Savory Tart Tatin with Apples, Shallots and Blue Cheese

I know that a lot of people rely on the internet for finding new recipes, which is fine, but I love cookbooks, so I'm always on the lookout for one that will have a number of new-to-me recipes that sound delicious.

A few days ago I was in one of our independent bookstores and found a great cookbook on the sale table. It's The Great British Baking Show Favorite Flavors book and I'm sure that I'll be making and posting more of the recipes in the future. As I paged through the book, there were at least a half dozen that sparked my interest. Last night I made the recipe that sealed the deal for me actually purchasing the book.

As written, this recipe is a Tart Tatin, which is sort of an upside down pie, with a rough puff pastry top that becomes the bottom of the tart. It is savory, but there is some sweetness from the apples and the shallots. The blue cheese brings home the savory as does the garlic. the thyme adds a wonderful herbal note. If I make it again I'll add finely chopped toasted walnuts, because the finished tart would have been even better with some walnuts, in my opinion. I'll also cut back some on the butter and oil because I found it overly oily. Just in case you think that it isn't worth making, I should tell you that Sweetie thinks it might be the best thing I've ever baked. Of course I had him at 'blue cheese'!

Because the puff pastry I thought I had in the freezer ended up not being there, and because I didn't have the time to make rough puff and I did have pie dough on hand, I used regular pie dough for the tart and it worked fine. I also didn't use all the blue cheese, nor all the apples and I also used fewer shallots than called for. What this meant was that I had a single layer tart. The original was probably thicker and that's why more fat, cheese, apples and shallots were needed. I liked it as a single layer tart, especially with the pie dough crust. I also skipped the balsamic drizzle, but kept the parsley.  I'm going to give you the original recipe below, but feel free to use pie dough and/or half the fillings if you like. Also feel free to toast a couple tablespoons of walnuts and chop them up and sprinkle them over the tart when you have turned it out onto the serving plate. Not only are walnuts and blue cheese a classic match-up, but the crunch should be great with the soft cheese, fruit and shallots. I plan to that next time.

Savory Tart Tatin with Apples, Shallots and Blue Cheese
Serves 4-6

For the rough puff pastry 
200g plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
175g unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
4 tbsp chilled water
1 tsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice

For the topping/filling
40g unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
400g banana shallots (1bout 12 small shallots), peeled and halved lengthways, root end intact
2 Braeburn apples, cored and cut into eighths
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 tbsp golden caster sugar (I used turbinado sugar)
1 thyme sprig, leaves picked, about a teaspoon
150g blue cheese (such as Stilton) crumbled
salt and black pepper to taste

To serve
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

1.) Make the rough puff pastry. Mix the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Lightly rub in the butter with your fingertips, just enough to knock the corners off the butter pieces - it should still be in a rough dice. Pour in the chilled water and vinegar and quickly mix with a palette knife (small offset spatula works) to bring the dough together in a ragged ball, adding more water if needed.

2.) Lightly flour the work surface, tip the dough out of the bowl and flatten it into a square. Roll out the dough to a rectangle that is three times as long as it is wide - about 36cm x 12 cm, with one of the short ends closest to you. Fold the top third down to the middle and the bottom third up to cover it, to create a three-layered square of dough. Wrap the dough and chill it for 1 hour.

3.) Lightly flour the work surface and roll out the dough to a rectangle, this time about 45 x 15 cm, with one of the short ends closest to you. Fold the top edge down to the middle and the bottom edge up to meet it in the middle. Turn the dough 90 degrees clockwise and fold the dough in half, much like closing a book. Wrap and chill for another 1 hour, or until you're ready to bake.

4.) Make the tipping. While the pastry is chilling, melt 15g of the butter with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large flying pan over medium heat. Add the shallots, cut side down, and cook without stirring for 3-4 minutes, until golden. Turn the shallots over and cook the other side for 2 minutes, until lightly colored. Using a fish knife or palette knife, remove the shallots to a large plate and season well with salt and pepper.

5.) Heat another 15g of butter and the remaining olive oil in the frying pan. Add the apples and cook each side for 2 minutes, until lightly caramelized. Add the garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook for another 1 minutes. Remove the apples to a plate.

6.) Assemble the tatin. Spread the remaining butter over the base of the ovenproof pan or skillet and scatter with the caster sugar. Place the shallots and apples in the pan (they don't have to be neatly arranged) and scatter with the thyme and half the blue cheese.

7.) Lightly flour the work surface. Roll out the pastry and cut it into a 28-30 cm disc (about 3mm thick). Lay the pastry over the shallots and apples and tuck the edges down the inside of the pan. Chill for 20 minutes while you heat the oven to 200 degrees C/180 degreed C fan/Gas 6.

8.) Cut a steam hole in the top of the pastry and place the pan over medium heat on the stove for 2 minutes, until the edges of the pastry start to sizzle and bubble. Then, transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 30 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and golden all over.

9.) Meanwhile, bring the balsamic vinegar to the boil in a small saucepan over medium heat until reduced by half. Removed from the heat and leave to cool.

10.) Leave the baked tart to rest in the ovenproof pan or skillet for 2 minutes, then place a board or serving plate on top of the pan and carefully flip the pan over to turn out the tart. Drizzle with the reduced balsamic vinegar and scatter with the remaining blue cheese and the parsley, to serve.

