Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

Hey y'all!

This is my final post for quite a while. I'm not going home again until Thanksgiving, and this cake is the last of what I baked this past weekend. It's a good one to end on, though, because this cake is the epitome of a perfect fall recipe! It's not too hard, and it tastes delicious. I wish I had pictures of the inside of the cake, but I don't. I was in a rush to cut and serve it, and I never got around to taking a picture of the pretty inside. Just imagine a nice cream cheese swirl through the center! 

Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake 

Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake 

Ingredients

            CREAM CHEESE FILLING:

            1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened

            1/4 cup butter, softened

            1/2 cup granulated sugar

            1 large egg

            2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

            1 teaspoon vanilla extract

            APPLE CAKE BATTER:

            1 cup finely chopped pecans

            3 cups all-purpose flour

            1 cup granulated sugar

            1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

            2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

            1 teaspoon salt

            1 teaspoon baking soda

            1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

            1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

            3 large eggs, lightly beaten

            3/4 cup canola oil

            3/4 cup applesauce

            1 teaspoon vanilla extract

            3 cups peeled and finely chopped Gala apples (about 1 1/2 lb.)

            PRALINE FROSTING:

            1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

            1/4 cup butter

            3 tablespoons milk

            1 teaspoon vanilla extract

            1 cup powdered sugar

Preparation

            1. Prepare Filling: Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended and smooth. Add egg, flour, and vanilla; beat just until blended.

            2. Prepare Batter: Preheat oven to 350º. Bake pecans in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. Stir together 3 cups flour and next 7 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in eggs and next 3 ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in apples and pecans.

            3. Spoon two-thirds of apple mixture into a greased and floured 14-cup Bundt pan. Spoon Cream Cheese Filling over apple mixture, leaving a 1-inch border around edges of pan. Swirl filling through apple mixture using a paring knife. Spoon remaining apple mixture over Cream Cheese Filling.

            4. Bake at 350º for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 2 hours).

            5. Prepare Frosting: Bring 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and 3 Tbsp. milk

            to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly; boil 1

            minute, whisking constantly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Gradually whisk in

            powdered sugar until smooth; stir gently 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture begins to

            cool and thickens slightly. Pour immediately over cooled cake.