Caramel Cake with Apple Filling

Apples often seem pretty plain jane to me. It was a fruit we always had in the house growing up,* and so I never thought it very special. This could be because I kind of hate red delicious apples, and pretty much any other apple that is sold at the grocery store in a plastic bag with ten other of its fellows. Not very special at all.

However, I declare Fall 2010 the Apple Revolution! Let us rejoice with the bounty of autumnal boughs hanging heavy with the crisp, sweet-tart fruit that is the apple!

And caramel. Everything I make has caramel in it these days.

Apple Revolution started a couple weekends ago when Eric and I went to Greensboro, NC for a wedding (shout out to Haley and Dave! Hooray!). We found there, surprisingly near our hotel and the highway, the absolute biggest farmer's market I have ever seen. It had three massive awnings that housed vendors selling everything from pumpkins to bread to flowers to apples. So many apples. I bought a very large bag filled with one of every kind I could find. We're talking Winesap and Arkansas Black and King Luscious and Duchess and Honeycrisp (aren't apple names just wonderful!)

Therefore...you will be seeing a lot of apple related desserts around here in the coming weeks.

The inspiration for this cake came from Honey and Jam, but I couldn't make the frosting from that recipe set. It stayed a caramel goo mess. Fortunately, I found a delicious recipe on Epicurious from Bon Appetit. If you beat the frosting a little, you get this dark, thick frosting that reminds me of caramels. If you beat it a lot, the frosting becomes lighter in color and very fluffy. Both are tasty, but I like the way the darker one looks better.

This combination is awesome, by the way. Truly awesome. The cake is a rare vanilla cake that stays moist for many days in a world full of dry cakes. The individual components take some time (mostly cooling time, so don't try to make this on a tight schedule), but you can spread out the making of the cake and it's not bad.

Vanilla Cake from Cakelove (it's best if you can weigh the ingredients, and so much easier)

I make this times 1.5 to come up with a three layer cake.

Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare two 9-in cake pans with parchment rounds in the bottom and butter or spray.

Dry Ingredients:

AP Flour, 7 oz or 1 1/4 cup plus 2 tbs

potato starch, 2 oz (you can sub cornstarch if necessary)

baking powder, 1 1/2 tsp

salt, 1 tsp

Wet Ingredients:

half and half, 1 cup

brandy, 2 tbs (can sub more half and half for this)

vanilla extract, 1 tbs

Creaming:

unsalted butter, room temp, 6 oz or 1 1/2 sticks

extra-fine granulated sugar, 14 oz or 1 3/4 cups (you can food process regular sugar to make extra fine.)

eggs, 4 large

Start by mixing the butter and sugar with in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on med-low for at least 5 minutes, the more time the better. It will be very fluffy.

Meanwhile, whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl and sift together. In a separate container, combine all the wet ingredients.

After the butter and sugar are sufficiently creamed, add the eggs one at a time, blending well between each.

Finally, add the wet and dry ingredients in 5 alternating additions, waiting only until the ingredients are just incorporated before adding the next addition. Scrape the bowl and mix on medium speed for 15-20 seconds.

Divide the batter between the pans and bake for 25-28 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Apple Filling adapted from Honey and Jam

I doubled this for a triple layer cake.

2 large granny smith (or other baking-type) apples

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp lemon juice

Peel the apples and grate with a box grater. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook until the apples are tender and there is little liquid left. Cool completely.

Caramel Frosting from Epicurious

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup cream

2 egg yolks

1 stick unsalted butter, room temp

1/8 t salt

1 cup powdered sugar

Stir the sugar and water together and cook over med-high heat, swirling the pot occasionally (not stirring). Cook until the caramel is deep amber; watch it carefully, it will continue to darken a little after you turn off the heat. Remove from the burner and whisk in the cream (watch out for steam and bubbles). Stir until the caramel is smooth.

Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl, and gradually whisk in the hot caramel. Cool the caramel mixture.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and powdered sugar together until smooth. Beat in the caramel mixture. Let stand at room temperature until thick enough to spread, about an hour.

Spread the apple filling between the cake layers and frost the outside of the cake with caramel frosting. If you have time to freeze your cake layers, it makes frosting easier.

Go, enjoy this quintessential fall cake.

* Oddly enough, we also always had bananas around too when I was growing up, but that apparently had the opposite effect on me than the ever-present-bagged apple, because now I am slightly obsessed with the banana. Really, its the perfect fruit.

Cranberry Lemon Chocolate Pound Cake

This confetti-looking cake is probably the only thing I've ever tasted that I could justify describing with the phrase "a party in my mouth." In fact, upon tasting the cake, one friend used those exact words. It also got rave reviews at The Restaurant.

