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Laying everything out before I start -- computer included.
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The spices: ginger, cinnamon, allspice and some ground black pepper for a little kick.
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Whisking together the dry ingredients -- something that can be done well in advance.
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The buttered and floured Bundt pan. You could use a tube pan for this as well, but I think a Bundt is prettiest.
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The cake begins with eggs and sugar (both white and brown).
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After I added the applesauce -- which was pink, because I like to leave the apple skins on when I make it -- the batter started to look a little like strawberry ice cream.
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It's important to forgo the mixer when the time comes to add the dry ingredients -- you just want to fold them in lightly.
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It's not the most gorgeous cake batter you've ever seen...
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But after only 45 minutes, it looks like this!
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When the cake is almost cool, you can start the glaze. On the left, butter, brown sugar, cream and a pinch of salt melt together as I sift confectioners' sugar on the right (a crucial step...
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The "caramel" should stay at a rolling boil for a full minute.
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Whisking in the powdered sugar, as the cooled cake awaits.
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This one speaks for itself.
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Author Notes: Having made a giant batch of applesauce this fall (unpeeled apples, a pinch of salt, lemon juice and nothing else), I realized last week that what was left would probably ferment if I didn't do something with it, and quick. So, I decided to whip up one of my favorite desserts, a spiced applesauce cake. Previously, I've made a fresh ginger glaze for it that tastes delicious but sort of curdles and doesn't look all that pretty. This time, I found inspiration in a rich, sweet, Southern-stye caramel icing from Craig Claiborne's New York Times Cookbook, which I've made a few times for other cakes. But I wanted a true glaze, not an icing, so off to the interwebs I went.Imagine my delight when I came across the perfect recipe on the blog of our very own TheRunawaySpoon! I adapted the measurements slightly, as I found I needed a little less powdered sugar to keep my glaze runny enough to drizzle, and it turned out to be the perfect complement to this tender, spiced and just slightly sweet cake. Thank you, TheRunawaySpoon, for your help.
Note: If you're serving this cake to demanding or hyper-observant guests (What? Did I say that?), you may want to glaze the cake right on the plate you plan to use to serve it, forgoing the rack. As soon the glaze has even the slightest chance to set, it will crack if you try to transfer the cake from rack to serving plate. —Merrill Stubbs
Serves: 10
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 50 min
Ingredients
For the cake
-
2
cups all-purpose flour
-
1 1/2
teaspoons baking soda
-
1
teaspoon kosher salt
-
1/4
teaspoon finely ground black pepper
-
2
teaspoons cinnamon
-
1
teaspoon ground ginger
-
1/4
teaspoon ground allspice
-
2
large eggs
-
1
cup sugar
-
1/2
cup light brown sugar
-
1 1/2
cups unsweetened (preferably homemade) applesauce
-
2/3
cup vegetable oil
-
1
teaspoon vanilla extract
For the caramel glaze
-
4
tablespoons butter, cut into chunks
-
1/2
cup packed light brown sugar
-
1/3
cup heavy cream
-
1/4
teaspoon kosher salt
-
3/4
cup sifted confectioners’ sugar, plus more as needed
Directions
- Heat the oven to 350° F and butter and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, pepper and spices and set aside. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the eggs with both sugars until light. Mix in the applesauce, oil and vanilla until smooth.
- Using a spatula, fold in the dry ingredients, being careful not to over-mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake for 10 minutes in the pan on a rack before turning it out and cooling completely on the rack—make sure the cake is not at all warm before you make the glaze.
- TheRunawaySpoon wisely advises that you put a piece of foil or paper under the cooling rack to catch any drips before you start the glaze. Put the butter in a medium saucepan with the brown sugar, cream and salt and set over medium heat. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for one minute exactly, and then pull it off the heat.
- Leave the pan to cool for a couple of minutes, and then gradually whisk in the powdered sugar until you have a thick, but pourable consistency (you may not need all the sugar). If the mixture seems too thick, just add a splash of cream to thin it out a little. Immediately pour the glaze over the cake, moving slowly and evenly to cover as much surface area as possible. Let the glaze set before serving the cake.
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used since the 1980s. But if I could use the peels too -- game changer!
FROM THE ZUNI CAFE COOKBOOK AND KRISTEN MIGLORE’S GENIUS RECIPES
3 ½ to 4 pounds apples (Rodgers uses crisp eating apples, like Braeburns, Pippins, or Galas; I used Pink Ladies)
Pinch of salt
1 to 2 teaspoons sugar, or to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into slivers
A splash of apple cider vinegar, optiona
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Peel, core, and quarter the apples. Put them in a (ungreased) baking dish just large enough to hold them in a crowded single layer. (I find that a 9×13 dish is perfect.) Toss with a little salt and 1 teaspoon of the sugar. (Unless they are very sweet, in which case you might not need any sugar at all.) If they are tart enough to make you squint, use 2 teaspoons of sugar. Dot the apples with butter, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake until the apples start to soften, about 15 to 30 minutes. Remove the foil, raise the heat to 500 F, and return the pan to the oven. Leave the apples to dry out and color slightly, about 10 minutes more. When the tips of the apples are golden and the fruit is tender, remove the pan from the oven, and coarsely mash the apples. (You could use a potato masher, but I just use the back of a wooden spoon, and I leave mine very chunky.) If you like, season the applesauce further with salt and sugar to taste, and then consider a splash of apple cider vinegar to brighten the flavor. (You can try a drop on a spoonful to see if you like it; I haven’t found that my applesauce needs it.)
Yield: about 3 cups