Friday, October 15, 2010

Double Apple Bundt Cake

 
I love Fall. It is most certainly my favorite season. I've always loved everything associated with autumn and this hasn't changed over the years. The smells of cinnamon, and other spices, lighting candles, being able to wear jeans and boots, all those things are special to me. I had to give up a few things that I always enjoyed during this time of year by living in Arizona, like the changing of the leaves or dark, rainy days, but even here fall has it's benefits and there is certainly something to be said about sitting around a fire pit on cooler (like 70 degrees F) evenings and finally being able to enjoy the outdoors without melting.

One of the things I think of immediately when it comes to fall are apple desserts. I love, any and everything apple and always look forward to being able to come up with new recipes and ideas to incorporate them. Since apples harmonize so incredibly well with all of my favorite spices, you will be seeing quite a few apple recipes over the next few weeks. One of the challenges I face when it comes to apple desserts is that my two older ones don't care for the texture of traditional apple pie. With this in mind, I tend to look for recipes that incorporate the apples in a way so that my kids don't complain. 


Dorie Greenspan once again to the rescue. This recipe caught me eye right away because it was a pretty economic cake that only required what I already had in my fridge and pantry. The cake gets double the apple flavor by incorporating not only grated apples, but also apple butter into the batter. Warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger only enhance the cake without being overpowering. I left most of the cake as written but made a few tiny adjustments by dusting my Bundt cake pan with sugar instead of flour, soaking my raisins for about 30 minutes in a couple tablespoons of brandy before adding them to the batter, and last but not least, adding a couple of shakes of cinnamon to my glaze.

This cake ended up being the epitome of fall and everyone in the family loved it, even my "cooked apple challenged" kids. Most of all, I was impressed by my "I hate raisins" teenager who exclaimed that by soaking the raisins prior to baking they weren't half bad and she wasn't forced to pick them out of the cake before eating. Now that is what I call success! One small change that I would add the next time (and there will be a next time) is to reduce the sugar by about one third. I thought the cake almost bordered on being too sweet, but that's certainly nothing that can't be fixed. Great cake that will certainly make any cup of tea or coffee just a little bit better during autumn!


Double Apple Bundt Cake
(adapted from Dorie Greenspan)
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup store-bought apple butter, spiced or plain (I used spiced)
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and grated (I used Granny Smith Apples)
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (I used pecans)
1/2 cup plump, moist raisins (dark or golden), soaked in 2 tablespoons brandy for 30 min.

For the icing:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 - 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9- to 10-inch (12 cup) Bundt pan. Dust the interior of the pan with sugar, then tap out the excess. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour; baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.

Working with a stand mixer; preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed, scraping the bowl as needed, for 3 minutes, or until the mixture is smooth, thick and pale. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minutes after each addition; you'll have a light, fluffy batter. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the apple butter  don't' worry if it curdles the batter. Still on low, add the grated apples and mix to completely blend. Add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the batter. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the nuts and brandy soaked raisins. Turn the batter into the Bundt pan and smooth the top of the batter with the rubber spatula.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 5 minutes before unmolding and cooling the cake to room temperature. If possible, once the cake completely cool, wrap well in plastic and let it stand overnight at room temperature to ripen the flavors. Ice the cake just before serving.

To make the optional icing: Put the confectioners' sugar in a small bowl and stir in a squirt or two of orange juice. Keep adding the juice a little at a time until you have an icing that falls easily from the tip of a spoon. Stir in the ground cinnamon. Drizzle the icing over the top of the cake, letting it slide down the curves of the cake in whatever pattern it makes. Let the cake stand until the icing dries, a matter of minutes, before serving.

39 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday to you! :-) Kuchen schaut super lecker aus... Isabel

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  2. I wish I had some of this for breakfast. I need to go pick some apples, so I can make this. My girls won't eat raisins either, but they like when I use craisins (dried cranberries).
    -Gina-

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  3. That cake looks so moist and delicious, full of great autumn flavors~!

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  4. oh wow, can i come over for a slice of this? i am so hungry right now. thank you for stopping by my blog, have a nice weekend.

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  5. Ahhh our dear Dorie will never fail a recipe! I love this bundt cake!

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  6. Looks tempting! I love the use of the apple butter.

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  7. This looks so delicious! (I might not add the nuts because sometimes you feel like a nut and sometimes you don't.) :)

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  8. Oh, this has been bookmarked. It looks incredible. I made apple butter this fall so even though the ingredients say store-bought, I'll use mine. I can't wait to make it. Thanks so much for sharing!

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  9. Moist & Lovely,I bet it was also quite tasty

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  10. I made an apple bundt cake not too long ago that didn't turn out nearly as nice! (Didn't make it tot he blog!) This looks so moist and rich. Saving it!

