Apple Cider Donut Cake

Directions

1/2 cup of unsalted butter, softened

1 cups apple cider

1 T boiled cider

1/4 c unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste

For the Cider Glaze:

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/8 cup water

1/4 cup apple cider

1 T boiled cider

For the Cinnamon Sugar Coating:

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and spray a bundt pan with baking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until incorporated. Add the oil and mix well.  Add the applesauce and mix again. 

Stir together the apple cider, boiled cider and buttermilk.

In a separate bowl add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cloves & cinnamon.

Add the flour mixture and apple/milk mixture alternatively in three additions, scraping the bowl as needed and mixing after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat once more, just to combine.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place the cake in its pan on a cooling rack for ten minutes. Turn out onto a plate and brush with glaze.

While cake is baking, prepare Cider Glaze. Melt butter, sugar and water over medium high heat. Bring mixture to a boil and let boil for 1-minute. Remove from heat and immediately add the ciders, stirring to combine.

Prepare the Cinnamon Sugar Coating. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle the warm, glazed cake with cinnamon sugar, using fingers to rub it onto the sides of the cake, if necessary…I used a sugar shaker and it hits all sides of the cake perfectly.

 

Recipe adapted from Runcible Eats.

Enjoy!

Late Summer Salmon Salad with Smoky Maple Dressing

This is one of the tastiest salad entrees you will ever eat.  The recipe calls for Smoky Maple Syrup. If you cannot find it, you can simply add 1/4 tsp. of Liquid Smoke to the maple syrup and it will give you the same taste.

Ingredients

Salmon Filet for 2, cooked according to your technique (see below for mine)

Arugula

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cut into thin slices

Fresh lemon juice

Sliced cremini mushrooms

Dried fruit, unsweetened (I used cranberries & blueberries)

Glazed or toasted pecans, halves or chopped

White NY Cheddar

Dressing:

1/2 c Smoky 100% Maple Syrup

1/8 c Grey Poupon Course Grain Mustard

While salmon is cooking, whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside. 

Prepare apple and toss with a squeeze or 2 of lemon juice. On 2 plates put a handful or so of arugula. Layer with apple slices, mushrooms, dried fruit, pecans, and slices of cheddar. Place one piece of salmon in center of each plate and drizzle with Smoky Maple Dressing.

Here's how I cook my salmon:  Make a foil packet big enough for the piece of salmon, place the salmon in the middle of the packet, skin side down. Drizzle with maple syrup and close up the packet. Place the packet in a cast iron pan (you can use any heavy bottom pan or pot) and place the lid on. Steam over medium heat for about 8-12 minutes depending on how thick the salmon is and the doneness you prefer. Using a spatula, lift the salmon off the skin. That's it!

Recipe inspired by Crown Maple.

The Best Apple Crisp Ever

Apple Crisp was probably one of my very first desserts I made as a child. I had a children's version of  a Betty Crocker cookbook, and I would make this recipe again and again.  Over the years I tweaked it to appeal to my own taste and it's my "go to" dessert in the Fall.  It's so easy and versatile, and you can make it in a large dish, round dish or individual ramekins.  I use sweet apples so that I do not need to add any sugar to them.  The only sugar is in the wonderful, rich and oatmeal laced topping.

This recipe will make an 8" x 8" dish or 4 individual 1 cup ramekins/dishes.

Ingredients:

6 large sweet, soft apples (like Cortland or Macintosh), peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 c firmly packed brown sugar (I prefer dark, but light works as well)
1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/3 c old fashioned oats
1/2 tsp. salt
5 T cold butter, cut into 1/2 pieces

Preheat oven to 375*.  In a large bowl, toss apples with cinnamon and place in 8"x8" dish or 4 ramekins.
In same bowl add remaining 5 ingredients.  Using a pastry blender or your hands, work butter and dry ingredients together until course crumbs appear.  Sprinkle topping over apples.  Place dish(es) on a baking sheet and bake 20-25 minutes until filling is bubbly and topping is browned.
Best served warm.  Serve with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.

Yumly!

Caramel Apple Blondie Cheesecake

Ingredients

3/4 c toasted & chopped pecans
2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 large eggs, divided
1/2 c firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 c butter, melted
1 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1-1/2 c peeled and diced Granny Smith Apples (about 2 apples)
Caramel Apple Topping
Caramel Sauce

Preheat oven to 325*.  Sprinkle pecans over bottom of a non-stick 9" springform pan.  If not non-stick, grease and flour the pan.
Beat cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla at medium speed with an electric stand mixer until blended and smooth. Add 3 eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.
Whisk together brown sugar, melted butter, and remaining egg in a large bowl until blended.
Stir together flour and next 3 ingredients; add to brown sugar mixture, and stir until blended. Stir in apples. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Carefully spoon cream cheese mixture over batter.
Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until set. Remove from oven, and gently run a knife around outer edge of cheesecake to loosen from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.  Transfer to a serving plate.
Meanwhile, prepare Caramel Apple Topping and Caramel Sauce. Spoon topping over cheesecake; drizzle with 1/2 c Caramel Sauce. Serve with leftover Caramel Sauce on the side.

