Fresh Apple Upside-Down Cake

Apple Cake. Made with fresh apples, not dried. Bursting with appleness. Hinting at apple pie flavors, but truly a cake. How difficult can that be? Damned difficult, it seems. My search for a satisfying apple cake began with Dorie Greenspan's Fresh Apple Custard Cake which won honors for aroma but seriously underperformed in flavor. I thought my Swedish Apple Custard Cake was an improved appley version of the same, but it was still somewhat between a cake and a custard. My hunt continued.

The latest cake came from a Martha Stewart recipe for an apple upside-down cake. Pineapple upside-down cakes are certainly a classic American dessert, one made popular in the 1920s soon after James Dole introduced pineapples precut into rings. Martha's fresh apple version sounded tempting.      

My first attempt yielded a dry interior and over-caramelized bottom (flipped to become the top). Adjust the baking time/temperature and try again. The second cake was an improvement, adequately moist but still not appley enough. Add a dollop of whipped cream or scoop of ice cream and no one would turn down a slice or two. I might make this recipe again, though a box cake version would tempt me, but THE apple cake recipe remains one of my dreams.

  

Fresh Apple Upside Down Cake

based on a Martha Stewart recipe

Makes one 8-inch cake

½ stick (1/4 cup) butter, melted

¼ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

¼ cup walnut bits, chopped 

1 large tart apple, peeled, cored & sliced thin

1 TBS lemon juice

2 large eggs

¼ cup granulated sugar

½ tsp vanilla

½ cup AP flour

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp cardamom

sweetened, flavored  whipped cream or vanilla ice cream as an optional topping or accompaniment

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Pour the melted butter into an 8-inch round cake pan, tilting to cover the entire bottom, and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Scatter the nuts over the top.

Core, peel and cut the apple into thin slices; place in a small bowl and toss with lemon juice to retard browning. Arrange in overlapping circles over the surface.

 In a medium bowl use an electric mixer to mix the eggs, sugar and vanilla. Blend for at least 3 minutes or until the mixture pales, thickens and forms a ribbon when lifted.

Place a mesh strainer over the bowl; add the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cardamon to the strainer and sift into the egg mixture, folding gently but thoroughly until incorporated.

Pour the batter evenly over the apple slices; bake in the middle of a preheated 400 F oven for 25 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven, run a butter knife around the side of the pan, and invert onto a serving dish. Best served warm, sprinkled with powdered sugar or accompanied by a bowl of whipped cream or ice cream balls.

Swedish Apple Custard Cake

Two years ago, almost to the day, I posted an update to a Serious Eats/Dorie Greenspan recipe for Fresh Apple Custard Cake. Deemed just "okay" from the first bite, I keep tweaking the recipe looking for something more... moreish flavorwise. My variations on Dorie's apple cake have all been fragrant, moist, custardy and applely, but a bit bland, lacking any notable flavor pop. 

Additions of lemon zest, almond extract and apple pie spice have upped the flavor impact, but never quite hit the mark. Then I found several online recipes for Swedish Apple Cake with Custard Sauce that sent me in another direction. Orange extract and grated orange zest plus ground cardamom were the new flavor additions of choice.

Still moist and fragrant, almost a cake and not quite a custard, the latest variation has met two-thumbs-up approval. The orange and cardamom somehow boost the appleness of the cake, providing an interesting combination of flavors in each bite. The custardlike filling negates the need for a custard sauce, though a dab of honey Greek yogurt made a fine topping. Hmmm, a scoop of homemade Cardamom Ice Cream would turn this morning treat into a scrumptious dessert. 

It's fun to play with recipes, adjusting ingredients but keeping the character of the original dish. Orange and cardamom will remain key flavor elements in my version of this custardy cake, but nuts might join the party next time.

Swedish Apple Custard Cake

Slightly adapted from 'Baking Chez Moi' by Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients:

3 medium cooking apples (Granny Smith), cored & peeled
a generous 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon orange extract
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6 tablespoons milk, at room temperature
2 tablespoons salted butter, melted and cooled
Grated zest of 1 medium orange
Confectioners’ or granulated sugar, for dusting (optional)

Directions:

Place a rack in the center of the oven; preheat to 400 degrees F. (My oven runs hot, so I began with a 400 F oven, then lowered the temp to 375 F after 20 minutes and rotated the pan.)