Cranberry-Lemon-Chocolate. These are quintessential winter flavors, and the combination is just gorgey.* In fact, it inspires me to write a haiku.

zip cranberry tang

creamy lemon surrounds me

smooth chocolate rest

So anyway, make this cake for Christmas, and then again for Boxing Day, and for New Years, and for National Bird Day (jan 5), and for Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday(3rd monday in jan)...basically you're going to want any excuse to eat this cake!

Again, when making recipes that feature ounces instead of cups, just bite the bullet and just go buy yourself a kitchen scale. Make sure it switches between grams and ounces and other units of measure, and I got mine at the big box for 20 bucks.

Cranberry Lemon Chocolate Pound Cake

adapted from Cakelove (The original recipe used dried cranberries, and used fresh cranberries. The original also called for 2 T gin, but I just added that much more half and half and skipped the gin. Finally, these recipes always called for something called vanilla powder, which I just ignore all together.)

Preheat to 350.

Dry Ingredients:

13 oz (2.5 cups plus 1 T) AP flour

4 oz (1/2 cup) fresh cranberries, chopped. (hooray food processors!)

3 oz (1/4 cup) bittersweet chocolate

1/2 t salt

1/4 t baking soda

(Mix together and set aside)

Wet ingredients:

4 oz (1/2 cup) sour cream

3/4 cup half and half

1 lemon (zest it into the butter and then cut and separate the juice packets from the pith and membrane, put that part in with the liquid)

1 t vanilla extract

(mix together and set aside)

1.5 sticks butter, room temp

21 oz (2.5 cups plus 2 T) sugar

1 T lemon zest

5 eggs

Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer on low speed for 2 or 3 minutes. Add the lemon zest and the eggs, one at a time, blending thoroughly between each. Switch off adding the wet and dry ingredients, in 3-5 additions. Don't blend completely in-between- this step should only take a minute.

Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides, then blend on medium speed for 20-25 second to "develop the structure of the batter."

Pour the batter into a well greased bundt pan. Use any leftover for cupcakes (they cook better in cupcake papers than straight in the pan like muffins). Bake at 350 for about 40-50 minutes. Cupcakes will only take about 15. The cake is done when a knife comes out clean from the center.

The book says to let the cake cool for only 5-10 minutes before removing, but the first time I made, as you can tell by the picture above, I lost the top doing it this way. The second time, I let it cool completely before removing and it was fine. However, in ordinary circs you probably won't be able to wait til it's cooled to try it. I guess that's where the extra batter cupcakes come in.

I also made a glaze for my second cake. I heated jellied cranberry sauce from a can with sugar and water and put it through a strainer to make it finer. I brushed it on the cake with a pastry brush, and then brushed on a second layer of a paste made from a little cranberry mix, some rum, and some powdered sugar. I then put it in the oven for 5 min to let it sink in.

I'm going to try it with orange instead of lemon next!

* has anyone else read Freaky Friday? Annabelle loves the gorgey word.

Mojito Cake by Cakelove

As we know, Mojitos are one of the best uses for rum. And there are a lot of fantastic uses for rum, as my roommates and I explored our senior year of college.

Examples:

Hot Rum Spiced Cider

Rum-nana Pancakes

Rice Pudding flavoring

Actually, flavoring just about any dessert. Also any drink or icecream.

We thought that buying the massive jug of rum would be more cost effective and last us a long time. It did not, because it's very presence inspired us to add it to almost everything we ate or drank.

Anyway...why not a mojito cake? Thanks, Cakelove!

Preheat to 350. Prepare two 9 in cake pans.

Ingredients:

12 oz AP flour (or 2 cups plus 2 T)

1/4 cup potato starch

1 t salt

1/4 vanilla powder (I omitted this.)

1/4 t baking soda

3 whole cloves, ground (I used pre-ground)

1/3 cup oven dried mint (place mint leaves in an aluminum foil pouch. poke holes with a fork. bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Crush with fingers and remove stems. )

Whisk together and set aside

2/3 cup sour cream

1/4 cup half and half

3 T dark rum

2 t vanilla extract

1 t molasses

1 t lemoncello (I was unable to find this at our liquor store, so I used

1 lime, zested (to add to the butter and sugar) and segmented (meaning cutting the juice pods away from the white segments holding them to the middle. So you have just juice pods and no strings or tough parts) (add the juice pods to the rest of these ingredients)

Whisk together and set aside

8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

18 oz (2 1/4 cups) extra fine sugar

2 t minced lime zest

4 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

Cream the butter, sugar and lime zest in a mixer at low speed until light and fluffy, about 5 min.

Add the eggs and yolks one at a time, fully blending each.

Add the dry and wet ingredients, alternating in 3 to 5 additions, in about a minute (don't linger over this step.) Scrape the mixer, and then beat on medium for 15-20 sec.

Pour into cake pans and bake about 30 min, until a knife or skewer stuck in the middle comes out clean.

I saved some batter and made myself a couple cupcakes:

While your cakes are cooling (don't remove from the pans until they are cool, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate), make your Rum Italian Meringue Buttercream (recipe in previous post).

