Apple Cake with Caramel Topping

Andrew and I are hosting a cookout tonight (post to come) and I made this cake to serve. I have already had a couple of requests for the recipe so I am posting it rather quickly and at the last minute. I will include a picture soon. I must give most of the credit for this recipe to Paula Deen, as it is featured in her cookbook The Lady and Sons. I have tweaked it in a couple of significant ways to make it a Charlentrèe recipe and I am giving more detailed instructions because I feel the published version of this recipe is a tad bit vague.

Ingredients

2 ½ c. sugar

3 eggs, room temperature

1 ½ c. vegetable oil

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 t. cinnamon

2 t. vanilla extract

1 c. chopped walnuts

2 ½ peeled and diced apples (canned or fresh)

3 sticks unsalted butter

2 c. light brown sugar

¼ c. heavy cream or half and half

For Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream together sugar, eggs, and oil. Add flour; mix together until well blended. Stir in vanilla, nuts, apples, and cinnamon. Pour evenly into a 9X13 inch baking dish and bake approximately 45-60 minutes (mine took about 50).

For Caramel Topping:

While the cake is baking, heat the butter, brown sugar, and cream in a saucepan over medium heat until melted, stirring constantly. Once melted, increase the temperature so that the caramel topping begins to boil. Boil for 2 minutes continuing to stir constantly. Remove from heat.

To Finish:

Remove cake from oven. Using a knife or fork perforate the cake thoroughly to create crevices for the topping to be absorbed. Pour hot caramel topping over cake and let stand uncovered for 1-2 hours. It can be served warm after an hour, but it is best served one day later once the caramel topping has been fully absorbed by the cake. Enjoy!