Amazing Caramel Apple Pie

I love apple pie, but Sweetie usually doesn't. He prefers berry pies or custard pies or stone fruit pies.

This past weekend I visited my family in Redmond, WA and my grandson and I made a great apple pie that even Sweetie likes. You bake it in a cast iron skillet (if you have one), use pre-made pie crust dough, and you combine the apples with a caramel sauce that's easy to make. I suspect that the caramel sauce is the key to why this pie is so amazing. There is even some left over to drizzle over the pie slices when served. You can even add a scoop of ice cream for total decadence. That's what Aaron and Raine did and it does look wonderful. (see photo above). I had mine with just the sauce...and it was awesome.

The most time consuming part of this recipe is the baking...about an hour, but possibly a bit less...but the next hardest is preparing the apples. I recommend using apples that don't release a lot of juice but have a good, tart/sweet flavor of apple. If you know that your apple will release lots of juice, pre-cook them in the microwave until barely limp, then drain them before adding the caramel sauce. Reserve the drained liquid for another use if you like. Thickened up it could make a nice topping for pancakes.

                                             Mixing caramel sauce with apples

Because you mix some of the sauce with the apples, you get the flavors of the sauce. I like to have both Pie Spice, which is a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice, and vanilla. I also like you to be able to taste the salt for that sweet-salty combo, but you can reduce it to 1/2 or 3/4 teaspoon if you like. The bourbon is also optional, but it goes really well with the apples and spice.

This is a great pie to bring to a holiday gathering, so bookmark it for November and December, if you like.

Skillet Caramel Spice Apple Pie
a variation of a recipe on myrecipes.com
Serves 8

1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick, 8 tablespoons)
3 tablespoons non-dairy creamer (I use Vanilla Silk Soy Creamer) or 1/2 & 1/2
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon Penzey's Pie Spice, or cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
1 set of prepared pie crusts (I used Pillsbury ReadyCrusts)
3 pounds apples, peeled and cut into 1/2" thick slices (we used Galas and Honeycrisp)
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 lg egg yolk, lightly beaten (reserve egg white for sealing crusts)
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon sanding sugar (optional)

In a medium pot melt the margarine or butter. Stir in the brown sugar, , soy creamer or 1/2 & 1/2,  salt and pie spice or cinnamon. Over medium-high, cook the mixture, stirring until it bubbles. Continue cooking, stirring for 2 more minutes until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla and, if using, the bourbon. Cool almost to room temperature, about 30 minutes, stirring at about 10 minutes to keep a skin from forming.

Fit one pie crust in the bottom and press up the sides of a 9" cast iron skillet. Put in the refrigerator to chill.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, making sure that one rack is in the bottom position in the oven.

Toss apples with 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch in a large bowl. Pour 1/3 cup cooled caramel sauce over the apples and toss to coat.

Remove prepared crust from the fridge. Pour apple filling into prepared crust. Place remaining pie crust over apple filling. Seal by lightly coating the exposed side dough in the skillet with egg white and pressing the top crust to it. Crimp crust edges together.

Use a sharp knife to cut 6 - 8 one inch slits in top crust to let steam escape ( I goofed and only cut two steam vents). Whisk together egg yolk and water and brush over crust. If desired, scatter sanding sugar over.

Bake on bottom rack of preheated over for 55 minute - 1 hour. After about 30 minutes, shield crust with foil if needed to prevent excessive browning.

Bake until crust is golden, apples tender, and filling bubbly. Transfer to wire rack and cool completely 3 hours. Serve & enjoy.

Grandad's Apple Cake

My Irish grandfather really loved this apple cake. My Mom would make it anytime that he was coming to visit. Since it uses applesauce it can be made any time of year, but this special version uses freshly made applesauce using the Gravenstein apples growing in our orchard, plus peeled, diced fresh apples...something that isn't in the favorite recipe, but I think grandad would have loved this variation.

This cake is a somewhat rustic tea cake and is moist and flavorful from the apples. I used white whole wheat flour from King Arthur for some additional fiber and goodness. I used golden raisins and walnuts, too, plus cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. If you are yearning for just a bit of fall flavors as we begin to leave summer, this recipe is perfect for you!

If you are making this with homemade applesauce as I did, don't worry if yours is slightly thicker (as mine was) or thinner than the commercial kind...it will be fine after the cake bakes. I used half the sugar since I prefer my tea cake a bit less sweet and the applesauce adds natural sugars, but I'm leaving the recipe as written and you can adjust the amount of sugar to your own preferences.

I baked this up in four small loaves, plus one six-inch round pan. That way I can enjoy one small loaf with Sweetie, have another for the fire folks last night and still have some for the freezer, ready for tea time with friends after a brief thaw. The recipe has you bake it in a Bundt pan. I've done it that way and it works really well, too.

You can use any kind of apple for this but one with good apple flavor will be the best. I didn't peel the apples in the applesauce, but I did peel the fresh diced ones, but you can peel or not and it will still be a delicious cake.

