A New Year Toot for All of Us!

Off we go hand in hand through all the days ahead.

A happy New Year honk on my party horn to everyone! As you can see from my photo taken on Sunday night, I’m in no position to compile foolish resolutions. But today, and since this is a leap year, I will bake a special apple cake that’s supposed to ensure fruitful days ahead—even for that pesky extra one. (Then again, here’s another happy birthday blast to all you leap year babies!)

See you next Tuesday when America Eats! will truly commence arriving on your doorstep. How fabulous it will be to walk through the next 51 weeks together!

Apple Cake

Adapted from Judy Rosenbeg’s unparralle Rosie’s All-Butter Fresh Cream Sugar-Packed No Holds Barred Baking Book. (See note after the recipe: I’ve made only a few, extremely minor and dumb personal adjustments to the directions that don’t get in the way of such a classic beauty. The biggest one for now is that I used a springform pan instead of the tube pan called for in the recipe. I promised a friend I would bake her one and the tube would have made too big a cake for her. Plus I’m lazy. The given measurements are the original intended for a tube pan but filled two small springform pans nicely.)

3 cups flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter at room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable oil (see note)
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temperature
4 cups of various kinds of apples such as Granny Smith, Gala, or Honeycrisp, peeled, cored, and cut into cubes
1 teaspoon mixed with 1 tablespoon sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 10-inch tube pan with removable bottom (or two small springform pans).

Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt into a small bowl.

Cream the butter, oil, sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl with the electric mixer set on medium. Blend for 2 minutes, scraping the bowl once or twice.

Add the eggs one at a time, making sure to completely blend in each before adding the next egg.  After adding each egg, mix for a couple of seconds to completely blend it into the batter.

Add half the dry ingredients and blend on low speed. Scrape the bowl and add the rest of the dry ingredients, mixing everything together for a few seconds more.

Add all the apples, stirring by hand using a big spoon until all the apples are folded into the batter.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan(s) and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the top.

Bake the cake in the center of the oven for about an hour or until the top is firm and golden--if using small springform pans the time will be about 45 minutes). It's completely baked when a tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out dry.

The cake is wonderful warm right out of the oven--with a scoop of ice cream on top or perhaps a splash of brandy. You may kep it on the counter, covered in plastic wrap,  for nibbling throughout the day. However, if, by some miracle,  some cake is left after a few days, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator where it will keep quite well for a month. 

Note: I've been using ghee lately instead of vegetable oil. It's healthier and imparts a pleasing subtle flavor.

I usually prepare too many apples so I strew the remaining chunks across the top before baking. They soften during the baking, of course, but it gives the cake an added layer of creaminess.