Caramel Apple Dump Cake

Good evening my favorite people!  I hope this finds you all enjoying some nice fall weather and pretty colored trees!  It is definitely getting chilly here in the Midwest and I could NOT be happier if I am honest.  I am not a heat girl.  I like hot weather for a week or so, and then I am ready to not sweat and get dirty.  I prefer getting my dirty on in the.........KITCHEN.

So this cake, which may be familiar to some of you, was not, to me.  My friend "Coop", who btw, is an amazing singer.  If you are in Ohio, and you haven't driven to hear her sing at any number of Opry Houses or the like, you should.  Ask her to sing you some Patsy Cline.  You can check her out on Facebook!

You won't find a harder working, honest, mother, wife, grandmom or woman around.  She has been a friend for years, though we have never met in person we "met" on a step-parenting website probably 12 or 13 years ago!  Anyway, she had posted that her and her son, Chad were making this cake one evening.  She had me at "caramel apple".  I mean seriously, nothing can be bad if it contains those 2 ingredients.  I made her send me the recipe, and have made it twice...BUT, so have my kids, so, I don't feel so bad.

This is definitely a shortcut cake.  It uses apple pie filling and a box cake mix.  No judgement, just listen to me this time and do it.  I need to make it again, (haha, right) and dump a spoonful on top of some ice cream.  Oh yeah!  Now I was directed to dot the butter on top, but I found melting it and drizzling it on worked better for me AND, I used more than I was supposed to.  You are going to FREAK when you see the amount of butter I used but I only did it, after my son said he did it and I felt like I had to try it because, well, I mean, he can't make it better than me.  NOT going to happen.  Read me?  So freak out, if you want, you can even leave me freak out comment on my social media, I won't care because I know the joy this baby brings to her family and how good a spoonful is when you wake up in the middle of the night hungry.  I mean, IF that happens to you.  Again no judging.  HA!

Heeeere we go!

2 cans of apple pie filling
1 jar of caramel ice cream topping (I used more of this as well so about 1 cup)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 yellow cake mix
2 sticks or 1/2 cup butter, melted

Preheat your oven to 350.  I sprayed my 9x13 pan with some nonstick cooking spray.  Dump in both cans of apple pie filling and if you are like me the entire jar of caramel sauce and cinnamon.  Mix it right in the cake pan.  Now sprinkle the yellow cake mix over the top and then carefully drizzle the butter on top of that, covering every bit of it you can.  The original called for 1 and 1/2 sticks of butter and to dot it on top.  I found melting it, just made it better for me.  Now bake for 55-60 minutes, I went a full 60 because The Real Housewives was on and I wasn't missing the last 5 minutes to grab the cake.  Priorities people.  The caramel will bubble up through the top in some places and it will be hotter than the sun, so please let it sit a good 15 minutes before you even consider how good it might be warm. 

I am not responsible for the burning off of tongue or mouth skin if you don't follow my directions.

ENJOY!

Orange Pumpkin Cake

Ok, the first thing I have to say is THANK YOU to Mary Beth, at MB Things I Know.  I saw this idea on her page a few weeks ago and I just HAD to give it a try.  I knew I wanted to change it up just a little bit, but I didn't know how until the day I made it!

You must have a Bundt pan for this cake.  For a more real look it must be the one with the lines in it.  I dislike making things you need specialty items for, but I am guessing most of you have a Bundt pan!  You know every single time I type "Bundt" I am saying it in my head like the grooms mother on "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"  BOONT.  Now you are too. HA!

The cake shown was completely frosted.  I decided to do more of a poured fondant icing on mine.  You do what you like I will just tell you how I got THIS cake.

You will need:
2 white cake mixes
2 tsp. vanilla
orange food coloring
1 small box of vanilla pudding
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 T. light corn syrup
1 orange
juice and zest from 1/2 of the orange
1-2 T.milk

Preheat oven to suggested temperature on your cake mixes.  Mix up both cake mixes in the same bowl, so your color ends up the same.  Add food coloring to get your desired shade of orange and add vanilla.   If you have 2 pans you can bake both at once, I had to do one at a time.  Let it cool, remove from pan and then bake the other.  When both cakes are cooled, turn them bottoms up and trim straight across so they will sit nicely on top of each other.  Pick one of the cakes, and after trimming, use a spoon a dig a channel around the cake.  Dig out about 1 1/2 inches deep and about that wide.  You will be filling this up with the pudding you are about to make! 

Prepare pudding, using only HALF of the suggested milk.  Whisk until creamy.  The cakes should be completely cooled, and using a spoon fill that bottom layer up with the pudding.  It should just come to the top of the channel you dug out, like this.

Now take the second cake and flip it over on top, so both flat sides are together, thus, making your pumpkin shape!  ACCKK!  You did it!! 

Next on to the icing!  In a bowl add in powdered sugar, corn syrup, food coloring, and the zest from half of your orange.  Now take that half orange and squeeze all of the juice from it.  Squeeze HARD!!  Now whisk to combine.  If you want a thinner consistency add 1-2 T. of milk.  It will all depend on how much orange juice you get but I needed 2 tablespoons.  You want it to be pourable, but not to thin.  Now take a spoon and start spooning it over the top of the cake, letting it drip.  I suggest doing one layer, letting it sit a few minutes and then doing another layer. 

For the stem, use fondant, maybe a thick piece of branch that you have covered in saran wrap, some construction paper, or even maybe some flowers!

This cake ROCKS!  Perfect for fall or Halloween.  If you are using it for  Halloween, use black icing and make a jack-o-lantern face on it!!

ENJOY!