Rachael Ray Apple Cake Recipes

MY SISTER MARIA'S EASY APPLE CAKE AND ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to directions on box. Mix cake mix to directions on box, using 1/2 cup water and 1 egg. Grease a 9 by 9-inch square cake pan or disposable cake pan with butter. Pour in cake batter. Toss apples with cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on top of cake batter. Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm cake squares with small scoops of butter pecan or rum raisin ice cream.

RACHAEL RAY APPLE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 by 9-inch square cake pan (can use a disposable foil cake pan) with 1 tbs butter.
• Prepare cake mix as described on cake box, with 1/2 cup water and the egg.
• Peel and dice apple into small bits. Sprinkle apples with cinnamon and sugar and mix well.
• Pour cake batter into prepared cake pan. Spread apples on top of cake batter, evenly covering the entire top of the cake. ( I tend to put a little more towards the edges so that when the cake rises in the oven the apples don't fall to the center of the cake.).
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes.
• Best if served warm with ice cream. Very good at room temperature though.

SMASHED POTATO-CHEDDAR CAKES WITH WARM CRAN-APPLE SAUCE

Steps:

• Place apples, lemon juice, cider, sugar and cinnamon in a medium pot over medium high heat and cook down into a thick sauce, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cranberry sauce to warm through and combine.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
• Place potatoes and water or milk in a bowl and cover with plastic. Microwave 2 minutes on high to slightly reheat and loosen potatoes. Stir them up with the liquid to make them workable again. Combine cheese, scallions and nutmeg with potatoes and adjust salt and pepper.
• Add a drizzle of vegetable oil and a pat of butter to your preheated skillet then score the potatoes and cheese mixture in half. Using the first half of the potatoes, make 6 (3-inch across and 1/2-inch thick) potato cakes and space them evenly around the pan. Cook the cakes until golden all over, 3 minutes per side, then remove and garnish with paprika, if using, and repeat with remaining ingredients.
• Serve potato-cheddar cakes with warm cran-apple sauce for topping.

APPLE AND ONION STUFFIN' MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil to skillet and 4 tablespoons butter. When butter melts, add bay leaf and add the vegetables as you chop them, celery, onions then apples. Sprinkle the vegetables and apples with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Cook 5 to 6 minutes to begin to soften vegetables and apples then add parsley and stuffing cubes to the pan and combine. Moisten the stuffing with chicken broth until all of the bread is soft but not wet.
• Butter 12 muffin cups, 2 tins, liberally with remaining butter. Use an ice cream scoop to fill and mound up the stuffing in muffin tins. Remove the bay leaf as you scoop the stuffing when you come upon it. Bake until set and crisp on top, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove stuffin' muffins to a platter and serve hot or room temperature.

WARM APPLES AND ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat a medium skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Peel and quarter the apples. Core each quarter. Slice the apples up. Add butter to the skillet, then apples. Saute 7 or 8 minutes, add sugar, cinnamon and cloves and cook 2 minutes more. Spoon the sauteed apples into dessert dishes and top with ice cream, whipped cream, and garnish with grated nutmeg.

RACHAEL RAY CARAMEL APPLE LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°. Generously grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Using an electric mixer, combine the flour, 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, the baking powder and salt. Mix in 2 sticks butter at low speed until the mixture is crumbly.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, 1/2 cup cream, applesauce and vanilla. Mix into the flour-butter mixture at medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute.
• Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake until springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the cake to release the layers, invert onto the rack and let cool completely.
• In a medium skillet, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat. Add the apple slices and remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar and cook, stirring often, until the apples are tender and the juice is syrupy, about 15 minutes. Stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons cream and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
• Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, beat the remaining 2 sticks butter and the confectioners' sugar until light and creamy. With the mixer on low, slowly mix in the caramel sauce.
• Place 1 cake layer on a cake plate; spread the apple filling evenly on top, then cover with the remaining cake layer. Using an offset spatula or butter knife, cover the top and sides of the cake with the caramel frosting, swirling the top to make a decorative pattern.