Update: I won first place for this cake at the 2012 state fair!

This is my most requested recipe and the only one I’ve ever purposely not blogged.  It has always been raved over to such a degree that I felt it was the best weapon in my dessert arsenal and, just like I used to keep the name of the perfume I wore secret so I could be special and no one else would smell like me, I wanted to keep this to myself as well so I could be the only person supplying the joy it induced.  (OK so it’s available on Paula Deen’s website, but no one had to know that! Teehee!)  I’ve now come to my senses and realized joy should be shared on a much wider plane.  I think if everyone made and shared this recipe, the world would be a happier place.  And who am I to keep us from achieving world peace?!

Fresh Apple Bundt Cake

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups peeled and finely chopped apples
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

Glaze
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10” bundt cake pan.  Set aside.

For the cake: in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt & cinnamon. Add the eggs, oil, orange juice, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and vanilla extract and mix well with a whisk. Fold apples, coconut, and pecans into batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours.

Shortly before the cake is done, make the glaze: Melt the butter in a large saucepan, stir in the sugar, buttermilk, and baking soda, and bring to a good rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Pour the sauce over the hot cake in the pan as soon as you remove it from the oven, making sure that it runs down the sides & middle to soak. Let stand 1 hour, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Recipe source: Paula Deen

This cake will stay fresh in the fridge up to a week–the glaze really helps it retain its moisture perfectly.  It also freezes extremely well.  Wrap the cake in several layers of plastic wrap before freezing.  If you plan to keep it in the freezer longer than a week or two, I would put a couple layers of foil over the plastic wrap.  To thaw, remove all wrapping and let sit at room temperature overnight in a container.

It’s very important that you don’t let all the sauce sit on top.  Spread it around, making sure it goes down the sides and down the middle of the pan so that it is all covered and soaks in evenly. (Your pan will not be this full unless you’re like me and can’t resist putting in some extra apples.)

This was a best seller at the Flying Pig last fall and I just got another order today from someone who just couldn’t wait until October to get another!