As I am recovering from my food poisoning – wow, has it been a long haul (as I write this it’s been 17 days, but hopefully by the time you read this I’ll be fully recovered!) – if you are just sick for an overnight, or 2 days, it’s not food poisoning. True food poisoning generally lasts about 2 weeks, and then some. I’m nowhere near as ill as I was when I first got home from my trip, but I still have occasional pain in my stomach and some food just doesn’t sound good – mostly meat and vegetables. And salads. It’s hard to find things other than lots of white food (chicken seems to be okay) that I can eat that doesn’t cause the pain. (The only good news is that I’ve lost 6 pounds.) Anyway, sorry about that detour – I was so happy the day I made this – I actually wanted to bake, and I was having my bible study group over, so a perfect occasion to create something to share. And the cake tasted wonderful, even with the nuts, which I wasn’t so sure would agree with my tummy.
When I designed my kitchen in my house (this was in 2006) because I had plenty of room, I created a kind of baking center on one side. My stand mixer, blender, toaster and food processor all hide in an appliance garage. The oven is a few feet away. All my baking needs are in the drawers below the countertop, and the drawer dishwasher (meaning that it’s half-high) is built into the island, so literally I just have to turn around. There’s also a small sink one step away too, so the dirty bowls and stuff get rinsed off and go right into the dishwasher. That also makes it easier, too, when the dishes are clean, they’re all put away without hardly taking a step. The dishwasher was planned mostly for wine glasses – it has a china/light cycle and it does a beautiful job of spotlessly cleaning the lovely Riedel glasses that grace the bar shelves in the family room. Whenever I entertain, all the wine glasses go into that dishwasher because it does such a good job – it’s a KitchenAid, fyi.
So, I went through my huge to-try recipes for a dessert that sounded good to me. I suppose I could have made anything, but hey, I’m the cook, I get to choose! I had some apples on hand (Granny Smith) which I’d intended to make applesauce with (you know, I was on the BRAT diet – bananas, rice, applesauce and toast during the early stage of my food poisoning) but never got around to preparing it. Bingo, this recipe just moved to the top of the list.
Hopefully you already read Elise Bauer’s website, Simply Recipes. She’s a wonderful cook, and I’ve made many of her recipes over the years. And this one she did in 2008 but I just hadn’t gotten around to trying. That’s corrected now and it will be a keeper.
She gives the credit for the recipe to someone named Mrs. Paxton from Virginia. But Elise mentions she’s made it a lot over the years. Did I say this was a keeper? Yes, indeed. It’s nothing all that unusual to make, although it uses oil as the fat in it. It has toasted walnuts and coconut in it. I didn’t have fresh coconut, so Elise says to soak regular sweetened coconut in water, then drain. All done in the stand mixer, poured into a greased and floured bundt pan and baked a long time. My only caution – make sure it’s done before removing from the oven – I have a taller, less-wide bundt pan, and the 1 hour baking wasn’t quite enough. The batter closest to the center tube of the bundt is that last place it cooks through. I used a cake tester, but I didn’t poke it enough just near the center tube, so it was just a bit under-done there. But it was fabulous. In every way. The glaze isn’t a necessity, but adds a lovely touch to it, especially if you like things sweet. Next time I make it I probably will reduce the sugar in the cake part by just a tablespoon or two – with the glaze, it makes it pretty darned sweet. But altogether good nonetheless.
What’s GOOD: For the third time, did I say this is a keeper? Yes. Delicious in every way. Do chop up the apple in little pieces, like 1/3 inch at the max, even smaller if you can make the time. The apples do stay in place in the batter – all over – and don’t sink to any one place. It’s a thick batter anyway. The glaze is delightful, especially if you have a pretty bundt pan with lots of grooves. I couldn’t get the cake to accept all the glaze, so used the last of it to sweeten the whipped cream I made. I think vanilla ice cream would be best with this, which is what Elise recommends. I had some salted caramel gelato, and those who had that thought it was a wonderful combo. I still vote for vanilla ice cream. I think the cake was even better the 2nd day.