Applesauce Cake

Makes 1 10" Bundt cake

3 cups flour

1 ½ teaspoon soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon cloves

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¾ cup shortening

2 cups sugar

3 eggs, beaten lightly

1 ½ cup applesauce

1 cup raisins

1 cup nuts - chopped (walnuts are good)

2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and diced into 1" pieces (optional)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift flour with soda, salt and spices. Set aside.

Cream shortening and add sugar gradually; cream until light. Add beaten eggs and beat to combine.

Add flour mixture alternately with the applesauce, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Fold in the raisins and nuts (and diced fresh apples if using). Turn batter into a greased and floured Bundt pan.

Bake in Bundt pan in preheated 350 degree F oven for one hour or until done. Toothpick inserted will come out clean or with only a few crumbs stuck to it.

Cool on a rack 10 minutes, then turn out on a wire rack to cool.

Early Fall Fruitfulness in a Tart

Years and years ago when our son was pre-kindergarten age, he and his friends would roam the hill having fun in simple ways. We had an old telephone van that was beyond repair and became a favorite play area. It was at different times a fort, spaceship, racing car...and site for what Max called 'a feast'. The feast was usually held about this time of year when there were plenty of things they could collect to eat together. One time he showed me a serving: a large grapevine leaf held a half dozen or so ripe blackberries, a couple of walnuts that had been smashed enough with a rock that you could pry out the nut meat, and an apple from the Gravenstein apple tree. A nice snack from the land.

I was thinking about that when I dreamed up today's tart. I had collected a few ripe quince and a large handful of blackberries. I already had some of those early apples in a basket and a round of pastry dough ready. It took a little while, but soon I had the peeled, cored and sliced quince poaching, the dough into a tart pan, lined with parchment and filled with pie weights ready to pre-bake for 10 minutes or so, and the apples peeled and cored and sliced, ready to add to the tart.

Usually I make a frangipane filling with almond meal, but this time I wanted to use walnuts, just like those feasts of long ago. I took half the sugar needed for the frangipane and added it to the walnut pieces in the food processor...yes, you do need a food processor to make this recipe as written, but it will still taste great if you substitute already ground almond meal. A quick run in the food processor, followed by pulsing until it was all finely ground but not paste, and the walnut meal was ready to be added to the frangipane, along with some warm spices like allspice and cloves.

The fun part, aside from eating it, is placing the fruit in a nice pattern. I put drained poached quince slices on the outer edges, then apple slices, then blackberries in the middle and in a few places within the apple slices that had space.

This made a delicious tart, full of the fruits of the land in September here in Northern California. If I were to make it again, I'd add a row of blackberries all around the outer edge of the tart...but I should have remembered that Max loved his blackberries from the time he was a toddler. Their sweet/tart juiciness added a lot to the sweet quince and apples.

Early Fall Fruit Frangipane of Walnuts Tart

makes one 9-inch tart

1 medium quince, peeled, cored, and cut into slices
2 cups water
1/4 cup sugar
1-inch square (roughly) piece of orange zest/peel with no white pith

dough for 1-crust pie crust
parchment circle and pie weights

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon orange extract
2 large eggs
1 cup walnut pieces
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
dash ground cloves

1 medium apple (preferably Gravenstein, but any cooking apple OK), peeled, cored, and cut into slices

1/4 cup ripe fresh blackberries

Put the sugar (1/4 cup) in a small saucepan with the water and piece of orange zest. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add the prepared quince, stir, return to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook, stirring now and then, for 1 hour. Remove from heat, uncover, and let cool. When cool, drain the fruit over a large bowl or measuring cup. Reserve the liquid for another use (it's great for flavoring iced tea, for instance). Set aside the fruit. If any of the fruit is left over after making the tart, it makes a great addition to muffins, pancakes or waffles. You can poach a larger amount of fruit to make sure you have some for that if you like.

About a half hour before the quince are done, put the rolled out pie dough into the tart pan with removable bottom. fold extra dough down into inside of pan to make a double wall. Press dough into ridges of pan. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes. When frozen for that amount of time, line with parchment and fill parchment with pie weights. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 10-12 minutes until light golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Remove pie weights and parchment. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and the rest of the sugar (1/3 cup) along with the salt and orange extract. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 

In a food processor, add the final 1/3 cup sugar and the walnuts. Process for 30 seconds, then pulse until the mixture is light and has only very small pieces of walnut...meal size. Add the allspice and cloves and pulse a couple of times to mix the spices in. Add the walnut mixture to the butter mixture and beat until just combined. Pour mixture into the prepared tart shell and spread to even top.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the prepared fruit, including the apple slices, blackberries, and poached quince slices, in a nice pattern by pushing the fruit into the walnut mixture.

Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until top is golden brown and middle looks set. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack before removing sides. Serve warm or cool. 

Spicy Bean Bake

I'm in the process of re-doing my family cookbook. It's fun! One of the things I did early on in the renovation was to change the font size to make it smaller. Originally I had it larger for my Mom, but this time around I'm looking at this as a resource for the next generation...and, perhaps, beyond, so I think they can handle a smaller type face.

As a result there is more room for extra recipes. In a kind of serendipity, I also found some recipe cards that had been missing, including some in my Mom's handwriting. One of the recipes was for a baked bean concoction that became popular with the family after I left home and moved to the West coast, so I had to ask Mom for the recipe and now it's in the cookbook. It's called Spicy Bean Bake, but it's not really that spicy. I suspect that my hot sauce loving siblings may add extra heat via sauces that contain things like habanero chilis after it's served. My Mom didn't really care for extra spicy things. You could also make this vegan by leaving out the ham or other meat and the bacon and adding a cup of cooked corn. 

