ABSOLUTELY AMAZING APPLE CAKE WITH RUM SAUCE.

Steps:

• For cake preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and apples until incorporated. Mix in remaining ingredients. Bake 40 minutes in a 9" square pan. Serve hot with rum sauce and ice cream.
• For sauce, heat butter, cream and sugar over moderate heat 10-15 minutes until sugar dissolves. (Don't boil). Add nutmeg and rum flavoring. Serve hot over cake.

APPLE WALNUT UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE WITH CALVADOS CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Make topping:
• Peel, core, and quarter apples.
• In a well-seasoned 10 1/4 by 2-inch cast-iron skillet or a 10- by 2-inch non-stick skillet melt butter over moderately low heat just until melted (butter should not separate). Stir in sugar until combined well. Arrange apple quarters decoratively, cut sides up, in skillet and sprinkle walnuts evenly in between apples. Cook mixture, undisturbed, 25 to 35 minutes, or until apples are tender in centers and sugar is a golden caramel.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Make cake batter while topping is cooking:
• Peel apple and chop fine.
• In a bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
• In another bowl with an electric mixer beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and ginger and add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in sour cream and with mixer on low speed beat in flour mixture gradually until just combined. Fold chopped apple into batter.
• Remove skillet from heat and spoon batter evenly over topping. With a metal spatula spread batter (being careful not to disturb topping), leaving a 1/4-inch border of cooked apples uncovered. If using a non-stick skillet with a plastic handle, wrap handle in a double thickness of foil. Put skillet in a shallow baking pan and bake cake in middle of oven 25 to 35 minutes, or until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering and cake is golden brown. Cool cake in skillet on a rack 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of skillet and carefully invert cake onto a plate.
• Serve cake warm or at room temperature with caramel sauce and whipped cream.
• To make Calvados caramel sauce:
• In a dry heavy saucepan (about 2 quarts) cook sugar over moderate heat, stirring with a fork, until melted and cook without stirring, swirling pan, until a golden caramel. Remove pan from heat and carefully add water and brandy down side of pan (caramel will bubble and steam). Return pan to heat and simmer, stirring, until caramel is dissolved. Stir in butter. Sauce may be made 3 days ahead and chilled, covered. Reheat sauce to warm before serving.
• Makes about 1 1/4 cups.

APPLE WALNUT TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
• Butter pan and fit a round of parchment paper in bottom. Butter parchment, then flour pan.
• Spread 1/2 stick butter thickly on bottom of a 12-inch heavy skillet and sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar evenly over butter. Arrange apples, cut sides down, over sugar and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook over medium heat, turning apples occasionally, until sugar is caramelized and apples are tender and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Arrange apples, cut sides down, in concentric circles in bottom of cake pan, then pour over any caramel from skillet.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Pulse walnuts with remaining cup sugar in a food processor until finely ground.
• Beat remaining 1 1/2 sticks butter in a bowl with an electric mixer until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add walnut sugar and beat until just combined. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in extracts. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined (batter will be thick).
• Dollop batter over apples and spread evenly. Bake until torte just begins to pull away from side of pan and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool torte in pan on a rack 30 minutes. Put rack over torte, then invert torte onto rack.
• Melt apple jelly in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring. Brush apples generously with jelly, then cool torte completely, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

APPLE WALNUT PUDDING WITH CARAMEL RUM SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Butter an 8 inch round cake pan with 2 inch sides.
• Sift first 4 ingredients into a medium bowl.
• In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter until blended.
• Add egg and beat well.
• Stir in dry ingredients then the apple and walnuts.
• Transfer to the baking pan.
• Bake 45 minutes until tester is clean.
• Cool slightly on rack.
• This can be done in advance.
• Cool completely, cover and refrigerate.
• Warm before serving.
• For the sauce: Combine the first four ingredients in a heavy, medium saucepan over low heat.
• Stir until butter melts and sugar dissolves.
• Increase heat and boil sauce until slightly thickened, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes.
• Mix in rum.
• The sauce can also be done in advance.
• Reheat before serving.
• To serve: Slice pudding and transfer to individual plates.
• Spoon warm sauce over.
• Serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

HOT APPLE CAKE WITH CARAMEL RUM SAUCE

Steps:

• Cake:.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease a 10-inch pie pan and set aside.
• Cream butter with sugar in large bowl.
• Add eggs and beat well.
• Sift flour, spices, soda and salt; blend into butter mixture.
• Add apples,nuts and vanilla and mix thoroughly.
• Pour into prepared pie pan and bake until lightly browned, about 45 minutes.
• Serve warm with vanilla ice cream (if desired) and Carmel Rum Sauce.
• Sauce:.
• Combine sugars and cream in top of double boiler and set over gently simmering water and cook 1 1/2 hours, replenishing water in bottom of double boiler as necessary.
• Add butter and continue cooking 30 minutes.
• Remove from heat and beat well.
• Add rum and blend thoroughly; serve warm.
• (Cake and sauce can be prepared ahead and reheated before serving.).