Valentine’s Day is upon us. Actually, it’s been lurking in the stores since Thanksgiving. Junior Deerslayer refers to it as “Singles Awareness Day”. Everyone in our family has decided that it would be a sneaky move for all of us to secretly decide to celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 16th instead. All the cards, flowers, and candy will be 1/2 off. The restaurants will have put away their “special occasion menus”… the ones that feature only a couple of entrees that cost about four times the regular price. There are 364 days a year that my dearly beloved can show me how much he loves me. He lavishes me with tokens of his affection every day. Okay, most days, pretty often, often enough. No need to run these things into the ground.
For anyone who succumbs to societal pressure and feels the need to come up with SOMETHING before February 16th, try this delicious cake. Save the $6 for a card, $100 for flowers, and $200 for dinner out. Prepare this wonderful cake. prepare a small personal note, and fix a nice dinner at home. Priceless!
Stir together cake mix, eggs, water, oil and apricot brandy.
Pour batter over nuts.
Bake at 325 in oven for 1 hour or until knife inserted half way between center of tube and edge comes out clean..
Cool 10 minutes in pan.
Invert onto serving plate with a lip around the edge (to collect glaze) and prick top with skewer or knife so that glaze can soak it.
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup apricot brandy
- Melt butter in saucepan.
- Stir in water and sugar.
- Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat.
- Stir in apricot brandy.
- Brush glaze evenly over top and sides of cake. (It’s pretty tasty! You might want a sip or two.)
- Allow cake to absorb glaze. As glaze collects in serving plate, I pour it back into the pan and reapply until fully absorbed.
- Repeat until glaze is used up.
This cake is even better the second day. Good luck with that, though!
The Deerslayer's Wife 
Brandy cake, rum cake…I’m beginning to see a connection 😉 Sounds delish.
Okay, okay! Variation on a theme. Really good, none the less.
This looks deliciou,s and I love your Bundt pan! Mine’s a clunky “nonstick” metal one that refuses to release my cakes from its loving embrace.
I’ve had that bundt pan for years. I’m pretty sure it was from Wal-Mart. It was Nordicware, though, and inexpensive. It’s still available for 12.95 plus s & h from the Nordic ware website. The website has some very fancy ones as well. The cooking spray w/ flour is what does the trick, though. I swear by it. It’s important to spray the tube part of the pan, as well. Works every time.
Mine tend to stick in the very bottom of the pan, what would be the top of the cake once turned out. The nonstick coating on the metal prevents liquid fat from staying put. I have to use butter, and even then it’s iffy. I’ll be getting a new one sooner than later.
Wierd. I don’t have non-stick and mine have never done that when I use the cooking spray that has flour in it. Made the apricot cake this morning and it popped right out.
I can vouch for this one. Apricot brandy cake beats WalMart chocolate any day.
Hey Shannon, Sure was fun last night. I am so glad that y’all could come. Your tamales were wonderful. Thanks for everything you did. Christine
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