Mom's Apple Squares with Maple Glaze Cake

By Nilson

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil (you can substitute any oil, like coconut)
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour (whole wheat pastry flour would substitute well)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 3 cups chopped unpeeled apples (Braeburn, Gala, or similar)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Maple Glaze
• 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp butter, softened
• 2-3 tablespoons whole milk
• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup (can use maple extract also)

Preparation

Step 1

For the Cake:
Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a 15x10-inch jelly-roll pan with nonstick baking spray with flour; set aside. Leave the apples unpeeled, but remove core and chop the apples into small pieces.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine eggs and salt. Beat at medium speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and oil, and beat until blended. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, and beat just until combined.
Fold in the apples, nuts and vanilla. Pour into the prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned and set. Set the pan on a wire rack, let cool.





Glaze:
In a medium bowl combine the powdered sugar, butter and enough milk to make a spreadable consitency. This was about 2 tablespoons for me. Mix until smooth. Add the tablespoon of maple syrup/maple extract, and stir. Spread over the mostly cooled cake. Let the frosting set, then cut into bars.
Tip: You can also bake this cake in ramekins, just fill with batter about 1/2 - 2/3 full. If you fill too high it will spill over the sides. Bake until cake is golden and set, about 30-35 minutes. I set a small amount of my batter aside to make one ramekin, and my son loved having his own individual sized cake.