Recipe - Cherry Spice Cake

2 cup Sugar
1 cup Butter
3 cup Cake flour
1 cup Stewed dried apples
1 cup Chopped pecans
1 cup Buttermilk
1 Bottle (medium) Maraschino
cherries; chopped
3 Eggs
1 teaspoon Soda
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Allspice
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

CARAMEL ICING
2 cup Sugar
2 tablespoon Butter
One half cup Milk
One fourth cup Boiling water
1/8 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla

Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each
addition. Sift together three times the flour, cinnamon, allspice and
baking powder. Add soda to the buttermilk, then alternate the flour and
milk to the creamed mixture. Beat well. Fold in apples, nuts and cherries.
Add vanilla. Bake in three layers at 350 degrees.

To make icing: Caramalize One half cup sugar. Add boiling water and stir until
dissolved. Add butter, milk, salt and remainder of sugar. Boil to soft ball
stage; cool to room temperature. Add vanilla; beat until creamy. Spread
between and on top the cake. Sprinkle with chopped nuts, if desired. Let
cake set two days before cutting. It is better with aging.

From A Taste of Louisiana. Downloaded from Glen's MM Recipe Archive,
http://www.erols.com/hosey.