Harvest Spice Cake

Harvest Spice Cake

1 pkg. (18.25 oz.) spice or carrot cake mix
1 cup water
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/3 cup apple butter
Maple Buttercream Frosting (recipe follows)
2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1/4 cup chopped almonds
2 tablespoons chopped dried apricots
2 tablespoons chopped dried cranberries
2 tablespoons raisins

1. Preheat over to 375*F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Combine cake mix, water, eggs, oil and apple butter in medium bowl. Beat on low speed of electric mixer until blended; beat at medium speed 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 35 to 45 minutes until wooden toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool in pans on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove to racks; cool completely.

4. Prepare Maple Buttercream Frosting.

5. Place 1 cake layer on serving plate; frost top with Maple Buttercream. Top with second layer; frost top and side of cake with frosting. Press walnuts into side of cake.

6. Pipe chocolate onto cake in close lines, slightly overlapping in places, to look like a tree trunk, making the chocolate look like limbs as well. Combine almonds, apricots, cranberries and raisins. Sprinkle in the tree top and limbs and also around the base of the tree to look as if the ripened fruit has fallen to the ground.

Makes 12 servings

Maple Buttercream Frosting

4 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1/4 cup maple or pancake syrup
3 cups confectioners' sugar

In small bowl, beat butter and syrup until blended. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth.

Makes about 3 cups