Caramel Apple Cake

Ok, please forgive me, my bundt cake stuck to the top of the pan. But you will not believe how wonderful this cake taste. This is one you will have to try because if you like apples and caramel you will love this. It will become one of your favorite bundt cakes. I promise! I take a friend to the doctor occasionally and when I do I always thumb through the magazines for new recipes. This is one of those recipes and the bad thing about this recipe, I didn't get all of the caramel sauce copied down so I guessed at the last part and it actually turned out great. This would be a great cake for a brunch and this cake just seems like fall to me. Believe me, it's good now but with the cinnamon and nutmeg I just felt fallish when I was eating it. It's the flavors of fall! It's very rich and decadent. 1/2 cup chopped pecans, I like lots of pecans so I used 1 cup. 2 large eggs 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed 1 cup canola or vegetable oil 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced 2 cups unbleached all- purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 3/4 teaspoon baking soda Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 6-cup Bundt pan. Place pecans in a single layer in a samll baking pan. Bake 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring occasionally. Whisk together eggs, brown sugar and oil in a large bowl; stir in pecans and apples. Sift flour and next four ingredients over egg mixture; stir until blended and spoon into prepared pan. Bake 70 minutes (mine was ready in 55) so be sure and watch it. When toothpick comes out clean remove from oven. Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes, then remove from pan. Pierce cake multiple times on top and sides with a long wooden skewer. Pour Caramel Sauce evenly over cake. Cool completely before slicing. Caramel Sauce 2 1/2 cups heavy cream 1 cinnamon stick 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup water 1/2 teaspoon vanilla Cook cream and cinnamon stick in saucepan over medium heat until boiling; set aside. Cook sugar and water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until boiling, stirring to melt sugar. Increase heat to medium-high;boil without stirring 8 to 10 minutes or until syrup begins to color (light amber) swirling pan to incorporate mixture. Remove from heat when mixture is amber. Whisk one-quarter of warm cream mixture into caramel mixture. Mixture will boil up when you add cream, stir until boiling stops and add second quarter stir until mixed well and then add remainder mix well under medium heat and removed when it starts to boil. Cool for about 5 minutes and then drizzle over cake.