Doctor up your layers, pile them on, do the crumb coat, chill, and then glop on the frosting. You may want to garnish with mint leaves and Raw Sugar.

Be sure to serve at Room temp. This cake is a little denser, and is in fact called a pound cake in the book. So for the cake an icing to be soft, pull out of the fridge about an hour before serving.

"Mr. Banana Legs" by Cakelove

Here is the second attempt at the Banana Cake from Cakelove; this time i followed the recipe to the letter AND used my NEW KITCHEN SCALE!!! And really, why would you dirty all those cup measures when you could just pour everything into a bowl on a scale?

This cake lived up to the hype- it was lighter and more cake-like than any banana baked good I've ever had. Also, I discovered Rum Flavored Italian Meringue Buttercream, which may be the best thing I've ever had in my mouth. True story.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 min

Ingredients:

AP flour: 10 oz (or 2 cups)

potato starch: 1 T (I found this in this "healthy" section of Kroger, near the bulk grains.)

turbinado sugar: 1 T (I used Sugar in the Raw)

salt: 1/2 t

baking soda: 1/4 t

nutmeg: 1 whole (I used ground, not sure how much it is supposed to be)

* Mix these ingredients together and set aside

6 oz very ripe bananas (the book claims this is three, but according to my NEW KITCHEN SCALE, it is not quite 2. I went with the weight rather than number of bananas.)

3/4 cup half and half

1 T dark rum

* Blend or food process these ingredients for 30 sec or until smooth and set aside

6 oz (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened.

21 oz (or 2 3/4 cup) extra fine sugar

4 large eggs

3 large egg yolks

Directions:

Cream the butter and sugar together at low speed until pale and fluffy, 3-5 min. Add the eggs and yolks one by one, blending fully between each. Alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients, in three to five additions. Add them quickly, don't bother waiting until each is fully blended. Do it in about one minute. Then blend at medium speed for 15-20 sec to "develop the batter's structure."

Spray the bottom of two 9 in cake pans, and divide the batter between the two. Bake until a skewer comes out clean, and remove from oven. Let cool for 30 min before removing from pan. Let cool completely, and refridge until ready to use.

Meanwhile, prepare the ganache and frosting. For the Ganache, as always, heat one part heavy cream then pour in 1.5 parts chocolate, let melt, and stir til smooth.

Then move onto the FANTASTIC FROSTING. And if you have a mixer, so easy.

1-1/4 cup sugar, divided

1/4 cup water

5 large egg whites

1 pound (4 sticks) butter, softened

3 T rum, or whatever other flavor you want to use.

In a small saucepan with a lid, combine 1 cup sugar with 1/4 cup water. Stir thoroughly and put the lid on. Heat at medium-high heat while you put 5 large egg whites in your mixer. Whip these up into stiff peaks, which should on take a minute or two.

Keep an eye on your sugar. You don't want it to turn golden, but you do want it to reach the temperature of 245. I don't have a candy thermometer, so I wait til I think it's about to turn gold. Is it the best system? Probably not. Has it worked so far? Absolutely.

When stiff peaks form in the eggs, add 1/4 cup sugar, while the mixer is running. When the sugar in the pan is hot enough, slowly add the syrup to the egg whites, again, while the mixer is running.

Reduce the speed to medium and run for about 5 min, until the mixture has cooled.

Add the softened butter, one tablespoon at a time. When all is added, increase the mixer speed to high again for a couple minutes to make sure the frosting is smooth. Add your flavor, in this case, RUM:) Aaand you're done!

To assemble:

Remove the cake from the fridge, and doctor it up with a knife. You might want to rub off all the brown parts- the overdone crumbs. You might want to cut off the top of on of the cakes for an even layer.

Then brush the tops of each layer with Chocolate Ganache, and put sliced bananas on what will be the bottom layer. Put these in the freezer for a few minutes to harden the chocolate so it's easier to spread the frosting on it without making choco-streaking frosting.

When it's ready, spread a thick layer of meringue on the bottom layer, and then place the top layer. Spread a thin "crumb coat" of frosting over the entire cake, to seal in any troublesome crumbs. Refrigerate or freeze for 5 or so more minutes to harden the coat.

Finally, spread the meringue all over the cake, making interesting textures or keeping it smooth. And you're done!

Final Thoughts:

1. DEFINITELY serve this cake at room temp. The frosting becomes harder and somehow brittle when cold. It is a constant conundrum that the cakes at the restaurant have to be stored in the cold case, and so are not served at the optimal taste temperature.

2. The cake, the ganache and the frosting are all amazing, phenomenal, even when they exist by themselves. When combined, there is somewhat of a disconnect. To me (and Eric, who usually declines to comment on such things), they don't exactly complement each other- the frosting is very light, but does fight for attention with the denser cake. So maybe you and I can find different uses for these delicious elements. That said, it's still a great cake and worth the time and the calories.