Jim and I normally go for a walk in the morning every week day after I wake up. But it has been so chilly the last few days that it is very easy to convince me to hide under the warm covers and not trek farther than the oven (which is also warm). What can I say? I like to be cozy.
I have been trying to branch out into the baking world more. It is very natural to me to improvise when cooking, and I rarely ever use a recipe. I would like to get to that level of comfort with baking, so lots of experimentation has been going on!
One of my latest curiosities has been using a familiar cake recipe at different volumes or in slight variations. For one thing, a single cake recipe can bake at so many different lengths of time depending on the pan! Bundt pans, round cake pans, 9″ x 13″ pans, sheet pans, cupcakes, ramekins, and so on. I have been trying to gain an understanding of how a cake should look and feel to the touch after it’s undercooked, overcooked, and Goldilocks.
So I have a very solid yellow cake recipe (I think this is how the foundations of my cooking knowledge were built–start with one fool-proof recipe) from the New York Times, and I thought I could tug and pull at it in various places until the recipe worked for something similar but with a different flair. This leads me to present…
Apple Cider Cake!
Ingredients
For the cake
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup concentrated apple cider*
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Pinch of cardamom (optional)
For the Frosting
8 oz goat cheese log, at room temp
4 oz cream cheese, at room temp
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp concentrated apple cider*
Jar of warm caramel (such as an ice cream topping)
*To make concentrated apple cider, Boil about 3/4 cup of apple cider until the volume is reduced by half. Use 1/4 cup of the concentrated apple cider for the cake and the remainder (2 tbsp) for the frosting.
Process
For the cake
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large bowl mix the vegetable oil, concentrated cider, and sugars until homogenous. Drop the egg yolks, vanilla extract, and buttermilk in with the sugars and combine well.
In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.
Drop the remaining ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom) into the bowl with the eggs, oil, buttermilk, and sugar. Do not overmix, rather, gently combine with a whisk.
Then, using a spatula, fold in the whipped egg whites into the batter.
For cupcakes, bake for 20 minutes. For a jelly roll pan, bake 12-14 minutes.
For any other size pan, tell me what you think!
For the Frosting
In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the cheeses, powdered sugar, cream, vanilla extract, and cider together on low speed until very smooth. When the cake has cooled completely, you can frost it with a flat coating of frosting. Then drizzle warm caramel in a zig zag pattern. Drag a clean knife or toothpick perpendicular to your zig zag pattern to create a chevron design. Alternate the direction you drag the knife/toothpick to make the chevron go in both directions.
I think in the future, I’d like to try this recipe again with brie instead of goat cheese because apples, caramel, and brie sound heavenly. There is also the potential to garnish with candied pecans! And don’t underestimate the power of pre-made caramel sauce (I use Trader Joe’s and it’s 10/10).
Jim really enjoyed this cake and said it reminded him of his mom’s pumpkin bars. Quite a big compliment!! I have never been huge on general fall desserts because my mind instantly thinks I’m eating a scented candle. Plus, I have a sworn allegiance to all things chocolate. But my Jimbo likes them, and I’m pretty sure anyone who mashes together a hashtag and a pumpkin spice latte would like them, and I like to ogle them because I need more excuses to make chevron-decorated cakes. (But seriously, coming from an anti-fall-dessert-eater-and-critic, it’s yummy and not candle-tasting.)
Next up in the fall food lineup are…
No-bake Granola Bars
Something about toasted oats and almonds or walnuts instantly makes me feel cozier. But! You don’t actually have to bake anything in this recipe. I just like to keep my oven running.
All you need are quick rolled oats, some kind of sticky, dried fruit, nuts, peanut butter, maple syrup, and chocolate.
The first time I made these, I had leftover dried black mission figs. The second time around, I used dried apricots. You can finely chop them or use a food processor to get a gummy ball of dried fruit and that is what keeps your bars together so you don’t need to bake them!
The formula is very forgiving and you’ll find you can use almost anything in your pantry.
I think I will try a chocolate, almond, coconut one in the near future…stay tuned for that one.
At 250 calories (the batch makes 12 bars) this is a very filling breakfast or snack!
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups old fashioned roll oats
1/2 cup dried sticky fruit, such as figs, dates, or apricots
1 cup nuts, roughly chopped
1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks and/or cranberries or raisins
1/2 cup peanut butter (chunky or creamy are both fine)
1/2 cup maple syrup
Cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt to taste
Process
If desired, toast the oats and nuts at 350F for 10 minutes on a lined baking sheet. Allow to cool before combining. (You can do this ahead of time.)
In a microwave-safe bowl, combine peanut butter and maple syrup. Heat for 30 seconds on high, stir, and heat for an additional 30 seconds on high. Stir until the mixture is fully combined, adding any spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg, if desired. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, but stir so that it does not harden.
Finely chop or use a food processor to break open and smash the sticky fruit. Dump the sticky fruit into a bowl and add to it the oats, nuts, and chocolate chunks. Slowly pour in the peanut butter syrup and fold the mixture until homogenous.
Press into a wax or parchment paper-lined 8″ x 8″ pan. Use the flat side of a measuring cup to press the granola into an even surface in the pan. Cover with cling wrap and place in the refrigerator for an hour. Then remove from the pan and cut into 12 bars.
I saved the best for last. I am very happy with this recipe and know already that it’ll be a go-to it for many future brunches. My friend Maddie gave me the idea on Instagram, but when I looked for a recipe, I couldn’t find one. As a result, I took some educated guess as to what could work, and it was admittedly a bit of a shot in the dark, yet, I will very un-humbly remark that it managed to hit the bullseye. I like it because it has a bit of a “Really?” factor. It’s butter in coffee. Yeah, I see you arching your eyebrow…
Butter-Brown Sugar Coffee
Place 1 1/2 tsp brown sugar and 1/2 tbsp salted butter in a coffee mug. Add 1 oz of bourbon whiskey and fill with coffee, leaving about an inch from the top. Stir with a spoon until butter melts and sugar has dissolved.
Scoop a liberal dollop of fresh whipped cream over it and serve. It is best when the whipped cream is stirred into the coffee, but present it unstirred (because it looks more attractive that way) and encourage the guest to stir it themselves before enjoying.
*Quick whipped cream recipe: 1 cup of heavy whipping cream + 1 tbsp granulated sugar. Whisk by hand or with a stand mixer until stiff peaks form.
That’s all for now, friends. Jim and I are off on our honeymoon in a couple more days and I will temporarily turn my food blog into an “OH MY GOSH WE’RE IN DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!” diary. I am hoping to draw more inspiration for our upcoming Disney trivia night while we are there. I already have an entire trivia category completed and dedicated to Disney food from the films!
Stay warm, people. And if you are struggling with that, do what I do: turn on your oven and get baking!