Caramel Apple Topping

Melt 1/4 c butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add 1/2 c sugar and 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice, and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, 5 to 6 minutes or until mixture turns a light golden brown. Add 5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Cook, stirring often, 15-18 minutes more or until apples are tender and caramelized. Remove from heat and cool 20 minutes.

Caramel Sauce
1 c firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 c butter
1/4 c heavy cream
1/4 c honey

Bring brown sugar, butter, heavy cream and honey to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat, and cool 15 minutes before serving. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 week. To reheat, microwave at HIGH 10-15 seconds or just until warm; stir until smooth.

(Recipe adapted from Southern Living Fall Entertaining Magazine)

Enjoy!

Pink Applesauce Tart

The oatmeal crust combined with the flavor of the apples makes me think of Apple Crisp.  A great way to use up applesauce left over from my Pretty Pink Applesauce recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup All-Purpose Flour

1/3 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 T unsalted butter

Pinch of salt

2 T of apple brandy or Schnapps

1 1/2 cups pink applesauce

2 medium red-skinned soft apples (like Cortland or McIntosh)

3 T red currant jelly

Preheat oven to 375*.  Combine the first 4 ingredients in a bowl and press into a 9-inch tart pan.  Line with parchment and fit a 9" cake pan inside.  Fill the empty cake pan with weights and blind bake for 12 minutes.  Remove from oven and take away the weights and empty cake pan.  Bake for 4-6 more minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Meanwhile, combine sugar, butter & salt in small saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, approx. 2-3 minutes.  Pay close attention as the mixture is thick and could tighten up if left alone or heat is too high.  Add 1 T of apple brandy and simmer 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the applesauce.

Spread applesauce mixture in cooled crust in tart pan.  Core the apples and cut paper thin using a very sharp knife or a mandoline.  Arrange in concentric circles overlapping slices as you go along, starting in the middle.  Completely cover the applesauce.  Bake 20 minutes.

Combine jelly and remaining 1 T of apple brandy in a small saucepan an simmer until the jelly is melted, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes.  Brush glaze over apples.  Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack.  Unmold and serve.

(Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Magazine)

Apple Cider Sangria

Very easy to prepare and oh so refreshing.  Just the drink you want to serve this time of year at a dinner party or Halloween gathering.  I recently hosted a Soup Night, and this was a real hit and paired perfectly with the menu.

Ingredients:

1/2 Gallon of good Apple Cider
1/3 Bottle Red Apple Schnapps
2  3" cinnamon sticks
5 whole cloves
2 red sweet apples (like Cortland), cored and cut into medium size chunks (feel free to add halved grapes, orange slices, maraschino cherries)
1/2 bottle Prosecco or white wine of your choice
Dried apple slices, optional

Best prepared 1 - 2 days before serving so the apples and liquid can marry.

Using a 1-gallon glass container, add the cider, Schnapps, cinnamon sticks, cloves & apple chunks (if using other fruits, add them at this time). Cover and refrigerate.  Just before serving, remove the cloves and add the Presecco or wine of your choice.  Fill wine glasses with ice and pour the Sangria over.  If you happen to have dried apple slices, one attached to the rim of the glass makes a perfect garnish.

Enjoy!

Pretty Pink Applesauce

Applesauce is the easiest thing in the world to make and tastes so much better than store-bought.  A huge return for little effort.  Well, yeah, there are the apples and the fact that you need to remove their peels, or do you?  If you have a food mill at home, even that step can be skipped which narrows it down to coring and quartering.  Of course that is made simple by using the apple corer tool available everywhere for purchase.  I add the reddest of the peels back to the pot and cook along with the apples.  This gives the applesauce its pinkishness.

I do not add anything to my applesauce while cooking it as I am never sure of all the recipes I will use it for, and not everyone wants the sugar.  On the plate, however, I add a little brown sugar, a tab of butter and some ground cinnamon.  I like to serve it over top of homemade biscuits or Johnny Cakes.  Fabulous for breakfast!

If you are so inclined to make the best of everything, including the cores, refer to my recipe for Apple Peel & Core Jelly Jars!