What this recipe does have is a lot of flavor! It's also easy to make and makes a lot. The leftovers were even better than the original dish. Score!

I only made half the recipe, but Sweetie liked it so much that next time I'll make the full amount.,

Spicy Bean Bake

Serves 8-12 

One can 40-oz., baked beans
One can 1-pound, red kidney beans
2 large apples, chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper
3 cups chopped cooked leftover ham, pork or beef
4 slices crumbled crisp bacon
1 cup catsup
1/2 cup pickle relish
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 cup molasses

Mix all ingredients in a 3-quart casserole. Cover and bake in a 250 degrees F. oven about 1 1/2 hours.

Morning Glory

It's fun to know that you can have a muffin and a flower with the same name...morning glory. At this time of year, the morning glories in my garden are going a little wild, having made their upward climb, some are twining on themselves for support so they can keep going, other are swooping down to attach lower down so they can climb again. I love the flowers...trumpets of pink, magenta, deep purple, pale blue and more. The truth is that they self-seed if not constantly dead-headed and become a weed sometimes, but I love them anyway.

The morning glory muffins are also prolific. One recipe makes a full two dozen muffins...that's a lot! They are filled with all sorts of deliciousness...apples, carrots, pecans, crushed pineapple, coconut, raisins and dried cherries as well as vanilla and spice. The wet ingredients includes apple butter but I found a jar of pumpkin apple butter and decided to use that to welcome in fall now that school is back in session. Since I did that, I also used a bit of pumpkin pie spice along with the cinnamon the recipe calls for. Since my supply of dried cherries was running low, I used some dried currants in their place and that worked well. Seems to me the recipe as written is a takeoff on Hummingbird Cake. 

Between the large quantities (you need two cups shredded carrots and a cup of shredded apple for example) and long list of ingredients, the prep takes a bit of time, but you end up with fragrant, delicious, moist and fairly healthy muffins...and lots of them. Do yourself a favor and make sure you set each and every ingredient on the counter before you start making these because it's easy to miss an ingredient. Better yet, prep and measure everything in advance. That way it will all go together quickly and you'll get the best rise out of the baking soda that is the only rising agent used. 

I removed these from the muffin tins in about 3 minutes after taking them out of the oven and I did have to run a butter knife around the edges on some of them to loosen them. If you stand them on their sides in the muffin cup to finish cooling it saves space and they are sturdy enough to hold their shape, too. 

Do try these delightful muffins. They are great for breakfast but also good for afternoon tea and would be a treat in a school lunch. The recipe came from my family but I suspect that it's been around for a long time. 

Morning Glory Muffins
Makes 2 dozen

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded carrot
1 cup shredded apple
3/4 cups raisins
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup flaked coconut (sweet)
one 8-oz. can crushed pineapple, in juice, drained
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup apple butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Coat 24 (2 dozen) muffin cups with cooking spray or vegetable oil.

Combine flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Stir in carrot, apple, raisins, cherries, pecans, coconut and pineapple and make a well in the center of the mixture when combined.

In another bowl combine the oil, apple butter, vanilla, eggs and egg whites. Stir with a whisk. 

Add oil mixture to flour mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon or silicon spatula until just moist/barely combined.

Spoon the batter evenly in prepared pans, filling about 2/3 full.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center.

Remove from pan at once and cool on a wire rack. Yields 2 dozen.

NOTE: Can be stored, airtight, in freezer for 1  month. Wrap in foil and reheat at 300 degrees F.

Enjoying a Tipsy Parson

Pumpkin pie is one of the traditional Thanksgiving desserts, but I made a pumpkin pie for Sweetie days before Thanksgiving, so I was open to another soft dessert. In one of the recipe collections that seem to land in my email box frequently, I found just the recipe - tipsy parson, a variation on the traditional Christmas trifle.


Although they said that you could use sponge cake ladyfingers, they also said that pound cake would work, so I made one from a mix, adding lemon zest because I like lemon. When the cake was cooled, I cut it into cubes, which went into the bottom of the serving dishes.

The last of the Gravenstein apples were peeled and cored and sliced, then cooked with a bit of apple juice and some cinnamon until soft...after all a soft dessert is what I'm looking for.

I made a half batch of the Pouring Custard HERE, then let it chill in the fridge.

I made a simple syrup by boiling water and brown sugar. When mostly cool, I added rum to make a syrup to lightly soak the bread cubes with. This is the tipsy part.

Now all of the parts of the dessert were ready! The syrup went over the cubed cake, the apples went over that, then the custard went over that. A sprinkle of cinnamon added to the looks and flavor. The tipsy parson was ready for tasting. Sweetie really liked the combination and I enjoyed the flavor and the soft texture. It made a great seasonal Thanksgiving treat thanks to the spiced apples. I made the desserts in individual dished, but you can also make it in one dish and serve it out into individual dessert dishes.

