Apple Pie Cake with Butter Rum Sauce (and Cinnamon Candied Pecan Homemade Ice Cream!)

 It's apple time!  I can't get enough apples this time of year.  I could eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  And as a snack.  And I could wash it all down with a gallon of apple cider.  That oughtta keep the doctor away!  But, I do actually eat other things, even in the fall.  Because I have approximately 1 million apple recipes, I have to do a little picking and choosing.  It's so hard to decide what to make sometimes!

Apple pie is one of my favorite all-time desserts.  But I'm also pretty fond of spice cakes.  Fortunately, I have this great apple pie cake recipe that brings these two great treats together.  I love it when I don't have to choose!  This is really easy to make, and just tastes like fall!  And as if that wasn't enough, I topped it off with an outrageously delicious butter rum sauce, and served it with homemade cinnamon candied pecan ice cream.  This dessert is heaven you can eat!

I am not a huge pie a la mode girl.  I like to enjoy pie and ice cream on their own.  But I made this apple pie cake for my family's weekly Sunday dinner gathering.  And I am outnumbered on my stance on pie a la mode.  So for everyone else's sake (okay, and mine a little bit) I decided to make some ice cream as well.  I thought that cinnamon ice cream would be perfect for this fall-inspired dessert.  And then I thought adding some pecans would be even more perfect.  And then I thought that cinnamon candied pecans would be the zenith of perfection.  Yep.

This is maybe my new favorite fall dessert.  Or maybe just dessert period.  It's that good!  I am including three recipes in this post, so it is your lucky day!  If you scroll to the bottom of the page and see a lot of words in these recipes, don't fear.  All three are really easy to make!  

I started off with the candied cinnamon pecans.  These are like the pecans that they sell in the mall around the holidays.  The aroma of these delicious pecans always makes my mouth water when I am doing my Christmas shopping.  And I hate to admit it, but I am the person who walks by five times to get free samples.  Every now and then I treat myself and actually buy some.  They never last long.  If I had only known they were so simple to make at home, I would have been making them years ago!  If the only recipe you use out of this post is the candied pecans, I won't even be mad.  Just send me some!

Then I made the cinnamon ice cream.  This seriously only consists of stirring together the seven ingredients, chilling the mixture, then freezing in an ice cream maker.  And the result is some of the most delicious ice cream I have ever had the pleasure of eating.  I better move on before I start salivating!

Next came the cake.  The only part of making this cake that took any significant time was cutting the apples. It was definitely less fuss than making a pie crust!  While the cake was baking I made the butter rum glaze.  Can you melt butter and stir ingredients?  If so, you can make butter rum sauce.  And it is so indulgently delicious!  I could drink this stuff with a straw.  But I won't.  Probably.

Serve the apple pie cake warm, and drizzle with warm butter rum sauce.  Add a scoop of homemade cinnamon candied pecan ice cream, and prepare for some serious praise.  This is fall at it's finest!

Apple Pie Cake with Butter Rum Sauce
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup Splenda
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 Tbsp hot water
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups peeled and sliced Granny Smith apples (about 3 apples)
1/2 cup chopped pecans (use candied pecans for extra goodness!)
For the Sauce:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
5 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp rum (or rum extract)
Directions:
Cream butter.  Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed.  Add egg; beat until blended.  Add flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg; beat on low speed until smooth.
Stir in water and vanilla.  Fold in apples and pecans and spoon into greased 9-inch pie pan.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
For the sauce:
Combine brown sugar, sugar, butter, and milk in small saucepan and mix well.  Bring to a boil and cook for one minute.  Stir in rum.   Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cinnamon Candied Pecan Homemade Ice Cream
Ingredients:
4 cups whipping cream
4 cups half and half
2 cups sugar
2 cups candied pecans
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
Directions:
Combine all ingredients.  Cover; refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Freeze ice cream according to manufacturer's recommendations.

Recipe adapted from Sunbeam

Cinnamon Candied Pecans
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg white
4 cups pecan halves
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine cinnamon, sugar, and salt in a small bowl.
Whisk egg white in large bowl until frothy.  Add pecans and toss well to coat.  Add sugar mixture and toss again.  Spread pecans in a single layer on prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes until toasted and crispy.  Stir after 10 minutes.
Using a spatula, immediately loosen pecans from baking sheet and let cool.
Put them in a large plastic container, cover, and refrigerate.

Recipe from food.com