Butter or spray an 8-inch square baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Slice the apples quite thin, about 1/16 th inch thin, 

"elegantly thin, but not so thin that they’re transparent and fragile," according to Dorie.

Use a small bowl and 
whisk  together the flour, baking powder and cardamom. Set aside. 



In a larger bowl whisk the eggs and sugar together for a minute or two until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in the orange extract and vanilla, then the milk and finally the melted butter and orange zest. 

Sift the flour mixture into the bowl in 2 or 3 additions and whisk until smooth. 

Add the apples and gently fold into the batter using a rubber or silicone spatula, turning to coat each thin slice with batter. Scrape the mixture into the parchment-covered pan and smooth out the top so the apples lie flat.

Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until golden brown and uniformly puffed, 40-50 minutes. (55 min in my oven) Be sure the middle of the cake has risen and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack; allow to cool and set up for at least 15 minutes.



Unmold the cake bottom-side-up onto a plate and peel off the parchment paper. Flip it back onto a second plate and cut into squares. Dust with powdered sugar or cinnamon/sugar mix (optional). Cut and serve.

Apple Quick Bread with Hatch Chiles & Nuts

What is sweet/hot/salty/nutty delicious?

Everything baked in the Fall when apple season and chile harvest overlap... or maybe it just seems that way. Apples, green chiles and nuts are meant to mingle in so many tasty ways.

Our apple-plus-chile cravings developed during a New Mexico road trip, spurred on further with the purchase of Santa Fe Hot & Spicy Recipe.

Cookbooks and local specialty food items are my favorite souvenirs when we travel and I hit the jackpot with this collection of nearly 400 original recipes from Santa Fe's restaurant chefs. Chef's comments and cooking tips add an additional wealth of information. Often I would rather read a cookbook than a novel. You too?

The recipe for Green Chile Pecan Apple Pie (from chef Maggie Faralla at Zia Diner) launched me into full-blown apple/chile baking love. What's not to love about sweet and semi-spicy apple pie with a pecan crust?! Now it seems I want to tweak any apple recipe, savory or sweet, and add green chiles. We may live in the Pacific NorthWest, but we still relish spicy SouthWest flavors. 

This apple/chile quick bread recipe is still a work in progress; the first two batches were too moist and fall-apart crumbly to be quickbread, but were not quite cakelike either. I'll add some cornstarch to the dry ingredients in the next batch to see if it will work as a thickener and create a tighter crumb. If not, then cake pans might replace loaf pans and the result will become a coffeecake instead of a sliceable quickbread. (grin) I forsee a lot of taste tests coming up soon.

Apple Quick Bread with Hatch Chiles & Nuts

1-1/3 cups AP flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon Penzey's Apple Pie Spice
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
2 cups apples, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped (2 medium Granny Smiths)
3 Hatch chiles (about 1/4 cup), roasted, peeled, deseeded, chopped and tossed with 1 Tablespoon of flour (or use a well-drained 4-oz can of roasted chiles)
1/2 cup dried currants (or golden raisins)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans or pine nuts)
1 teaspoon sugar mixed with 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (for topping)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
2. Use cooking spray to coat 4 small loaf pans. Cover the sides and bottom of the pans with strips of parchment paper to help with pan release and lifting out. Spray the parchment paper.
3. In a small bowl combine the flour, salt, baking soda and spices.
4. In a larger mixing bowl combine the sugar and oil. Beat in the eggs, vanilla, almond & lemon extracts until well blended.
5. Stir in the apple chunks, chopped chiles, dried currants and chopped nuts.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients; mix with a large spoon until the flour is thoroughly incorporated.
7. Pour the batter evenly into the 4 prepared pans.
8. Bake on the middle rack in the preheated 325 F oven for 20 minutes. Slide out the oven rack and sprinkle the mixed sugar and cinnamon topping mixture over the top of each loaf. Bake for an additional 40 to 60 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
9. Remove to a baking rack to rest before removing from the loaf pan. Let the loaves cool completely before slicing. Wrap tightly in waxed paper to hold for several days without drying out.  

Blueberry Coffee Cake with Streusel Topping

Don't you hate it when there's not enough streusel on top of your piece of coffeecake? or when all of the fruit or filling in the cake sinks to the too-soggy bottom? or the leftovers are too dry to enjoy on day two? Well, none of those concerns were a problem with this breakfast treat. This recipe is a keeper!