You can adapt this recipe quite a lot. The cake can be sponge, ladyfingers, unfrosted Bundt cake and pound cake. It's fine to use purchased cake. Angel food cake wouldn't work because it doesn't soak up the spirited syrup the same way. You can use any liquor or whiskey that has flavor compatible with what you are topping the dessert with. For instance, you could use kirsch, cherries, and a chocolate sponge with chocolate or vanilla pudding and some whipped cream on top for a Black Forest type dessert. In summer using Amaretto for the soak, stone fruit and vanilla custard would be delicious! How about rum in the brown sugar simple syrup, bananas cooked in brown sugar and vanilla pudding for a Bananas Foster flavored dessert? It's OK to use pre-made pudding like Kozy Shack instead of making your own, but the pouring custard is really delicious and not that hard to make...choices, choices.

Tipsy Parson
from My Recipes, Stacey Ballis
6 servings

Pouring Custard (follow link) or pre-made pudding
1 (3-oz.) package ladyfingers, split or cake cut into cubes
1/4 cup sherry (I used 1/2 cup water, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, boiled together for a minute, cooled and 1/4 cup rum added)
Strawberries(I had about two cups cooked, cinnamon spiced apples slices)

Sprinkle 12 ladyfinger halves with sherry. Let stand 5 minutes. Line sides of a 1-quart souffle' dish with soaked ladyfingers; pour in custard, then top with remaining ladyfingers. Chill completely. Garnish with strawberries. Spoon into individual serving bowls.

Babes Bake Apple Bread

I missed making the Bread Baking Babes bread last month, but this month I finished the loaf yesterday, just in time to post today. Not only that, but it's also World Bread Day so there is likely to be lots of great bread around the blogosphere today.

Our Kitchen of the Month Kelly of A Messy Kitchen gave us a wonderful recipe for October; Apple Bread. You start with a poolish and the next day make the dough, let it rise, work the sauteed apples into the dough and shape it and then bake it at a pretty high temperature to begin with, then at a lower temperature to finish. The result is an absolutely delicious bread, flavored with apple, faintly sweet and perfect for eating plain, toasted, or as a sandwich bread.

In making this, I followed the poolish part exactly, altered the dough part by using Irish whole meal wheat flour instead of the rye flour. I also worked the sauteed and cooled diced apples into the dough before the first rise because I needed to go to bed, then let it all rise slowly in the cool night air in the sunspace overnight, then shaped it, let it rise and baked it today. Sweetie was quite taken with this bread so I know I'll make it again. I used Gravenstein apples from our trees for the apple part and brandy instead of Calvados. See the little apple pieces in the bread?

Do give this one a try...you'll be glad you did. To be a Buddy, bake the bread, take a photo and email Kelly with a brief description of your bake and be sure to include the photo and she will send you a Buddy badge and include you in the roundup.

Check out the apple breads that the other Babes have made, too. Sure to be inventive!

I used this recipe which makes 1 good sized loaf.

Apple Bread with Cider and Calvados
makes 1 loaf
This is from  Artisan Breads: Practical Recipes and Detailed Instructions for Baking the World's Finest Loaves, by Jan Hedh.

Poolish:
150 g strong white flour (bread flour), preferably stoneground (I used all purpose)
0.7 g (¼ tsp) instant yeast
150 g dry cider (I used apple juice)

Add the flour and yeast to a bowl and mix thoroughly.  Whisk the cider into the flour/yeast mixture.  Cover with plastic wrap and leave at cool room temperature overnight, 12-16 hours.  Poolish will be bubbly and should have risen and fallen slightly in the center when ready.

Final dough:

300 g strong white flour (bread flour), preferably stoneground
50 g whole meal (dark) rye flour, preferably stoneground (I used 50g Irish wholemeal wheat flour)
0.9 g (¼+ tsp) instant yeast
150 g water (I added an additional 10g water because it seemed dry)
9 g (1½ tsp) sea salt

Mix the yeast and flours thoroughly in the bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with a dough hook.  Heat the water to lukewarm (approximately 35°C/95°F).  Add the water and poolish to the flour/yeast mixture and knead on low for 13 minutes.  Add the sea salt and knead for 7 more minutes at med/low speed.

Cover with plastic wrap or a shower cap and leave in a warm place (ideally at 24ºC, 75ºF) for about 90 minutes, until doubled in size. Meanwhile, prepare the apple mixture to give the apples time to cool before you need to use them.

Filling and baking:

Apple Mixture:
5 g (1 tsp) unsalted butter
150 g cored, peeled and diced eating apple
5 g (1 tsp) soft dark brown sugar
25 g calvados (I used brandy)
Heat up the butter in a pan, add the diced apple and then sprinkle over the sugar.  Saute until golden brown, stirring occasionally.  Pour over the calvados and continue cooking until the pan is dry.  Set aside to cool.

Tip the dough on to a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly. Add the cooled diced apple and fold it into the dough.  Do this in stages to ensure that the apple is mixed in as evenly as possible.  Shape the dough into an oblong loaf round and place it in a lightly floured lined proving basket or floured cloth.  Cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place for 75-90 minutes until doubled in size.

