Apple Spice Cake with.... CARAMEL frosting

I am here to say, "I do not have a fear of fruitcake". I have been called a fruitcake on more than one occasion, but I take it as a complement. My mom used to make honest to goodness fruitcakes at Christmastime to give as gifts. I don't actually remember eating her fruitcake, but I do remember tying ribbons around them. They were like bricks made out of fruit made pretty with a red bow. "Merry Christmas, by the way be careful not to drop it on your toe......"

Amazing Raisin Cake is my mom's recipe(or Apple Spice Cake). It reminds me of a fruitcake, in that is is actually better the next day or even three days later. The batter is heavy and sticky, extremely annoying as you spoon it into your pans. This cake is full of apples and raisins. You could also add nuts, but I put them in the frosting so I don't add them in the cake. I guess you could pick your poison, nuts in the cake or the frosting or neither, or both! I think you need to know that this batter does well in muffin and sheet cake form. If I am taking it to a casual coffee I will make muffins or a sheet cake, but if I want to step it up I usually will make a layer cake.

This Apple Spice Cake smells, well...amazing and when you enter a room with it I promise heads will turn. Even the heads of fruitcake opposers will take notice and want to give it a try.

This cake is really very simple. Made with common ingredients that I am sure you have on hand. There is one ingredient that might be a little surprising. It surprised my son when he saw me dumping it in the batter...now he can't wipe the tragedy of seeing mayonnaise added to cake batter out of his head. And because I have apparently scarred him for life, he won't try it.....his loss is my gain, literally right around my jellified middle.

Amazing Raisin Cake

printable recipe

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground clove

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup Hellmans mayonnaise

1/3 cup milk

3 cups apples peeled and chopped small

1 cup raisins (I use golden and regular raisins or a combo of both)

Preheat oven 350 degrees

Caramel Maple Frosting (or No Fail Caramel frosting)

printable recipe

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

3 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup chopped nuts (I'm partial to pecans)

So a couple years ago my mom brought with her from Florida, where she lives, all of the "family recipes" the ones that were written down anyway. My sister and I went through them and copied the ones we love. This being one of them for me. One thing I realized about my family is they were not much into directions. For example the apples were left out of this recipe. I had to call my mom the first time I made this cake.

"Mom?, I thought there were apples in the Amazing Raisin Cake".

"There are."

"The recipe you gave me doesn't have apples written down in the ingredient list."

"Oh, well yeh, they're in there, 3 cups."

"OOOOKaaayE."

Here for your reading pleasure are the word for word directions to this recipe as written by someone in my gene pool.

Grease and flour 2 9" round pans. Beat first 10 ingredients for two minutes on low speed. Stir in apples and raisins. Spoon batter into pans. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Frost with No Fail Caramel frosting.

And, well.....ya know what, it really is just that easy. But I feel like I need to give you a bit more guidance. I hope you don't mind. Here goes....

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large measuring cup. Flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.


In your mixer beat the eggs with the sugar for 2 minutes. Add mayonnaise and mix until incorporated, but no need to go crazy.

Now alternate your dry ingredients and the 1/3 cup of milk. The batter will be sticky, like fruitcake batter, annoyingly tacky and ooey gooey. Do this until dry and wet are completely incorporated.

If you haven't done it already, peel and chop your apples. I happen to find peeling apples therapudic. When I was a kid and my mom was making pies, apple butter, and any number of things from apples in the Fall, we would make it a challenge to see how many apples we could peel without breaking the peel. One continuous strip of peel. Then I would try to put the peel back into apple form. Those were the good ol' days. Bushes of apples to peel, and the smell of apples sauce cooking. Singing..........

"I love you a bushel and peck , a bushel and a peck, and a hug around the neck, a barrel and heap and ...." and how about this one.... "Mares eat oats and doe's-eat oats...and little lambs eat ivy a kiddle-eat-ivy-too wouldn't you?"

Come on 1-2-3 sing along with me now......


Sorry, I digressed on the apple peeling and song singing. Peel and chop your apples, add them along with the raisins to the batter.

At this point I get out my sturdiest spatula and fold the apples and raisins in to the batter. I have lost a spatula head in that stickiness before......just a precautionary note.

Like I said you can do muffins, layer(2 9") or 9x13 sheet cake with this recipe. What ever floats your apples.

Grease and flour your pans if you are doing a layer cake. Like I said this batter has some texture. Divvy up the batter and help it into the corners with your spatula. If I am making muffins I use cup cake papers.

It will only fill the pan half way no worries it will rise. Remember this is a dense cake, however, it will not raise up past top of pan.


Place in oven for 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Your house is going to smell heavenly. Beware if you are up wind of the neighbors you may find them at your door with their coffee cup. My friend Dee actually sniffed her way over to my house while I was baking this, she couldn't keep her paws out of the frosting, it was her birthday I let it slide.

Let the cakes rest for 10 minutes, then loosen the edges with a knife and remove from pans to continue cooling.


While cakes are cooling you can start to make your "no fail caramel frosting" that's the original name. I'm just going to call it Caramel Maple Frosting.

Can I hear an Amen for brown sugar and butter! And another....Amen! Someday when I am old and nuttier, I'm going to take a bath in this stuff. But for now I'll just melt the brown sugar, butter and salt over medium heat in a saucepan.

Whisk to blend and create a creamy caramel. Writing about brown sugar made me think of Mick Jagar....ever see him in concert? He's a freak of nature. I saw his Steel Wheels Tour at the Pontiac Silverdome, in Detroit....yes, that was a long time ago...and oh I'm sorry I didn't mean for you to loose your appetite by bringing up Mick Jagar. Moving right along.........

This is liquid gold. It is extremely valuable and never to be wasted. Pure Maple Syrup. I buy my syrup from a maple farm just 10 miles south of me. I would share the info, but it is so "mom and pop" that I just have their personal home phone number that was given to me by a friend. This stuff is the insiders secret maple syrup. The moonshine of syrup.

Not to be wasted, every last drop. Whisk in at the end of cooking time. Let bubble for a minute more and remove pan from heat.

Add the vanilla and milk. Whisk. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Then add 1 cup of powdered sugar.


You could get out your hand mixer at this point, or you could whip the dickens out of the frosting with your whisk and give your wrist muscles a good work out.

You want the frosting to be loose, not stiff. Gradually add the last 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and beat with whisk until smooth. Add chopped nuts if you like. I always use pecans, but I believe my mom used walnuts....didn't you?

It takes every ounce of will power for me to actually frost a cake with this frosting. I really just want to sit down with the pan and a spoon and watch Sponge Bob and get a brown sugar buzz.

Set the first layer top down or bottoms up (however you see it) on a cake plate, pour approximately 1/3 of the frosting over the cake, spread to help frosting fall over the sides.

Like so.

Place the next layer on, bottom side down. Bottoms together.

Pour the rest of the frosting over the top of the cake. Being careful to leave yourself a few licks in the pan.

If you are a lover of caramel, this frosting is going to push you over the top. Salty, maple, buttery....finger licken' good!

Prepare to be comforted by this Fall treat.

I also made muffins from the batter. For the muffins I cut the frosting recipe in half and left out the nuts, spooning it over the hot muffins right out of the oven.

The three on the edge I tried a crumble topping on. That worked well too. Crumb topping =1/2 cup of flour, brown sugar and butter in food processor until crumbly.

If I haven't said it already...I'll say it again. Fall is my favorite time of year for food. Summer is good, but Fall is the BEST! So many comforting foods. This cake recipe is definetly one of my comfort foods. I hope you find it comforting too.

I Luv You....a bushel and a peck......