NICOLE PARTON’S FAVORITE RECIPES: Apple-Walnut Picnic Cake

Charcoal-grilled hotdogs! Burgers with all the fixings! That sounded so tempting that we couldn’t pass up a Standing Room Only invitation to an Autumn picnic - SRO because all the picnic benches were damp from recent rain. Have you ever picnicked in the rain? I can’t think of anything more fun - especially if you have an electrical outlet to plug in steaming urns of coffee and tea.

We were actually very lucky: Although rain threatened, it didn’t fall. I made what I call “picnic cakes” for the event. What are “picnic cakes”? They’re substantial (usually made in a 9x13-in. pan), easy-to-make, easy-to-tote, and frosted and served straight from the pan. A large Carrot Cake would be a perfect example (I’ll pass along a great recipe for that some other time). Another is the Deluxe Banana Cake (see Index) I posted in early September, 2012.

Because I wanted to bring a couple of cakes, I wanted each to have a distinctly different texture and taste from the other. And so I made an Apple-Walnut Picnic Cake with Caramel Frosting, and a Vanilla Butter Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting. We balanced hulking slabs of cake on paper plates, stabbing at them with the brittle tines of dainty plastic forks.

Apple-Walnut Picnic Cake:

4 c. (1 L) all-purpose flour

1 tbsp. (15 mL) baking powder

¾ tsp. (3.75 mL) baking soda

1-½ (7.5 mL) tsp. salt

¾ tsp. (3.75 mL) ground cloves

¾ tsp. (3.75 ml) nutmeg

2-¼ tsp. (11.25 mL) cinnamon

¾ c. (180 mL) butter or margarine, softened

2-¼ c. (560 mL) granulated sugar

3 large eggs

2-¼ c. (560 mL) apple sauce (commercially made or homemade)

½ c. + 1 tbsp. (135 mL) water (see Note)

1-½ c. (375 mL) raisins, plumped (see Further Note)

¾ c. (180 mL) chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325 deg, F. Have all ingredients assembled and at room temperature before starting. Sift dry ingredients together and set aside. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, combine butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating about 5 min., or until no “grainy” feeling remains when you rub a little batter between your thumb and index finger. Stir in applesauce.

With mixer on low speed, alternate additions of sifted dry ingredients and water, beginning and ending with dry ingredients and beating just until combined. Tip: Adding dry ingredients to whirring mixer blades usually makes quite a mess. To keep your counter clean, toss a dish towel over your mixer stand.

Stir in raisins and nuts. Spoon into lightly greased and floured 9x13-in. (23x33 cm) pan with parchment paper trimmed to fit its bottom). Bake 1-¼ hr. or until a toothpick inserted at cake’s center comes out dry. Cool on rack at least two hours.

Note: If you like, drain and use the flavored water from plumping raisins and cooking apple sauce in this recipe. If there isn’t enough, add tap water to make up the amount of water required for this recipe.

Note: To plump raisins or other small dried fruits such as currants, combine a little water together with dried fruit in covered microwave-safe container, heating 30-to-60 sec. on full power. Length of heating time and amount of water (I use approximately 1 tbsp. water for ½ c. dried fruit) varies with amount of fruit to be plumped. If you cover your microwave-safe container with cello wrap, slightly turn back one corner to allow steam to escape. Plumping dried prunes will require extra water.

You can, of course, plump dried fruits in a saucepan, but you’ll need more water. Bring it to a boil, put on the lid, turn off the heat, and let fruit sit several minutes.