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Apple Cinnamon Cake & Salted Caramel Sauce with Bacon

I have always preferred to make my own birthday cake, and now that I am a Celiac I find it is just safer to bake for myself. This year I wanted to throw some savoury bacon into the mix so I adapted a gluten free apple cake recipe I have (which my non-Celiac friends taste-test approve of) with a salted caramel sauce with Irving Farms bacon bits.

Strangely, the first day of Lent fell on my bday this year. I love a challenge, but since I am not Catholic I have decided that instead of abstaining from something I love for the next 40 days, I would challenge myself to indulging in creative and fun pork treats every day.

So, for my 33^rd birthday and first day of an all-pork Lent I had Gluten Free Apple Cinnamon Cake with Salted Caramel Bacon Sauce. (More than a few people at my birthday party indulged in a slice of bacon drizzled with salted caramel sauce, so if you are cutting out carbs, that is also a very tasty treat).

Apple Cinnamon Cake (Can be made gluten free)

Ingredients:

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups flour (for Gluten Free use almond flour or a GF all-purpose blended flour)
1/2 cup milk

2 1/2 tbsp butter, melted
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 or 3 medium apples, cored, and cut into slices/thin wedges

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a rectangular cake pan with parchment paper
2. Combine the eggs and sugar in bowl of electric mixer at medium speed until thick (a few minutes). Gradually add flour, milk and butter at low speed until blended. Mix on medium speed for 3 minutes.
3. Add the baking powder, cinnamon, and vanilla and mix until blended.
4. Turn batter out into the prepared pan. Arrange the apple slices on batter (the more the better).
5. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean and apples are lightly browned
6. Remove from oven and cool before serving with Salted Caramel Bacon Sauce

Salted Caramel Bacon Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup heavy (whipping) cream
3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
6 slices of cooked bacon, cooled and crumbled into bits (I used Irving Farms)

Directions

1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar and water over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves.
2. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, without stirring.
3. Boil until the syrup is a deep amber color, about 5 to 6 minutes.
4. Remove the sugar from the heat and carefully stir in the cream (The mixture will bubble). Stir in the unsalted butter, and salt. Transfer to a dish and cool.
5. Either mix in bacon bits and drizzle generously on cake, or drizzle cake with sauce and top with bacon bits. Whatever you prefer!