Apple Walnut Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

What you will need:

Cake

1 Box of Spice cake mix

¾ Cup water

3 Eggs

1 Can of apple fruit pie filling (21 Oz.), finely chopped

1 Tbsp. Patricia and Paul Red Apple Balsamic Vinegar

1 Cup Walnuts, toasted and chopped fine

Frosting

8 Oz. Cream Cheese, room temperature

¼ Cup Unsalted butter, room temperature

2 Cups Confectioner’s sugar, sifted

1 Tsp. Pure vanilla extract

¼ Cup Walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped for garnish

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray six 4-inch mini cake pans with cooking spray. Place a small round of parchment paper in the bottom of each pan and spray again. Put them to the side while you make the batter.

Chop the can of apple fruit filling into small, diced pieces. Scrape the apple filling into a bowl. Mix in one tablespoon of red apple balsamic vinegar.

In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the walnuts for a couple of minutes until fragrant. Shake the pan a couple of times to be sure they don’t burn. This will take about two minutes. Let the nuts cool. Chop 1 cup of the cooled nuts finely. Leave the nuts for garnish as is.

In a large bowl, add the cake mix, water, walnut oil and eggs. With a hand-mixer, beat until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.

Add the apple filling with vinegar and the toasted chopped walnuts to the batter. Stir until well combined.

Fill each of the cake pans about ¾ full. Place in the middle of the oven for 25-35 minutes checking at 25 minutes. Test doneness by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the cakes. When the toothpick comes out clean the cakes are done. If still wet, let bake another 3-5 minutes and test again.

Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Carefully remove them from their pans and let cool completely on a rack.

While the cakes cool, make the frosting. Add all the ingredients to a large bowl and beat with a hand-mixer or in a stand mixer until smooth and creamy.

Using a small offset spatula, spread the frosting over the top of each cake. Sprinkle the top of each cake with some toasted walnuts. Enjoy!

Recipe by @mycuratedtastes

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