Raised in rural Seymour, Wisconsin, Karen Buhk learned how to cook the old-fashioned way – from her mother and grandmother, who didn’t just pass down their specialties but taught her how to look, feel and taste her way through recipes. The proof is in the pudding – or rather, in Buhk’s apple pie cake, cinnamon rolls and banana cream pie – in a handsome new hardcover cookbook filled with the delicacies and details she has mastered over a lifetime at the stove. 

November 15, 2018

Ingredients

Cake
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • A pinch of salt
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ½ cup melted butter
  • 2 cups diced apples
  • ½ cup walnuts, chopped
Caramel Sauce
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • ½ cup butter
  • ½ cup cream

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8-inch pan with butter or cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, spices and salt. In a separate bowl beat egg, sugar and melted butter until smooth and then add the fl our mixture. Fold in apples and walnuts. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes. Let cool in pan.

Meanwhile, make caramel sauce. In a medium saucepan combine sugars, butter and cream. Bring just to a boil. Cut cake to serve and drizzle with sauce.

About this recipe

From Happiness is Homemade in Door County, by Karen Buhk.

Ingredients

Cake
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • A pinch of salt
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ½ cup melted butter
  • 2 cups diced apples
  • ½ cup walnuts, chopped
Caramel Sauce
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • ½ cup butter
  • ½ cup cream