This recipe works best in a 4 quart / 4 liter slow cooker. You can use pears or peaches for a change in taste. If you are using very crisp apples in this recipe, like Granny Smiths or Fujis, you might want to simmer them for a few minutes before using to ensure that they soften up during cooking. I like to use Cortlands or Gravensteins, or apples that are slightly past their prime for this cake.
Servings: 8servings
Author: Mary Gillespie
Ingredients
Caramel Apples:
1/2cup/ 125 ml brown sugar
1/3cup/ 60 ml butter
1/2cup/ 125 ml creamor evaporated milk
Pinchsalt
4cups/ 1 liter thinly sliced peeled applesabout 4-5 medium apples
2tablespoons/ 30 ml flourto toss with apples
Cake:
1-1/2cups/ 375 ml all-purpose flour
1/2cup/ 125 ml white sugar
1teaspoon/ 5 ml baking powder
1teaspoon/ 5 ml baking soda
1/2teaspoon/ 2.5 ml salt
1cup/ 250 ml milk
1/4cup/ 60 ml vegetable oil
Sauce:
2tablespoons/ 30 ml white sugar
2tablespoons/ 30 ml cornstarch
2teaspoons/ 10 ml cinnamon
1-1/4cups/ 310 ml apple juice
Instructions
Caramel Apples:
Melt brown sugar and butter over medium heat. Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring to keep cream from foaming over top of pan.
While cream is simmering, toss apples with 2 tablespoons of flour and place in bottom of slow cooker.
Pour prepared caramel sauce over apples and stir.
Cake:
Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add milk and oil and stir to combine.
Spread batter over apples in slow cooker.
Sauce:
Stir together sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon. Sprinkle over cake batter.
Heat apple juice to boiling point on stove or in microwave, and pour carefully over ingredients in slow cooker. The apple juice should sit on top of the ingredients.
Cover cake and turn slow cooker to high setting.
Cook for 3-1/2 - 4 hours (exact time will vary depending on your cooker). Test cake with a toothpick or skewer. It should come out clean with no batter clinging to it. If not quite done, cover and continue cooking. When done, turn off heat and let cake sit until ready to serve. The sauce will continue to thicken as it sits.