Old-fashioned apple cake with brown sugar frosting

Ingredients

Cake:

• 2 1/3 cups (9 3/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 2 cups (14 ounces) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons apple pie spice
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup (3 1/4 ounces) vegetable shortening (trans-fat free)
• 4 cups (12 ounces) peeled, chopped apples (about 1 pound before peeling)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) walnuts, chopped

Brown Sugar Frosting:

• 5 tablespoons (2 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup (3 1/4 ounces) firmly packed brown sugar (light or dark)
• 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) milk
• 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

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Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13-inch pan. Mix all of the ingredients except the apples and walnuts in a large bowl.
• Beat until well combined; the mixture will be crumbly. Add the apples and walnuts.
• Mix until the apples release some of their juice and the crumbly mixture becomes a thick batter, somewhere between cookie dough and brownie batter in consistency.
• Spread the batter in the prepared pan, smoothing it with your wet fingers. Bake the cake for 45 minutes, or until the cake tests done.
• Remove from the oven and place on a rack, to cool completely; don’t remove the cake from pan. When the cake is completely cool, frost with Brown Sugar Frosting.
• Frosting:
  Melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and cook, stirring, until the sugar melts. Add the milk, bring to a boil, and pour into a mixing bowl to cool for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, stir in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat well; if the mixture appears too thin, add more confectioners’ sugar. Spread on the cake while frosting is still warm.