Butterscotch Apple Cake

Finn enjoying cake watching from his favorite new seat in the house

I'm lovin' this summer autumn in Salt Lake right now. It's as hot as a demon for a late September day, but then you tilt your head 20 degrees and right before you are the trees scattered all over the foothills of the mountains, changing into a million different shades of yellow and orange. It's a nice combination to have linger around: warmth + autumn.

And for some reason regardless of odd weather patterns, right around the beginning of October my body and brain ditch chocolate chips and shift over to butterscotch-flavored chips. They are highly dangerous for me but I take advantage of using them in various recipes because in my kitchen, their season to shine under the sun is relatively short. Last year, I made this cake with them yummy butterscotch thingies and it was, to my recollection, very delicious indeed. For other uses, try swapping them for your chocolate chips in a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie recipe. They are also scrumptious in blondies, pound cakes, and melted with bananas or pretzels dipped.

We made this just last night and I couldn't resist another hour to post it. Really. If you think making instant chocolate pudding is easy, well, then this is its contender. The "hardest", most "laborious" portion of baking this is dicing the apples and if it's apples plus butterscotch chips we're talking, sign me up.

I don't mess around much in exchanging applesauce for oil too often- unless I'm deliberately intending to make something uber healthy, I typically keep the oil proportions true....

.

......except with this recipe. 1 1/4 cups worth of oil is pretty hefty business and although it makes out for a super moist cake, it also makes for a bit of a "greasier" cake and next time I plan on exchanging out a 1/2 cup of oil for applesauce just to reduce it some. See what works for you, but that's my personal opinion. The applesauce does not alter taste whatsoever, and in this particular recipe, I doubt it would alter any texture either.

The recipe is slightly adapted, but the link to the original is provided. I'm posting how it was done in K's kitchen.

Butterscotch Apple Cake

{Taste of Homes}

2 cups sugar

1-1/4 cups vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 medium tart apples, peeled and chopped (4 cups)

1 package (11 ounces) butterscotch chips

In a large bowl, beat the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; gradually add to egg mixture until blended. Stir in apples. In another bowl, pour the butterscotch chips in with 1-2 tbsp flour; gently mix with a spoon and then pour this into the main batter.

Pour into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Bake at 325° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack and sprinkle with powdered sugar all over.

Serve with barely-sweetened whipped cream.

Up at the cabin in BCC last weekend

Henry enjoying the 'fruit' of his mother's labor