Add a baking stone to an oven and preheat to 250ºC (475ºF) for at least 30 minutes.  Cut up a thin apple slice for the top of the bread.  Gently turn the loaf onto a parchment lined baking sheet or peel and gently press the apple slice in the middle.  Slide the loaf onto the baking stone.  Heavily spritz your oven with a water spray or cover the loaf with an inverted roasting pan sprayed with water. (I skipped the spritz and the covering, although I did bake on a baking stone.) Bake for 15 minutes, turning down the temperature to 200ºC (400ºF) after 5 minutes.  Remove roasting pan and continue to bake for another 25-30 minutes until the bread is golden and hollow sounding when thumped on the bottom and has reached an internal temperature of about 205ºF.  Remove to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

December Is For Baking

Sorry I've been away from my desk, but things have been busy. We've replaced some ancient shutters on the farmhouse and removed a door that was impacted by having shrubbery too close for years. A short term closing up with plywood was necessary since we're getting rain tonight and tomorrow, but soon there will be a new door...this is the farmhouse, too.

December started with with baked apples. I baked six of them, but they were small, so yesterday I baked six more. I'm using a nice dark red apple. I bought a bunch so can't remember the variety, but I think it is a Arkansas Black or similar heirloom. Nice, crisp apple with some tartness and good juiciness, plus it keeps it's shape pretty well when cooked. Unfortunately the skin gets a bit tough with cooking, but otherwise it's perfect for this recipe.

When you bake these you first remove the stem end and the core area that holds the seeds, but you leave the bottom intact. That cavity formed by removing the core is filled with a cinnamon-sugar mixture, chopped walnuts, raisins, and a bit more cinnamon on top. With a little water in the baking dish, the apple goodness gets sealed in with aluminum foil and it's baked until the apples are tender.

First of all, your house will smell wonderful with all that cinnamon perfuming the air. Secondly, this is a fairly healthy dessert or snack (or breakfast which is how Sweetie enjoyed one this morning) and it is enhanced by the addition of milk, cream, whipped cream, ice cream, or custard. Nut milk works, too. It's fine all by itself, but I think the dairy brings a lot to the party. It's quite delicious both warm and cold, especially if you like cinnamon.

You can use your favorite apple. Just make sure that they fit snugly in the pan or dish you bake them in. The timing can vary, too, depending on the apple used. I recommend checking after a half hour and then every ten minutes after until a knife inserted goes in easily and you find the interior tender.

Baked Apples

4-6 (or more) apples
1/2 cup sugar (brown, white or a mixture)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, divided
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons raisins (I like golden raisins)
1/4 cup water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

With a sharp paring knife, remove the stem end and core of each apple, making sure to remove all of the seeds. Be sure to leave the bottom 1/4 of the apple intact.

Place the apples in the baking pan or dish. They should be very close to each other. If not, adjust pan size so that they are. You may have to switch to another pan or baking dish.

Mix the sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. You can shake it together in a jar with a lid or in a plastic bag with a zip lock. Divide the cinnamon sugar mixture among the apples in the pan or dish.

Divide the chopped walnuts among the apples. Divide the raisins among the apples. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon over the raisins, dividing it among the apples.

Add the water and place foil over the baking pan or dish. Seal to the sides. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and check for tenderness. If needed, replace the foil and bake another 10 minutes. Check for tenderness.  If needed, replace the foil and bake another 10 minutes. Check for tenderness.  When apples are tender, remove the foil and let cool slightly in the pan.

Serve warm or cold, preferable with custard or cream or nut milk.

Cider-Glazed Apple Bundt Cake for Fall with #theCakeSliceBakers

Can you tell that I love the fall of the year? In our area things like tomatoes and roses do really well in October, plus there are the fall fruits like figs and quince, persimmons  and, of course, apples.

I missed baking with the Cake Slice Bakers last month, but this month I was able to bake one of the recipes, Apple Bundt Cake. I used my Bundt pan that has four small cake molds so that I ended up with four very cute little cakes. The cider is easy to reduce in a wide skillet and only took about 20 minutes, so plan ahead to create your apple reduction in advance. It really adds to the apple flavor to have it in the batter, brushed over the warm cakes, and in the sweet drizzle that decorates the tops.

This is an easy cake to make because you don't even need a mixer...it is all mixed by hand. The dry ingredients go in one bowl, the wet ingredients, vanilla and brown sugar in another one. They get mixed together and then the apples are stirred in...it's as easy as that. The most time consuming part is peeling and shredding the apples and waiting for the cake to bake...if you bake one cake in a full sized Bundt pan it's over an hour of smelling wonderful fragrances of apple and brown sugar and butter.  If you like you can decorate the baked, drizzled cake with seasonal decors...I used a Harvest blend.

Worth the wait for the cake to bake, because the final cake is moist and delightful, almost like a pound cake with apples, but with a more open texture due to the technique used for mixing the batter and due to the shredded apples. Here is what a cut piece looks like (with no decorations or drizzle).

It just so happens that this recipe is available at the American Test Kitchen website, so you can try it and see why you should really buy the book. Every recipe I've tried has been perfect.

Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through.  This year it is The Perfect Cake from America's Test Kitchen #atkcake.  We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes, or visit our blog where the links are updated each month. If you are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.

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Fall Skillet Apple Spiced Caramel Pie

My favorite season has come...Fall!...and I have finally been home long enough to bake with some Gravenstein apples from our trees. I saw this recipe online a while ago and saved it until I had time and reason to make an apple pie...and then I changed it significantly (so what else is new?).

