Vegan Apple Spice Cake with Caramel Frosting (Crochet Hooks And Sanity Control)

I don't know about you, but the whole chocolate candy thing has sort of taken over my life. I'm even having visions of Payday candy bars in the middle of the day. . . then Snickers, then Three Muskateer. It's maddening! So, to keep the chocolate wolves at bay, I'd decided I needed to take immediate action to assuage the cravings. Enter cake. The un-chocolate kind. *But that doesn't mean I won't be heading out to Target this afternoon for a candy grab!

I've wanted to bake an apple cake for years. Years. I'd come across plenty of recipes. Most calling for a bundt pan, then a dusting of powdered sugar on top. I'm really not the "powdered sugar" type. My preference has always been toward the frosted cake, and for cake I can whip up fairly quickly when the mood strikes. (And when does it NOT strike?) Plus, a cake that holds up well for over a week in the fridge. My favorite before bedtime food has always been cake. After I'd made two chocolate cakes in a row this past month owing to the stress of life, it was time for something different. Enter this amazingly delish apple cake. Think of a combo of carrot cake with spice cake minus the carrots, and double the spice. This apple cake is super moist and holds up beautifully in the fridge for seconds and thirds! It contains one of my all-time favorites: candied ginger. I eat candied ginger by the piece throughout the year. I'm a nervous person by nature and require a calming ritual of some kind on most days. Nothing eases my tummy and rests my soul better than a piece of ginger and a cup of hot tea. Or a slice of cake. Either works. BTW, I buy my candied ginger in the bulk section of our local international foods store. So much cheaper that way.

Well, the fall colors seemed to have burst through over night. Truthfully, the trees haven't really been letting their leaves go--not like they've done in the past by this time. I love the back yard. These are some of my favorite colors of all time. In the morning I sit with my cup of coffee and take it all in.

Every night this past week, I've been adding a row or two to this lapghan. It makes me happy. I just keep adding a row, then spreading it across my lap, then adding a row. The colors in this are also some of my favorite. I've been leaning toward the hook vs. the needles a lot lately. I think the repitition and sort of mindless work you can get away with when working up a piece like this quiets my mind. November is closing in and I can hardly believe it. I begin to get edgy and have roller coaster emotions this time of year. I have to really be careful: excercise, get plenty of rest, sit directly in the sun (when it's out), keep my mind occupied and hands busy. It all helps.

I got an email alert yesterday about holiday airfare deals. I rarely look at these. But this year is different. So I checked on the flight costs to Chicago to visit my sister. Booked the flight this morning. Very excited. This will be my first visit to see her. She's visited me. But only because we both felt it was easier that way given my proclivity for staying put. She is thrilled and we are both now counting down the days. Not that we're getting all caught up in the holiday hoo-haa. But we are! Life is short. You must embrace "moments".  

Oh and the celebrations continue. After changing our boy's meds during the second trip (and almost his last) to the vet, the change in him has been miraculous! Dr. Thyme and I are giddy beyond words. His appetite has returned. His scrappy tendencies, the growling if you "bother" him in the evenings too much--we are just smitten with our second lease on life the meds he's on has given us. We hug him constantly and tell him how happy we are to have him in our life. Long and short of it is--he's one spoiled little guy right now. Not that our canine kiddos aren't already in the spoiled camp.

Vegan Apple Cake with Caramel Frosting

*Adapted from King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion

**makes one 9 x 13" cake

1 1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup Florida Crystals sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (or use fresh nutmeg)

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 cup unsalted vegetable margerine cut into small pieces (1 stick at room temperature)

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce mixed with 1/4 cup water

1/4 cup minced crytallized ginger (really need this for the extra flavor!)

3 large apples, cored and cut into 1/4" pieces (you don't have to peel them)

1/2 cup pecans, diced

1/2 cup raisins (either golden or regular)

2 teaspoons ground flax seed mixed with 6 tablespoons warm water

Preheat oven to 325. Lightly spray a 9 x 13" cake pan. In a large bowl whisk together the flours, sugar, baking soda and dried spice. In the bowl of a mixer, add the butter and apples, ginger, nuts and raisins and flax seed mixture and mix on low speed for about a minute. This will appear to be nothing more than a clump of a mess. That's okay, just hang on a second. Now, add the flour to this mixture in thirds along with the applesauce/water mix. The mixture will begin to come together, but still appear lumpy. After the last addition of the flour, mix one more time for about 30 seconds. Pour batter into prepared cake pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 45 minutes. The cake will just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan--but not too much. Insert a toothpick in the middle to test for doneness. It's a dense cake, thus the longer baking time. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.  

Caramel Frosting

1/2 cup unsalted vegetable margerine

1 cup brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons soy milk (or more, depending on the consistency you'd like)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 or more cups powdered sugar (depending upon the consistency you'd like)

1/3 cup chopped pecans (*optional--for sprinkling over the top)

In the bowl of a mixer, add the margerine and brown sugar and mix until smooth. Next, add the salt, extract and soy milk, blend well. Next, begin to add the powdered sugar to the mixture one half cup at a time. Mix well after each addition. Continue to add the powdered sugar and mixing until the frosting is at the consistency you'd like. I like a fairly fluffy, but thick kind. Frost the cake, sprinkle with chopped pecans and store in a covered container in the fridge!