Recipe of the Week...Easy Apple Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Our computer crashed this morning, (BUMMER!), so I'm working on a borrowed laptop this evening so that I can check my email and post the "Recipe of the Week". Our techno friend, Sharon, came by this evening to help us diagnose the problem, (thanks, Sharon...you're our hero!!), and we're pretty sure that the hard drive is dead - UGH! We're trying to decide if it would be best to just replace the hard drive or break down and buy a whole new CPU, so I'm going to be without a home computer for a few days until we decide what to do.

Now for this week's recipe...I served this yummy apple spice cake last Saturday to the ladies that attended my Christmas card workshop and they loved it! I promised them that I would post the recipe for them this week so that they could make it too. This cake is scrumptiously moist and can be served with or without frosting...it's delicious either way!

CAKE INGREDIENTS:

• 1 package spice cake mix
• 1 can apple pie filling
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, if desired

METHOD:
Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl. Beat together until combined. Pour into a greased pan. (A 9" x 13" pan can be used, but I tried something different and used a Bundt pan this time and liked the results!) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, (depending on what kind of pan you use!). Cake is done when a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. If using a Bundt pan, allow cake to cool for 5 to 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a cooling rack to completely cool before frosting.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING INGREDIENTS:
NOTE: this is the amount of ingredients that I used to frost the Bundt cake, so you might want to double the recipe for a 9" x 13" cake...

• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used low-fat cream cheese)
• 3 Tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

METHOD:
Using an electric mixer, cream together cream cheese, butter and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until combined. At this point, you can either spread the frosting on the Bundt cake or you can make a "swirly" design by piping it on. Once frosted, you can sprinkle chopped pecans on top of the frosting if desired.  ENJOY!

Cake can be covered and stored at room temperature.

Have a blessed day!