Excerpt from "Share a Slice of Love" by Kim Nelson
In our eyes, autumn couldn’t begin until The Ladies had their annual apple picnic. each year we would designate a weekend in the fall to make our pilgrimage to the mountains, filled with laughter, baking and, of course, delicious apples. after stuffing our picnic basket and loading up the car, Miss Geraldine would drive us to the picnic site that our family had been going to for ages. The table sat along the roadside and you could hear the running water of the stream in the background as you finished up lunch. We piled back into the car and eventually arrived at the orchard for the annual apple tasting. We tasted every type of apple that the grower had. finally, we decided on two bushel boxes of Winesap apples, which we believed to be the best for both eating and baking. We loaded the boxes of apples into the trunk of the car. We couldn’t wait to get back home to begin baking.
Cake
11⁄4 cups canola oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 4 apples (firm & sweet), peeled and finely chopped
1 cup toasted pecans
Whisk together the oil and sugar. add the eggs, beating well. Sift the dry ingredients together and fold into the egg mixture. Stir in the vanilla, apples and pecans.
Pour the apple mixture into a greased and floured 9 x 13 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Pour the glaze over the cake while warm.
Glaze
1 cup sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1⁄4 cup (1⁄2 stick) unsalted butter 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Combine the sugar, baking soda, buttermilk, corn syrup and butter. (Use at least a 2-quart pan, as the sugar mixture bubbles up during cooking.)
Cook the sugar mixture over medium heat until the soft ball stage. Remove from heat. Add the vanilla. Pour over the cake and let cool.
Serves: 12-16 people