Sweetie has been losing weight on purpose for the last couple of months and I've been cooperating by baking far, far less than usual. It's been good for us both (I'm lighter too...funny how it works that way) but I miss the creativity of baking. This one required a lot of creativity, plus knowledge of the ingredients, but the resulting pie was fabulous! If at all possible, use a cast iron skillet to make this. A pie pan will work, I suppose, but the cast iron gives you a lovely bottom crust.

Last night we celebrated the birthday of a good friend so I had an excellent excuse to bake and to bake this amazing apple pie. I highly recommend that you bake it. Sweetie is not a big fan of apple pie, but he really liked this one.

One of the major changes to the recipe came about because Gravenstein apples, the kind we grow, tend to bake up very soft and they throw off plenty of juice, too. I also added some pie spice because an apple pie without spice just seems wrong. It doesn't fight with the vanilla and bourbon, but enhances each.

If you are using Gravenstein apples, you need to do the microwave part because with heat they shrink and also give off a lot of juice. If you skip it you will likely get a top crust that is high over a void before you get to the apple filling and the bottom crust will likely be soft and swimming in juices as you cut the pieces.

If you are using apples like MacIntosh, Braeburn, Granny Smith, etc., that keep their shape and don't exude lots of juice, just skip the microwave part and only use 1/3 cup of the caramel sauce to mix in with the apples...keep the rest to serve with the pie. The sauce is lovely all by itself and would be great over ice cream or fruit and pound cake.

The resulting pie when made with Gravenstein apples is fairly dense, not high, just sweet enough and there is a lovely, flaky crust that is browned on the bottom because of the cast iron skillet. The aroma of apples and spice is intoxicating and the flavor of apple is enhanced by the caramel sauce. You will likely have trouble eating only one piece...but that leaves some for breakfast!

Skillet Caramel Spice Apple Pie
a variation of a recipe on myrecipes.com
Serves 8

1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup non-dairy margarine (or butter)
3 tablespoons non-dairy creamer (I use Original Silk Soy Creamer) or 1/2 & 1/2
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon Penzey's Pie Spice, or cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
1 set of prepared pie crusts (I uses Pillsbury ReadyCrusts)
3 pounds apples, peeled and cut into 1/2" thick slices
4 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch, divided (only 2 1/2 needed if not doing microwave part)
1 lg egg yolk, lightly beaten (reserve egg white for sealing crusts)
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon sanding sugar (optional)

In a medium pot melt the margarine or butter. Stir in the brown sugar, , soy creamer or 1/2 & 1/2,  salt and pie spice or cinnamon. Over medium-high, cook the mixture, stirring until it bubbles. Continue cooking, stirring for 2 more minutes until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla and, if using, the bourbon. Cool almost to room temperature, about 30 minutes, stirring at about 10 minutes to keep a skin from forming.

Fit one pie crust in the bottom and press up the sides of a 9" cast iron skillet. Put in the refrigerator to chill.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, making sure that one rack is in the bottom position in the oven.

Toss apples with 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch in a large bowl. Pour 1/3 cup cooled caramel sauce over the apples and toss to coat.

Microwave part: Put the apple slices that have been coated with cornstarch and 1/3 cup caramel sauce and microwave on full power for one minute, with bowl covered with a large piece of waxed paper or parchment paper. Stir then microwave again for one minute. Apples will have reduced in volume and there will be a lot of juice. Remove any cover and place bowl in refrigerator. Stir every 15 minutes and keep refrigerated until apples are cool to the touch. Remove from the fridge and use a ladle to remove 1/4 cup of the juices from the bowl. Add an additional 2 tablespoons cornstarch to the juices and stir or whisk until the cornstarch and juices are totally combined. Stir that mixture back into the apples. Stir in the rest of the caramel sauce and stir until apples are coated. Now you are ready to put the filling into the prepared pie-crusted skillet.

Note: If you are using apples that hold their shape and don't release a lot of juice when cooked, skip the microwave part. You will still toss prepared apples with the 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch and the 1/3 cup caramel sauce until coated, but the remaining sauce will be available to drizzle over the finished, served, pie. The additional cornstarch won't be needed.

Remove prepared crust from the fridge. Pour apple filling into prepared crust. Place remaining pie crust over apple filling. Seal by lightly coating the exposed side dough in the skillet with egg white and pressing the top crust to it. Crimp crust edges together.

Use a sharp knife to cut 6 - 8 one inch slits in top crust to let steam escape. Whisk together egg yolk and water and brush over crust. If desired, scatter sanding sugar over.

Bake on bottom rack of preheated over for 55 minute - 1 hour. After about 30 minutes, shield crust with foil if needed to prevent excessive browning.

Bake until crust is golden, apples tender, and filling bubbly. Transfer to wire rack and cool completely 3 hours. Serve & enjoy.

These Apples

Our time with my younger brother and his family was relaxing and a nice change since, with the exception of mass family gatherings for birthdays and funerals (mostly), we have not spent time with the four of them and no other family.

Kate is a great cook and she made great, fresh, healthy food for us. One of the few things I made in her great kitchen was baked apples. No photos were taken because we were immersed in conversation and laughter, but I made baked apples again today, so I can share the recipe with you.

