Right now it’s all about apples & pumpkins! I love getting fresh apples from an orchard. They have much more flavor and you can usually find different varieties that you otherwise don’t get in the grocery. From just a pound of apples, you can make this tri-fecta. The yogurt makes this cake moist, and is a healthier option than oil.
Apple Cake
Sauteed Apples
2-3 tart apples, about 1 pound
2 TBS butter
2 TBS sugar
Peel (reserve apple peels in a bowl of cold water for the Apple Twigs), core, and slice the apples into 1/4″ chunks. Place butter in a saute pan and allow to simmer. Add apples, cooking for a couple minutes. Then add sugar, and finish cooking apples until they’re just soft. Don’t allow them to get mushy. Turn off heat and allow to cool.
Cake Batter
12 TBS Butter at room temperature
1 3/4 C flour
1 C light brown sugar
4 egg yolks at room temperature
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp clove
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom (optional)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 C plain yogurt or sour cream
1/4 C raw sugar
Springform pan preferred, or cake pan
Cream the butter until light in color. Add brown sugar and cream together until light in color again. Add in egg yolks one at a time, until each one is mixed before adding another.
In another bowl, sift flour, then whisk in each dry ingredient.
Add half of the dry mixture into the butter sugar mixture and mix in thoroughly until you see no more flour. Add in the yogurt or sour cream. Then add in other half of dry mixture. Don’t over mix, but make sure you don’t see anymore flour. The batter will be thick.
Drain the sauteed apples from the pan, but reserve the butter. Fold in the apples into the cake batter.
Butter your cake or springform pan. Pour in batter and spread evenly. Then take a knife, and 1″ from the edge cut through the cake in one circular motion. This allows it to rise better. Take the 1/4 C of raw sugar and sprinkle over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40-60 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes before removing from springform pan, allowing to sit on a cooling wire rack. In a cake pan, allow to cool until just warm before removing.
Cider Glaze
4 TBS butter (use as much of the sauteed apple butter leftovers as possible)
2 C powdered sugar
2 TBS apple cider/juice
Melt butter, add powdered sugar, and warm apple juice/cider. Mix together. Add more apple cider if too thick. Pour over cake.
Apple Twigs
Any spices you like
Sugar
Create a mixture of sugar and your favorite spices. Judge how much you need buy how many peels you have. I used a few TBS of sugar/spices. Drain your apple peels from the bowl of cold water and cover the peels with your sugar & spice. Spread peels on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Don’t allow any of them to touch. Bake in a 250 degree oven for a couple of hours. You can allow the peels to sit in the water in the fridge for a day. This works well when you’re heating up other food in the oven so you don’t use as much energy.
Looking for some fall recipes? Try out Quinoa Red Rice Stuffing
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