Ukraine - Sevastopol Apple Cake with Warm Caramel Sauce (Yabluchnyk z Teplyy Karamel' Sous)

[Olga Drozd]

Ukraine - Sevastopol Apple Cake with Warm Caramel Sauce  (Yabluchnyk z Teplyy Karamel' Sous)

1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound firm tart apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped (Spartan, Rome, Northern Spy, Crispin, Gravenstein)
1 1/4 cups walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1 1/4 teaspoons grated orange zest

CARAMEL SAUCE:

1 cup whipping cream (heavy cream)
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons strong coffee brew, preferably espresso
2 Tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 350º F. Lightly butter and flour a 10-inch springform pan with removable base.

In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla.  Add the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, apples, walnuts, and orange zest, and stir the mixture until it is just combined.  Pour the batter into a lightly buttered and floured 10-inch springform pan.  Bake in the middle of oven for 50 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.

To prepare caramel sauce:

Heat the cream in a saucepan until hot. Set aside.

Combine sugar and water in a stainless-steel saucepan and mix thoroughly.  Cook over moderate heat, stirring once with a wooden spoon, then, with a pastry brush that has been dipped in water, keep rim of pan clean. Remove from heat when sugar is a rich golden brown.

Add hot cream to caramelized sugar.  Return to heat for 3 minutes, being careful not to let mixture boil over.  Cool for 15 minutes. Stir in egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and coffee.  Stir in butter and let cool before transferring to a storage container.

Remove cake from pan and cut into wedges.  Lightly reheat caramel sauce and spoon warm sauce onto each plate.  Set cake wedge on sauce.  Garnish with dollop of whipped cream and chopped toasted walnuts.  Serves 10.