This is a really easy way to enjoy apples and this is apple season, so go big! Choose your favorite baking apple. I used Jonagolds but Cortlands and Galas work well, so do Pippins and Breaburns. The apple should have a nice apple flavor and hold some of its shape after baking. Gravensteins, for instance, would break down too much and be more like apple sauce. Many farmers markets have a selection of apples these days and you can ask which one would be best for baking.

If you like apple pie, but don't want the added fat and calories of the crust, these apples are for you.

Sweet and Spicy Baked Apples 
makes two, but can be doubled

2 medium to large baking apples, washed
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
4 pitted dates, chopped
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons butter or margarine

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Remove the core and seeds from the center of each apple, being sure to leave some apple intact at the bottom. I used a paring knife to remove the stem end, about halfway into the apple, then used a melon ball tool to remove the rest of the seeds. I left the apple below the seeds intact. Set aside.

In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, walnuts and dates. Place each apple in a small baking dish large enough to hold it. I used two sizes of ramekins. If you are doing four apples, you might find an 8" square cake pan works. It's OK to have some room between apples, but they get soft, so you only should allow about 1/2 inch maximum between apples. Individual bakers solve that as long as they aren't too big or small. Experiment with what baking dishes you have before you fill the apples.

Place the cored apples in their baking dish(es) and fill the cavity with the brown sugar/spice mixture. Once they are filled, sprinkle any left over into the bottom of the baking dish(es). Put 1 teaspoon butter or margarine on top of the filled core cavity.  Add the water (I used 1/4 cup for each apple in it's individual dish) to the bottom of the dish, and then cover tightly with aluminum foil. Cut a small slit in the foil to let steam escape.

Place the dish(es) containing the apples on a baking sheet, then bake in the preheated over for 40 minutes, or until tender when pierced.

Serve warm or cold (with a splash of cream or scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired).

Chocolate and Zucchini and Apple

The heat did its work and sped up the harvest. This morning there were extra zucchini, ripe tomatoes, and lots more beans and cucumbers than usual. There were even enough zucchini to make the seasonal favorite, zucchini bread.

I like to make a chocolate version. Sometimes I add nuts, sometime not. Today I decided to add some ripe Gravenstein apple from our trees. It seemed to make the loaves even moister. I say loaves because I made four small loaves instead of one or two large ones. Makes it easier to gift them. Wouldn't you like to receive a gift like this?

Zucchini at the farmer's market and in the grocery stores is plentiful and inexpensive now, so consider making this yourself. If you have a food processor for shredding the zucchini and apple, it goes together very quickly.

I used melted margarine with no dairy, but did use plain yogurt...it doesn't seem to bother me. Adding the chocolate chips is also optional, but fun. If you cut a slice when the bread is still warm, you get a nice gooey chocolate hit with almost every bite.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread with Apple
based on:

ELIZABETH'S PHENOMENAL CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD
brought to you via Robin Brande & Jama Rattigan & Tanita Davis

3 cups flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 ½ cups sugar
3 eggs or equivalent egg substitute
½ cup melted butter, cooled a bit
½ cup plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini (about 1-2 medium zucchini)(measured after being squeezed dry)
1/2 cup shredded apple (about 1 small apple), core and stem and blossom end removed before shredding
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two 9x5" loaf pans with canola spray.

In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. In a separate bowl, beat eggs (or egg substitute) with the sugar until well combined. Add melted butter, yogurt and vanilla. Beat to combine, then stir in zucchini and apple shreds. Add wet bowl to dry bowl and stir until just moistened. Stir chocolate chips.

Spoon evenly into pans. Bake 55-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans, then turn onto racks. This bread is yummy when eaten still warm...the chips are melty and the fragrance is full chocolate!

Cake Slice Apple Cake

Time for the monthly Cake Slice Bakers cake. This month I went right to the Danish Apple Cake recipe. This is a simple cake, made with self-rising flour so making the batter is quicker, too, with slices of apple pushed down into the batter. Of course preparing the apples takes up the time that it would have taken to measure out regular flour, salt, leavening, etc, so it's a wash, timewise.

This cake reminds me a lot of one my Mom used to make for desserts, although she baked in in a regular cake pan, not a springform one. The apples make the cake moist and add just enough sweetness. If you use a tart apple like I did, there is also that tang and the combination is wonderful.

This cake is pretty enough for a nice dinner, but simple enough for an after school snack or mid-morning coffee break. I'll bet you find lots of reasons to make this beauty!

Danish Apple Cake

From World Class Cakes  by Roger Pizey

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened (I used non-dairy margarine)
2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 apples (I used Granny Smiths)
1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and line bottom of an 8-inch springform cake pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

Peel, core, and cut the apples into 1/2-inch wedges. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until well combined.

On low speed, beat in the sifted flour and mix until just combines. Fold in the golden raisins and then spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan. Arrange the prepared apple wedges neatly around the top of the cake, pushing them gently into the batter. Arrange evenly over the batter so that each slice will have some apple.

Sprinkle with brown sugar and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven. Let cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack in the pan, then remove the sides and, if not too delicate, remove the parchment. (I served mine with the parchment still attached and that worked fine, but it is not as nice a service as a cake without the parchment.)

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Serves 6-8.