Accidental Apple Cake and the Holiday Season

I haven't been blogging much lately. Obviously. Food and I have a funny relationship right now. At times, I know exactly what I want and will stop at nothing to create or obtain it. This apple cake falls into that first scenario. Other times, nothing sounds good and I try to piece together a relatively healthy meal. And still, at other times, what sounds good when I start preparing has no appeal once it is ready to eat, so I have a couple of bites and call it a day.

Combine the strange food relationship with (seemingly) never-ending fatigue and there is not much blog material, sorry to say.

There are reasons for this food madness. I am pregnant: we are expecting our first child in May. 

(That sentence deserves a million ! after it - we are so very excited - but one by itself did not fit, maybe because this is not an AIM conversation or, in this age, a teenage text message.)

This time last year, I was excitedly preparing for the holidays. This year, not so much, at least not yet. Presents are almost all purchased, plans are made, and so on, but I'm having a hard time fully embracing the season. Is it the exhaustion? Maybe. The overwhelming desire to empty my house of almost everything we don't use on a daily basis? Something like that. It might be the stresses of the past month, with travel (the husband to a conference and the both of us to a wedding - congrats guys!) and holidays to host and massive career-affecting exams to pass (American Institute of Certified Planners, and I passed!). But we got through all of that, we are starting to relax and let the holiday season wash over us. The autumn-themed dishes that came out for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving certainly helped.

One of the first things that has sounded good and remained good throughout its life over the past few months has been this apple cake. The cake started as simmered apples and cinnamon to enjoy over ice cream after the Thanksgiving meal and perfect turkey, and finished the next morning as a moist, spiced apple cake with crumb/streusel topping. Because it was an accident, or at least an experiment, there are no photographs of the process.

Apples

Johnagold apple, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch to 1-inch cubes

Pink Lady apple, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch to 1-inch cubes

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup water

Heat all ingredients except for water over medium-low heat until heated through, stirring occasionally. Some of the apples will start to break down. Reduce heat and cover, let cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Add water as needed if the mixture gets too thick or dry. Remove from heat. Can chill overnight.

Cake

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups flour (all-purpose)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sour cream*

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9-inch springform pan or similar (the batter came within 1/2 inch of the top of my 3-inch tall springform pan, for reference). Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat each until incorporated. Add vanilla, beat until incorporated. Remove from mixer. Add one cup flour and baking soda, stir until incorporated. Add 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon sour cream, stir until incorporated. Add another one cup flour and baking powder, stir until incorporated. Add second 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon sour cream, stir until incorporated. Add third one cup flour and nutmeg, stir until incorporated. Fold in apples mixture. Pour into your prepared pan.

Topping

4 tablespoons flour

3 tablespoons oats

5 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into chunks

Combine all dry ingredients (no butter) in a bowl or small food processor. The food processor will grind the oats a bit, or if you prefer them whole then skip the processor. Add the butter and rub into clumps with your fingers, or process in pulses until combined and crumbly. Sprinkle topping over batter in pan. Bake for 55 minutes or longer, until cake is set and a toothpick comes out clean (might not be completely clean if it pierces an apple). Immediately remove the springform shell and let the cake cool. Serve warm or cool with whipped cream for dessert or coffee for breakfast.

*If you have 8 ounces of sour cream and no more, you can use yogurt or something similar in its place.

Tuesday Treats - An Almost Disaster

Last night I made this cake. I wish I had pictures of the kitchen. From the state of things, it appeared that I had never baked before, and that I was a complete mess when it came to doing anything in the kitchen. There were dry ingredients everywhere (everywhere!), on the counters, on the floor, on the dog - she was almost white at one point - and all over me. I was spilling everything, from cake flour (both before and after sifting) and cocoa powder to dropping eggs (at least one) on the floor. I also added powder instead of soda, then removed the powder, only to discover I needed it as well. Disaster, and ridiculously messy kitchen to clean up at around 10:00 last night. Groan. But the cakes baked just fine, and were nice and fluffy once they cooled.
Frosting the cake this morning was equally as challenging. It's a very tasty frosting, but between the hardness of the frosting and the softness of the cakes, I had lots of difficulties and in several places removed the top layer of the cake.

Anyway, here is the recipe (adapted from Bon Appetit)
Chocolate Cake with Caramel-Milk Chocolate Frosting

Frosting
24 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped (I used milk chocolate chips and did not finely chop them)
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
2 1/4 whipping cream

Combine chocolates in large bowl. Combine water and sugar in saucepan and make caramel, stir sugar into water over medium heat until dissolved, then swirl pan and brush down sides until mixture darkens and turns golden. Add the whipping cream SLOWLY (it will boil and fizz A LOT) and then stir until the caramel dissolves (it will take some time and it's hard to do). Once it is all nicely dissolved, pour the caramel cream over the chocolate and stir the chocolate mixture until the chocolate is all dissolved and the mixture is very smooth. At this point, you can either chill it in the refrigerator or you can let it sit out at room temperature if you plan to frost the cakes as soon as the cake portions cool.

Cake
Nonstick vegetable oil spray and parchment paper
2 cups sifted cake flour (sift, then measure)
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups golden brown sugar (packed)
1 cup plus 2 T room temperature butter
3 large eggs (more if you drop one on the floor)
1 T vanilla
1 cup plus 2 T buttermilk
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

First, preheat the oven to 350 and prepare your pans. You will need between 2 and 3 springform cake pans. I used 2, the original recipe calls for 3. Spray pans with cooking spray, then cut parchment paper circles and line the bottom of each pan with one circle. Set them aside.
Sift and measure the flour into a medium bowl. Add the rest of the dry ingredients (through the salt) to the flour. In the mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar and butter and beat until smooth and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to combine between each addition. Add a third of the flour mixture, then a third of the buttermilk, and repeat until all ingredients are incorporated, beating after every new addition. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Distribute the batter equally among pans. Tap the sides of the pan to smooth the tops of the batter. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until the toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let them cool in their pans until they are entirely cool, then pop them out of their pans.

Once the frosting is at room temperature, beat it until smooth and light brown, about 1 minute. Do not over stir it, you want it smooth not grainy. Spread frosting on the lowest level, then stack the next level on top. If you are using two layers, place the layer upside down so the top is flat. Frost all around and on top of the cake. It works best if you use a frosting spatula thing and not a butter knife. Be patient. It takes some time.