piece of cake apple cake

We made full use of our local farmer’s market this past summer and fall. Our canning shelf and freezer are still full from the bounty. The last week that semi-local seasonal produce was available I nabbed up two more 20 pound boxes of apples. We were told they would keep for two months and they have done incredibly well on our cold basement floor. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed them and only started buying apples a few weeks ago.

It’s now been over three months and I’ll admit I was a little afraid to check in on them in case they were too gross to handle but actually, despite looking a little worse for wear, they still taste fantastic. The kids aren’t too thrilled with the wrinkles so I figure the remaining 8 pounds or so will go into baked apple desserts – I will never complain about baked apple desserts.

I based my version on a Cook’s Illustrated recipe and tweaked it to be a little healthier and more apple dense. The recipe is very simple, resulting in a dense, moist and delicious cake that received rave reviews from my family.

Here’s how I did it:

Peel, core and slice into 1/2 inch wedges, 3 pounds of apples.

See how they got, er,  lovely and brown…I didn’t splash them with lemon juice – and we all survived but lemon juice would have cut down on the browning.

Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a pan, shame on me I used non-stick. Tell me how bad it is for us, I need reminding to get cast-iron.

Add those apples and cook them on med-high for about 5 minutes – they shouldn’t be cooked through just softened.

Then crank the heat up to high, add 2/3 of a cup of brown sugar and a heaping tablespoon of cinnamon, stir it around for about a minute while the sugar dissolves and a nice syrup bubbles around them.

Remove from the heat and spoon into a buttered 11 x 15 inch Pyrex or similar baking dish. Spread evenly over the bottom and set aside.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, cornmeal (if using) and salt. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, whisk sugars and eggs.

…Start thinking about eating apple cake and forget to take pictures…

Slowly pour in melted butter, then whisk in yogurt and vanilla. To these, mix in the flour mixture until just combined.

Pour this batter over the apples and spread evenly with a spatula or spoon.

Pop it into a 350° F pre-heated oven for 35 – 40 minutes until it is beautifully golden on top. The original recipe was an upside down cake but because I made my version extra big and knew it would last us a few days, I didn’t even try to flip it.

Piece of Cake Apple Cake

adapted from Cook’s Illustrated, Apple Upside-Down Cake

For the apples:

3 pounds apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 1/2 inch wedges (I used MacIntosh)

1/4 cup butter

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

splash of lemon juice

For the cake:

1 1/2 cup unbleached white flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon corn meal (optional)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly

2/3 cup plain yogurt

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Melt the butter in a pan or skillet over med-high heat. Add the apples and cook for 5-6 minutes. Don’t cook the apples completely just soften them. Increase heat to high and add brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir for one minute until sugar is dissolved and apples are coated. Remove from heat and pour into a buttered 11×15 baking dish.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. In a larger bowl, whisk sugars and eggs until thick and uniform. Slowly whisk in butter, then stir in yogurt and vanilla. Without over mixing, whisk in flour mixture until just combined. Pour batter into pan over apples and spread evenly.

Bake at 350° F for about 35-40 minutes until top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow it to cool for 20-30 minutes before slicing and enjoying!

And because I knew you would want to know, I also sampled it with vanilla ice cream.

I’m thoughtful of your needs that way.

It was delicious.