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  11. You make me want to dig into the cake, but I can't unless I make it! lol! great idea with all the apples overload!!

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  12. I'm with you - I love apples! I can't believe I haven't even made anything with apples yet this year. Maybe my first should be this cake!

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  13. OKAY! That's it! I have to get a bundt (or "bonk" cake- to quote Big Fat Greek Wedding)cake pan now! I have told myself for so long that I need to get one, but never had a good reason...but now I do. I love apple things. Yet another fabulous "cozy" recipe. I hear ya on the "non-autumnal" weather. It's the same way here in Houston. you have hot-as-hell weather and not-as-hot-as-hell weather. That's about it.

    your comment just blessed my socks off! thank you so much Susi! I always look forward to everything you do as well. Oh! guess what I am making for dinner tonight? Yup! chicken chili! yee-haw! thanks, sister! hugs! Oh, and I made it to the next round of PFB! yay!

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  14. Looks wonderful! Love the sneaky apples and raisins. Great mom job!

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  15. Den Kuchen mochten bei mir auch alle. Super lecker. Muss ich bald mal wieder backen.

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  16. looks so yumm. cant wait to try it out.

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  17. I love Dorie Greenspan! This cake looks so wonderfully moist and appley!

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  18. Happy Birthday! I hope you are having a great one! Interesting choice for a birthday cake!! Your 8th grader told me today that you were "speechless" about your new cutting board birthday present!! I'm wondering where are the leftovers for the art teacher. :) Looking at the blog makes me hungry..and makes me wish I spent more time in my kitchen. :)

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  19. Hi Mrs. Del Sandro, thanks for the b-day wishes :o) The cutting board is amazing and so thoughtful. Today's post is actually not my cake, just something I made a few days ago. I went with a very non-traditional chocolate fondue for my dessert today :o) Nice to see you on here!

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  20. Mmmmm...that cake, with all of the lovely chunky bits, looks fabulous! I love apples- I hope my supply doesn't run out before I make all of the apple recipes I've bookmarked!

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  21. What a cake! We see so many apple pies at this time of year that it's great to find something as cool as this. Looks delicious!

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  22. Gosh, this looks good. It certainly is perfect for this time of year. Bob and I have begun our travels, so my visits here will be sporadic. I'll return to regular visits when we get back. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  23. This cake looks exquisitely good to me, Susi! If I could get away with it, I'd be baking with apples every other day lately. I have a couple more apple desserts in mind that I absolutely must get to this fall come hell or high water. Your decision to use sugar on the pan instead of flour appeals to me a lot. I love doing that. It adds a nice crunch to the crust. Beautiful, as always!
    :) Jane

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  24. So beautiful. It looks so moist and so delicious!

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  25. This does sound like a wonderful way to make an apple cake. I have to say that I love the use of the grated apples and the apple butter. Definitely gives you the apple flavor w/out a lot of the texture. It looks incredibly moist and delicious!

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  26. This cake looks wonderful, warm and full of all the fall flavors I know and love. I also love your description of why you enjoy fall so much - I agree with everything you say! So glad I found your blog. I'll be returning soon!

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  27. I look forward to more apple recipes from you. Love baking with apples in the fall. Now let's talk raisins. I believe raisins are only useful for oatmeal cookies. But you're telling me soaking them makes them better? This is a fascinating development.

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  28. Dorie Greenspan rocks! I'm waiting for her new book to arrive in the mail!!This looks fantastic. I adore apple cakes. With icing. Without icing. I can eat them all day long:)Delicious!

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  29. Oh it looks delicious! So moist and tender. I'm going to have to pull out the bundt pan for this one!

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  30. This looks so moist and delicious! I love the idea of soaking the raisins in brandy for a while...I will definitely be making this one! ;)

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  31. Apople cake and carrot cake are the most wonderful things - especially with glazing on top and nuts in the batter.

    Lovely photos.

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  32. Give me apple cake for breakfast with my cafe and I'll be a happy camper.

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  33. Oh yum!!! How'd I miss this! I'm with Lauren, I've been wanting to buy a bundt pan for some time, but pushed it off. Now, I MUST!!!This cake wouldn't last very long in my house!!!

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  34. I love simple bundt cakes-I'm not a good baker so, I am always looking for these great recipes. This apple bundt cake is perfect for autumn weather.

    I'm happy to finally be enjoying cooler temps. I was beginning to think that summer would last forever.

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  35. Mmm, delish! Yours looks just perfect :)

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  36. I have a soft spot in my heart for bundt cakes and this one looks amazing!

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  37. Oh Yummeeiii! it looks like delicious Essential Oil Packaging Boxes

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