Apple Cream Cheese Cake

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In honor of our second anniversary I went back to my apple roots. My very first post was my famous apple pie. (please don’t make fun of my early photos) My first anniversary reinvented the apple pie, with apple pie bites; to date one of my most popular recipes. This year I made Souther Living’s Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake. It’s an pecan studded apple spiced cake with a cheesecake swirled (or in my case sandwiched) between the layers. It’s topped off with the most amazing icing that tastes like you tapped a maple tree and poured the sugary bits over the cake. It’s moist and dense and really a celebration of autumn. You and your guests are sure to love it.

Beat the cream cheese with the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, flour and vanilla and beat until just combined. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350. Toast the pecans for about 8 minutes, once they smell fragrant they are ready. Remove the nuts to a bowl or board to cool. Once they are cool chop them finely.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a lage bowl, including the sugars. In another bowl, combine the eggs, applesauce, oil and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until it just barely comes together. A few flour streaks are perfect.

Stir in the apples and the pecans, and mix until they are evenly distributed. Spoon 2/3 of the batter into the prepared bundt tin. I prepared with butter and flour.  Then spoon the cream cheese mixture on top. Using a pairing knife, swirl the cream cheese into the apple cake batter. I was pretty light touched and did not get much of a swirl. It was still delicious- so I’m not going to sweat it. Spoon the remaining batter on top. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Test with a cake tester (bamboo skewer in my house) and when it comes out clean it is done.

Let the cake cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then invert the cake onto a plate and slide it on the cooling rack. The cake needs to cool completely before you ice it. Southern Living recommends 2 hours. If your cake bubbles up like mine did, you can trim the top to make it sit on the plate perfectly. It’s also a great way to taste the cake before you serve it, you know quality check. One tip if you cut it, set the cake on a piece of parchment so the cut edge does not stick to anything. 

When the cake is cool make the icing. Bring the brown sugar, milk and butter to a boil on medium heat. Boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Whisk in the powdered sugar until smooth. I would highly recommend sifting the powdered sugar first. I did not, and the effort it took to get the icing smooth- I swear gave me arm cramps. Spoon the icing over the cake letting it drip down the sides. I clearly could use some practice with this art form, it frustrated me to no end that my drips were not as pretty as the magazine. I did, however, discover two things. If you wait for the icing to dry, you can pry it off with no ill effects. Also, you can reheat it and try again. Not that I had to do either of those things, but I will say the photos are of the one section that turned out ok in my eyes. 

5.0 from 3 reviews

Apple Cream Cheese Cake

 

Print

Prep time

2 hours

Cook time

90 mins

Total time

3 hours 30 mins

 

recipe from Southern Living Magazine

Author: angelika

Recipe type: dessert

Serves: 12

Ingredients

• ~ Cheesecake Filling~
• 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ~Apple Spice Cake~
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1½ cups whole wheat pasty flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• ¾ cup sunflower oil
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups peeled and finely chopped apples, about 1½ lb. (I used Granny Smith)
• ~ Praline Icing~
• ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• ¼ cup butter
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

1. To prepare the cheesecake beat the cream cheese, butter and sugar in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until smooth.
2. Add the eggs, flour and vanilla and beat until just blended.
3. Preheat the oven to 350º
4. Roast the pecans on a sheet pan for 8 minutes, remove to a plate to cool.
5. Whisk all the dry ingredients together (including sugars).
6. Combine the eggs, applesauce, oil and vanilla in a bowl.
7. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing until just combined.
8. Stir in the apples.
9. Spoon ⅔ of the batter into a buttered and floured bundt pan.
10. Spoon the cream creese layer on top, and use a pairing knife to swirl it into the cake batter.
11. Spoon the rest of the cake batter on top.
12. Bake at 350º for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Testing for a cake tester to come out clean.
13. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out to cool completely. (2 hours)
14. To make the icing bring ½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup butter and 2 tablespoon milk to a boil over medium heat. Whisk constantly.
15. Boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla and powdered sugar.
16. Whisk constantly until smooth. Then stir with a spoon for 3-5 minutes waiting for the icing to cool and thicken.
17. Spoon icing over the cake and decorate with pecans.
18. If the icing gets too thick to pour nicely, reheat it on the stove for a minute.

3.1.07

Tagged as: apple cream cheese bundt cake, apple spice cake, cake, contest, souther living apple cake