What’s NOT: not a single thing – it does take awhile to bake and you need to test it during its last 15 minutes of baking. It also takes awhile to cool because it’s a dense cake. Make a day ahead if you can but don’t glaze until close to serving time.
Files: MasterCook 5+ and MasterCook 14 (click on link to open recipe in MC)
* Exported from MasterCook *
Mrs. Paxton’s Raw Apple Bundt Cake
Recipe By: A Mrs. Paxton, from Lexington, Virginia, but from Simply Recipes blog
Serving Size: 12
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs — slightly beaten
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups apples — peeled, chopped SMALL (Granny Smith, Gravenstein, Fuji)
1 cup coconut — (the sweetened fresh grated not the dried. If you use dried, soak first in water for 20 minutes, then drain well.)
1 cup chopped walnuts — toasted
GLAZE:
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Beat together the sugar and oil. Add the eggs. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to wet batter in thirds, beating to incorporate after each addition. Mix in the vanilla, apples, coconut, and chopped nuts.
3. Bake in a greased and floured bundt cake pan about 1 hour or more (it depends on the size and shape of the bundt pan). If the cake mounds up above the cake pan, it may need about 75 minutes.) Test around the centers (the center, closest to the hole in the middle, is the last part to bake through) with a long thin bamboo skewer or toothpick to make sure the cake is done. Or use an instant read thermometer – it should be close to 200°F).
4. When cool enough to handle, gently remove from pan. Let sit on a rack to cool completely. If the dough has raised substantially around the middle areas of the bundt ring, you may need to use a bread knife to gently level off the cake so that it sits even. [Mine did mound up, but it was even all the way around, so it sat on the cake plate just fine.]
5. Just before glazing, combine glaze ingredients and cook until melted. Place the cake on its serving dish. Carefully prick all around the top of the cake with a fork so that when the glaze is applied it easily seeps into the cake. Use a pastry brush to apply the glaze liberally around the surface areas of the cake, or use a spoon to drizzle the glaze on the cake. [I didn’t use all the glaze – it just wouldn’t take any more – so I used some of the glaze, heated up later and slightly cooled, to sweeten the whipped cream I served on the side.] Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Per Serving: 688 Calories; 41g Fat (52.4% calories from fat); 8g Protein; 76g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 64mg Cholesterol; 362mg Sodium.
hddonna
said on May 12th, 2015:
That does look marvelous. How smart of you to use the leftover glaze in your whipped cream! I must remember that one–there’s often a little container of leftover glaze or icing in my fridge, and it usually ends up getting pitched. I have that pan, too–just love it–the grooves make the crust extra crunchy.
Well, using it seemed to work, although it wouldn’t have if the glaze was thick – I had to warm it, then allow it to cool for about 4-5 minutes before pouring just a tiny bit (maybe a tablespoon) into the whipped cream. It was a darned good cake! . . . carolyn t
bethier
said on May 13th, 2015:
This looks absolutely delicious! Just wondering if it would work without coconut and/or nuts?
I would want it as is, but have some “challenging” eaters in the family!! 🙂
Love your blog Carolyn–you have such great recipes and photos, but do an amazing
job with all the narrative as well–love all the topics you include, and your writing style
makes for a wonderful place to “visit”! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for making my day! (My grandmother’s name was Bessie, so I have a special affinity for anyone with that name!!). Anyway, yes, of course you could eliminate the nuts and coconut. You could put those items in half of the batter (you’d need to know about where it is and isn’t) if that’s do-able. The cake might not have quite the same flavor, but it would still be very, very good. I’d try it! . . .carolyn t
Elise
said on May 18th, 2015:
Hi Carolyn, I’m so glad you like the apple cake! It’s one of my favorites.
I can see why! My mouth is watering just remembering how good it was. Have heard from 2 of my readers who have made it and raved. Credit is all yours – or Mrs. Paxton’s! . . .carolyn t