Ingredients

6 lbs. red apples, peeled, cored & quartered (reserve peels)*
    Note: If you are using a food mill you can keep the peels intact
4 c water

Brown sugar
Butter
Cinnamon

Add prepared apple pieces to a dutch oven.  Add several of the reddest peels to the pot and add the water.  Bring to boil on high heat.  Reduce and continue to cook until all the apples are very tender (about 40 minutes).  With tongs, take care to remove all the peel from the pot.  If you like your sauce on the chunky side as I do, take a potato masher and go thru the apples until you reach the desired consistency.  If you prefer a smoother consistency, you can put small batches in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.  You can also process only half the batch if you want some chunkiness.  If you are using a food mill, process according to manufacturer's directions, leaving peels behind.

Store in container with lid in refrigerator up to one week.  When ready to service, heat in pot or in microwave safe dish.  Add brown sugar, butter and cinnamon to taste.

Autumn Apple Bread Pudding w Easy Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

8 c day old bread, cubed
6 large eggs
2 c half and half
1/2 c buttermilk
3/4 c brown sugar
2 T boiled cider (King Arthur Flour), optional
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1-1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c dark raisins
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled cored and chopped
1/2 c chopped toasted pecans

Caramel Sauce:
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 c heavy cream
2 T butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp course salt

Preheat oven to 375*.  Butter a round 2-quart casserole dish or spray with a cooking oil, or 8 oven-proof single serving bowls.  Place on a cookie sheet.  Set aside.

In a large bowl place cubed bread, In a separate large bowl combine eggs, half and half, buttermilk and whisk until blended. Add brown sugar, boiled cider (optional), cinnamon, vanilla bean paste and salt and continue whisking until incorporated.  Pour over bread.  Add raisins, chopped apple & pecans. Stir to combine.  Pour into greased dish(es). Bake for 30 minutes or until browned on top and custard is set. If using individual dishes, reduce baking time to 20 minutes, check for doneness and add a couple minutes at a time as necessary.

Make caramel sauce: Combine brown sugar, cream & butter into medium saucepan.  Stir over medium heat until blended.  Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat and add vanilla and salt.  Serve with warm bread pudding.

Spiced Apple Cider Poached Apples

I apologize as I forgot to take photos of my poached apples when they were in the pot and first served to my guests looking their best.  This is the last of them and not especially photo-worthy.  I will make again in the near future and post better photos.

These are delicious and have many flavors coming together to make these a fall favorite.  Easy to make, you can substitute pears, peaches or both.  Firm fruit works best.

Ingredients

1/2 gallon apple cider, farm fresh preferred (rinse and set the container aside for use later, See 2nd note below)
1/2 c brown sugar
Zest from an orange, in large pieces
3 whole cloves
2 small cinnamon sticks
3 star anise pods
1 vanilla bean slit down the middle and cut in half
6 firm apples, peeled, halved and centers removed.  Try to keep stems in tact for presentation.
Cinnamon, optional
Nutmeg, optional
Sweetened Whipped Cream, optional

Bring all except apples to a boil in large pot.  Lower to a simmer, add apples and cook apples for approximately 20 minutes; turning occasionally, until tender.  Turn off heat and let come to room temperature before serving.  Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg if desired.  Can also service with fresh sweetened whipped cream.

Note: Soft apples, like McIntosh, will begin to fall apart and cook down after only a few minutes. They will not hold their shape and the spices will not have time to permeate the liquid.

Another note:  Strain the reserved cider mixture back into the container.  Now you have wonderfully delicious Spiced Apple Cider!

Slow Cooker Salted Caramel Apple & Pear Butter

I had apples and pears on my counter aging by the day.  What to make, what to make?  Then I remembered this recipe.  It's so easy it's fool-proof.  I know it doesn't make any sense, but I actually had to go out and buy a couple more apples and a couple more pears to make a full pot.

Here's what you do:

Peel, core and dice up 8 apples (I used a mixture of Granny Smith, Macoun & Cortland)
Peel, core and dice up 6 pears (I used Bosc)
1 1/2 c dark brown sugar
1/2 c apple cider
2 T boiled cider (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Put all ingredients in a slow cooker and set the control to low.  Do not remove lid or stir for 12 hours.  After 12 hours, mash with a potato masher or use an immersion blender and blend until smooth.  Prop up the lid by placing the handle of a wooden spoon under it and continue to cook for another 6 hours.  Check the consistency.  If you want it thicker continue to cook up to a total of 24 hours, check every couple of hours for consistency.

Divide into jars with lids and cool completely.  Place in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.  Alternatively you use a canning method with a hot water bath.

Apple-Pear Butter is good on biscuits, english muffins, toast, pancakes or waffles or scones.  You can put it on ice cream, in granola, in place of jelly on a PBJ, or any other time you would normally use jam, jelly or applesauce.  Bake it into cookie bars, breads or bundt cakes.  There are many recipes on line.  I served mine with Glazed Bacon & Pecan Buttermilk Scones.  So so yummy!

If you are interested in my recipe for the Candied Bacon & Pecan Buttermilk Scones, this link will take you to my post.

As always, thank you for taking the time to visit!