Once all of the ingredients were assembled the batter and streusel topping went together quickly. Frozen blueberries tossed with a few tablespoons of flour kept the fruit nicely distributed throughout the cake, avoiding the bottom-hugging issue. My oven must run a little cool so it took an additional 8 minutes to bake, but using a cake tester handled the baking timing question. Anticipation grew as a heavenly aroma filled the kitchen and wafted up the stairs as the cake baked. Tummy rumbles and the cook's impatience led to sampling before the cake cooled for the suggested 15 minutes. Oh - my - goodness, that was some good cake. 

Three of us enjoyed more than half that morning, and late-night snacks accounted for several more pieces. And yes, two squares did make it through the night for breakfast treats the next morning; still moist, still tasty, and prompting requests for more blueberry coffeecake with streusel topping, please.

Blueberry Coffee Cake with Streusel Topping

For the Streusel Topping:

1/4 cup granulaed sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup AP flour

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

For the Cake:

1/4 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg (at room temperature)

2 cups AP flour

2 ½ tsp baking powder

1 Tbs cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup milk

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (tossed with 2 tablespoons flour)

Step 1 

1. Place the dry streusel ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Drop in the butter, and pulse until small crumbs form. (I used a pastry blender) Set aside.

Step 2

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil or butter a 9x9" or 8x8x2" square cake pan. (I used cooking spray + flour)

Step 3 

Use a stand mixer to cream the softened butter in a large bowl; add sugar in several additions and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well.

Step 4

Use a small bowl and sift together the flour, baking powder, cornstarch and salt. In a measuring cup or another small bowl, add the vanilla extract to the milk. Set the mixer on low speed and add small additions of the sifted flour mixture, alternating with the vanilla/milk mixture into the butter mixture. Do this in two or three additions. Gently stir the flour-dusted blueberries into the batter by hand. 

Step 5

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared cake pan. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the batter. Place in preheated oven and bake for 45-50 minutes until cake tests done in the center. Let cake cool for 15 minutes, then cut and serve warm.

Orange Madeleines

What's not to love about a madeleine? Soft and buttery, light and moist, these airy little cakes are a blissful bite of magic. Can you tell that I'm a fan? Yes, a fan, but a very recent fan.

I sampled my first-ever madeleine last month, at home in my own kitchen. Some unremembered online post, or maybe a Pinterest pin or two, caught my fancy and prompted an Amazon purchase of nonstick madeleine pans. I've always thought of madeleines as fussy, intimidating cookies; difficult to master, even a bit daunting to attempt. Hey, they're French! Company in the kitchen would make the activity fun no matter what the results, so Hilary joined me for the baking adventure.   

We used the recipe that came on the pan's cardboard wrapper, but incorporated some tips from a Mark Bittman post. We rested the batter for an hour and chilled the pans and the batter, but ignored Bittman's caution to avoid overbeating the batter. Did it make a difference? Who knows, but our results were judged a 5-star delicious success by all taste testers. 

How could I have ignored these iconic French treats for so long? Sweet, but not too sweet. Crisp edges surrounded soft interiors. The citrus flavor was subtle but evident. These delicious little scallop-shaped cakes have shot to the top of my Favorite Sweets list, though we can't wait to try some other flavor combinations as well. Almond, lemon, lavender... What's your favorite madeleine?

Orange Madeleines

(recipe from Chicago madeleine pan package)

Yield: 24 Madeleines

2/3    cup flour

1/4    teaspoon baking powder

1/2    cup butter, melted and cooled slightly

2       large eggs, room temperature

1/2    teaspoon orange extract

1/2    heaping teaspoon grated orange peel
1 cup powdered sugar

Topping: sifted powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray the madeleine molds with  baking spray. (I used Pam+flour spray.) Hold in the fridge until ready to fill.

Sift together flour and baking powder in a small bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat eggs, orange extract and orange zest on high speed for 5 minutes. Gradually beat in powdered sugar; beat another 5 minutes or until thick.

Gently fold in flour mixture, then melted butter. Mix until smooth. Chill in the fridge for an hour.

Spoon or pipe the mixture into the cups, filling about 3/4 full. Bake approximately 8 minutes, or until edges are light brown. Be careful not to overtake.

Cool in the pan around 1-2 minutes. Tap on the counter to loosen the cookies, or loosen with a knife, then invert pan on a rack. When cool, sprinkle the tops with powdered sugar.

