enjoy.
Rising from my Ashes
Glad to come by your blog and I certainly would like to return again! I’m off to explore your archives and please don’t forget to bring me back to comment? Also I see we share an interest in James Brown?
wütende Bäckerfrau
Ah man, this looks sooo good. I love spice cakes. Hm, I never thought of flavoring cream with pumpkin pie spice, what a genius idea.
Thanks for the visits to my blog, btw. I enjoy reading yours 🙂
Bake on!
Tangled Noodle
Although the caramel sauce sounds wonderful, the cake stands beautifully alone! I’ll have to visit the Food Librarian soon.
lisa (dandysugar)
This cake looks amazing! So, moist and delicious on its own without the caramel sauce. A perfect sweet!
Hopie
Hello bloggeraid friend! I have an award for you over on my blog today. This cake sure looks delicious, with or without the caramel and pumpkin pie spice cream sounds amazing!
Tutta la Storia
OH MY-LICIOUS! This is lovely and mouth watering and I will so be trying it.
Maria
The cake looks fabulous. Love the apples, nice job!
Rising from my Ashes
I think there should be some sort of warning sign on this blog that warns the reader to have eaten before proceeding to read the contents. You make me so hungry and I love walnuts and apple especially with cakes and cereal. You are forgiven for causing my mouth to water.
Purnima
Cinnamon+apple – I know that flavor..now isn’t this a cute one! Hv to try it! Loved ur lovely blue crockery! Tks for sharing!
stephchows
I think it’s still beautiful 🙂 well plated! I have such a bookmarking problem… too many recipes too little time!
Kilauea Poetry
I just made this and it tastes soo good! Nobody will be dissapointed! I didn't even make a topping cause I never had time..thank you! I have your site bookmarked now!
Carole
Well well well, aren't you a gem of a find? You are where I hope to be, so long as my day job doesn't sap too much of my energy.
So, I am only a baby food blogger – still in diapers but I am a self-crowned apple-cake aficionado: here is the best apple cake ever: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/food/recipe41.shtml
Will make yours tonight, but urge you to try this one. Oh, and PS, yours is much prettier than that of The Food Librarian. Rock on sister…
Parvathy
Hi Deeba,
I am just an addition to your evergrowing number of fans. The apple cake recipe of Dorothy Mae Brown is something I have come across before and tried. But contrary to my expectations (my cakes always turn out well) the crust was too hard and the insides tasted a bit sour. Could u possibly find a reason for it??