Apple Cider Caramel Cake

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE fall! Now, that weather is cooling off I can't wait to do some baking. Katy of Food for a Hungry Soul made this incredible German Apple cake recently that got me thinking about one of my favorite recipes. I've been making this cake for at least 10 years now and it is a HIT every time I serve it. It is a moist pound cake-like concoction filled with apples cooked in apple cider....just perfection. I can't wait for fall every year to be able to make this cake. I;m not sure why they call it caramel cake as there is really no caramel in it. This time it looks more pale than usual due to my oven acting up but still delicious! I hope you love it as much as I do and THANK YOU KATY for inspiration.

* 2 1/4 cups apple cider, divided
* 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
* 1 tablespoon stick margarine or butter
* 3 cups sliced peeled cooking apple (such as Braeburn, Rome, or McIntosh)
* Cooking spray
* 2 1/2 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
* 1/2 cup stick margarine or butter, softened
* 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
* 1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese
* 3 large eggs
* 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Bring 2 cups cider to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan over high heat. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 20 minutes). Reduce heat to medium-high; stir in 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Cook 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves and cider is thick and dark-colored, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cool 1 minute. Stir in 1 tablespoon margarine. Stir in apple; cook 15 minutes over medium-high heat or until the liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; cool. (If apple mixture hardens, place it over low heat until softened).

Preheat oven to 325°.

Coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; dust with breadcrumbs.

Combine 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 1/2 cup margarine, lemon rind, and cream cheese in a large bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in apple mixture. Pour into prepared pan; bake at 325° for 1 1/2 hours or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Combine 1/4 cup cider, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and vanilla; let stand until sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Cool cake in pan 5 minutes, and pierce with a wooden skewer in several places. Pour cider mixture over cake in pan, and let stand 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool completely on a wire rack. Sift powdered sugar over top of cake.