Fresh Apple Custard Cake

Are you looking for one more simple apple dessert? I wasn't, but when Serious Eats featured this apple cake in a review of Dorie Greenspan's latest cookbook, Baking Chez Moi, I had to try it. Dorie is an iconic culinary guru, so I expected a lot from these custardy apple squares.

We are already huge fans of most sweet appley treats. One of our favorite desserts, Apple Cheese Torte, involves cinnamon-spiced apples bathed in a cream cheese custardlike filling and snuggled inside a buttery shortbread crust. While superbly delicious it's more of a company dessert, so I don't often bake it. Quick Apple Crostata is more of a family dessert and takes mere minutes from prep to finish... if I first remember to thaw a frozen package of pie crusts. Cinnamon Apple Crepes and Apple Pie Swedish Pancakes serve equally well as delicious dessert or breakfast fare. Orange-Spiced Apple Rolls and Apple and Nut Coffee Cake win top honors on any brunch menu. Both Fresh Apple Quick Bread and Appl-icious Brown Bread are snackable hits. Apple and Jalapeño Pie with a Pecan Crust is amazing - note to self to share that recipe. Enough already, back to Dorie's apple cake recipe.

So why did I try one more apple dessert recipe? Well, it sounded sweet and appley, almost a cake and not quite a custard... and  Dorie Greenspan created it. It must be might be terrific.   

Peeling, slicing, measuring and mixing took less than ten minutes, almost too quick since I had to wait several more minutes for the oven to come up to temperature. While the cake baked its heavenly aroma kept me in the kitchen, nose twitching like a hound on the scent, and lured RL away from his computer project. Ooooh, we were so ready to love this cake.

Baking timing was a challenge; the outer edge browned heavily before the center puffed and firmed. Was my glass baking pan the cause? should I drop the temperature 25 degrees F next time to compensate for a glass pan, or purchase a metal pan? should I switch to a round cake pan to avoid crispy corners altogether? 

Despite the firm, dark brown edges, the cake showed promise. A dusting of powdered sugar improved the overall appearance and the first bite proved... pleasant. Hmmm, could the smell of an apple square actually outperform the taste?! I had already tweaked the original recipe by adding a generous tablespoon of freshly grated lemon zest, but felt it needed more of a flavor boost. RL declared it was just fine as is, and ate another piece... and another.  

We did enjoy this apple cake, ate the entire thing within the day, and pronounced it good but not quite as terrific as the Serious Eats post had proclaimed. Did I expect too much from a simple recipe? Maybe so, but I'm ready to give it another try. Next time I might add some cardamom or Apple Pie Spice, or stir in a teaspoon of almond extract, or even swap some pears for the apples (as suggested in some SeriousEats and FaceBook comments). A cook can't have too many "apple something" recipes.

Update January 17, 2015: 
1. Dropping the oven temperature 25 degrees F in a later batch eliminated the over browned edges and apple tips. The glass 8x8 pan must have been the issue on the first batch.
2. Additional flavorings - cardamom, apple pie spice and almond extract - helped boost the flavor, but the tastiest change was swapping a cinnamon/sugar topping for the original powdered sugar.
3. RL requested another pan of this cake today. He apparently loves it while I want it to tweak it to be something different, something more... I don't know what. Evidently it's still a work in progress.  

Fresh Apple Custard Cake

From a Serious Eats review of  'Baking Chez Moi' by Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients:

3 medium to large, juicy apples (I used Granny Smith & Fuji), peeled
1/2 cup regular all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Pinch salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons whole milk, at room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Grated zest of 1 large lemon
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions:

Place a rack in the center of the oven; preheat to 400 degrees F. 

Butter or spray an 8-inch square baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Slice the apples quite thin, about 1/16 th inch thin, " elegantly thin, but not so thin that they’re transparent and fragile." Discard the cores.



Use a small bowl and 
whisk  together the flour and baking powder. 



In a large, separate bowl whisk the eggs, sugar and salt together for about 2 minutes, until the sugar just about dissolves and the eggs are pale. Whisk in the vanilla, then the milk and finally the melted butter. Add the flour to the bowl and whisk until smooth. 

Add the apples and using a rubber or silicone spatula gently fold the apples into the batter, turning until each thin slice is coated in batter. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth out the top.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until golden brown, uniformly puffed. Check to be sure the middle of the cake has risen and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack; allow to cool and set up for at least 15 minutes.



Unmold the cake bottom-side-up onto a plate, flip it back onto a second plate and cut into squares. Dust with powdered sugar; cut and serve.