apple spice bundt cake

Apple spice cakes seem to be hit-or-miss; most are too dry, some are overly spiced, some are under-spiced, some have big, unappetizing chunks of apple inside. Bon Appétit’s Apple Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze is a hit. It is moist, even without the glaze, and has a perfect balance of spices. The finished product resembles Greek honeyed walnut spice cake. My family and I like it best when it’s still warm, but it keeps well for a day or two.

Apple Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze
Adapted from Bon Appétit, February 2007

For cake:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tbs. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1 3/4 lbs. Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, coarsely grated, and squeezed dry in a kitchen towel
2 sticks butter, room temperature
1/2 c. canola or vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. packed golden brown sugar
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

For glaze:
1/2 c. packed golden brown sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/4 c. low-fat buttermilk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt

For cake:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick spray.

Sift flour and next six ingredients into medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, both sugars, and lemon peel in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in vanilla and lemon juice. Beat in flour mixture. Mix in grated apples. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool in pan on rack 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare glaze:
Stir all ingredients in small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; whisk until glaze is smooth, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Invert cake onto rack set over baking sheet. Using small skewer, pierce holes all over top of warm cake. Pour glaze over top, allowing it to be absorbed before adding more. Cool cake 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

apple walnut cinnamon bread

There is a nearby farmer's market that sells a sweet bread made with apples, walnuts, and cinnamon. Here, I tried to replicate it. I decided to use a recipe for cinnamon rolls for the bread base and made a swirl using apples, cinnamon-sugar, and chopped walnuts. It is best eaten warm out of the oven.

Apple Walnut Cinnamon Bread

For bread:
Adapted from Cinnamon Rolls with Pecans, Bon Appetit, October 1999

1 1/2 c. warm whole milk, 105 to 110 degrees
3/4 c. sugar
2 envelopes active dry yeast
4 tbs. butter, room temperature
1 tsp. salt
4 c. all-purpose flour

For filling:

1 stick butter, room temperature
2 apples, peeled, cored, diced
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 c. light brown sugar
1/3 c. walnuts, chopped
1 egg, beaten

Combine 1 1/2 c. warm milk and 3/4 c. sugar in large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over and let stand until foamy, about 6 minutes. Mix in butter and salt. Add enough flour, 1 cup at a time, to form soft dough. Turn dough onto floured work surface. Knead dough until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 10 minutes.

Lightly butter another large bowl. Place dough in bowl; turn to coat with butter. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then cover with kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm, draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Beat butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar in medium bowl to blend.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Turn dough onto floured work surface. Divide dough in half Roll out gently to 9 x 10 inch rectangle. Spread half butter-cinnamon-sugar mixture onto dough. Sprinkle half of apples and walnuts on bread. Roll to form loaf. Press seams closed. Place in buttered 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Repeat with remaining dough. Brush with egg wash.

Bake until golden and cooked through, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

apple almond tartlets

Yesterday, I went apple picking, and I came home with lots of apples! I used them to make apple almond tartlets.

Apple Almond Tartlets

For cookie crust:
From Chocolate and Mixed Nut Tart in Cookie Crust, Bon Appetit, February 2002
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 stick plus 1 tbs. chilled butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tbs. chilled whipping cream
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour and sugar in processor. Add butter and cut in, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tbs. cream and vanilla extract. Pulse until moist clumps form, adding more cream by tablespoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough together. Press dough over bottom of six 5-inch tartlet pans. Pierce dough all over with a fork.

For filling:
1 1/4 c. blanched slivered almonds
1 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/4 tsp. salt
6 tbs. unsalted butter, room temperature
3 apples, peeled, cored, cut into thin slices
Apricot jelly

Combine almonds, 3/4 c. sugar, eggs, extracts, and salt in processor. Blend until soft paste forms. Add 4 tbs. butter, blend 10 seconds. Spread in crust. Chill until firm, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir apples and remaining sugar in large bowl.

Overlap apples in concentric circles atop filling. Melt 2 tbs. butter; brush over apples. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake tarts 25 to 30 minutes, until apples are tender. Transfer to a rack. Stir preserves over low heat until melted. Strain into small bowl; brush over apples. Cool.

Tartlets are best eaten the day after they are made.

apple turnovers

These apple turnovers are super easy to make.

Apple Turnovers

2 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
4 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 c. granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine apples, cinnamon, sugar, and lemon juice in a bowl.

Roll out puff pastry on lightly floured surface. Cut into 4 1/2" squares. Place heaping tablespoon apple filling in the middle of each pastry square. Place egg wash on two adjacent edges. Fold over to form triangles, and press firmly to close. Brush each turnover with egg wash. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake until golden and puffed, about 20 minutes.

mock apple pie

This past week, I read Jeffrey Steingarten’s The Man Who Ate Everything. In “Pies from Paradise,” he writes a little about Mock Apple Pie, a recipe formerly featured on the back of the Ritz Crackers box that makes an apple-y tasting dessert without using any apples. The idea of an apple-less apple pie intrigued me to such a degree that I decided to try it out. I didn’t want to waste an enormous amount of ingredients, so I divided the recipe in half and made it in a small baking dish.

The developers of the recipe realized that the apples in apple pie do not impart much flavor and that the prominent taste is from the cinnamon and lemon juice. The Ritz Crackers, then, replace the apples: when baked, they absorb sugar syrup and become soft and mushy, like baked apples. And the aforementioned cinnamon and lemon juice give the dessert its apple pie flavor.

Steingarten was generally impressed by the Mock Apple Pie's ability to deceive, but I was not so convinced. While the cinnamon and lemon juice did remind me somewhat of apple pie, the Ritz Crackers were hardly apple-like in texture. Oh well. It was a fun little experiment, nonetheless.

mrs. hopping's apple cake

Mrs. Hopping lived next door to my mom when she was growing up. She made this wonderful apple cake and generously provided the recipe to my mom. I have adapted the recipe slightly, by adding a touch of vanilla and a cinnamon-sugar swirl. And, while I have served it in the past with a dusting of powdered sugar, I decided, this time, to apply an apricot jelly glaze over the top instead. The glaze adds a shiny finish and a nice, sweet taste.

Mrs. Hopping’s Apple Cake

1 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick butter, room temperature
1/2 c. sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for topping
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/8 inch slices
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbs. apricot jelly

Preheat oven to 330 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Combine 2 tbs. sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; set aside.

Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and blend well. Add flour mixture, and mix just until combined. Use an offset spatula to spread batter evenly into baking pan. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over batter. Use a knife or skewer to swirl cinnamon-sugar into batter. Arrange apple slices in five columns, on top of cake (see picture below).

Bake until cake is light golden, about 25 minutes. While cake cools slightly, heat apricot jelly over low heat until thinned. Use a pastry brush to apply glaze over warm cake. Let cool in pan on wire rack.