Caramel Apple Cake

I’ve never been a huge fan of Halloween. Don’t get me wrong, jack -o’-lanterns, eating candy until you bust, and dressing up in costumes are things I can wholeheartedly get behind. It’s the other side I don’t like. You know, the “spook” factor?

For as long as I can remember, I have been skittish. And like all siblings, my sister did a wonderful job of nurturing that phobia throughout childhood. I.E.: All I wanted was to be invited to play with her and her friend in her big girl room. So I would wait and wait and one day she called out, “Maaarrthaaa, come play!” . My dreams realized, I sprinted up the stairs only to find confusion in an empty room until my dear sister and her sweet friend would burst from the closet eliciting a panicked howl from me, quickly followed by tears. This exact scene played out for years and I always fell for it, each time thinking maybe, just maybe, they actually wanted to play with ME?!

I suffered in agony through the teenage years when scary movies and haunted houses exist as a convenient excuse for flirting. The yearly trip to the Ashland Berry Farm’s “Booger Woods” (ridiculous name, by the way) was always bittersweet. I loved the hayride out to the woods, the prickle of hay, the scent of fallen leaves and the clammy hand-holding. Then came the dreaded “spook” portion, the screaming bloody murder, the erratic waving chainsaws, the climbing through mazes of blackened plywood and rusty nails. And in one year’s brilliant performance, a swan dive face plant into a mud puddle as I fled the maniacal aforementioned chainsaw wielder in a panic. Not my finest moment but hey, it’s tradition.

But I took solace in what waited on the other end of the mud puddle. Another cozy hayride and my favorite, a concession stand dishing out trays of hot apple cider, kettle corn and caramel apples. Afterall, if there’s food involved I can tolerate most anything.

I discovered this Caramel Apple Cake in the midst of a search for another. My dad’s mom was famous for her Applesauce Cake and I knew it would be a perfect fall feature here. This cake, however, comes courtesy of Yie and I love her use of fresh apples and a caramel sauce. I couldn’t decide which to make so I present to you – The Dueling Apple Cakes: In Two Parts. Look for Mary Jo’s spiced up Applesauce Cake next week, but this week cut yourself a slice of the sweeter side of this duo and embrace the call of fall.