Tag: apples
Apple Almond Galette (You’re the Apple of My Pie)

Apple Almond Galette (You’re the Apple of My Pie)

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When the fall season rolls around, apples begin to crop up at our farmer’s market.  Gone are the days when the only available apples were Red or Golden Delicious (thank goodness)!  The variety of apples is mindblowing.  My intention is to just get a few, but I invariably end up with what feels like a bushel of apples.

Here, There, and Everywhere…Apples

This is why I am constantly bookmarking recipes that sound wonderful and highlight apples knowing full well I won’t be able to resist the fall bounty of apples.  Luckily, I found an Apple Almond Galette from Zoe Bakes.  It’s the perfect recipe “to show off them apples”.  Get a combination of apples, Fujis, Mutsus, Braeburns, Jonagolds, or Honeycrisps.  Yes, you can get them ALL these days.

Better yet, you don’t have to peel the apples as the PEEL is part of the apPEAL of this galette, it’s a win-win and why you want a variety of apples.  Use a mandolin (carefully) to thinly slice the apples.  A knife is very doable, it will just take a bit longer than a mandolin.  The filling is an almond cream easily made in a food processor and consists of almond paste, eggs, butter, and a touch of almond extract.  A lovely combination-apples and almonds.

For the galette crust, I used Dorie’s pie dough (1/2 recipe), but feel free to use your favorite pie crust.  You will need enough dough to create a 13 to 14-inch circle.  Roll your dough on parchment paper so you can then slide it all onto a baking sheet, easy peasy.  Spread the almond filling in the center of the dough leaving a 2-inch border.  Next, take stacks of your sliced apples and arrange them ARTFULLY on the almond filling.  Then fold the edge of the dough over the apples.

The finished galette is not only gorgeous, it’s delicious.  Serve it with softly whipped cream or ice cream.

This galette is now part of our holiday dessert menu every year. It’s a keeper!

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Apple Almond Galette

A rustic, delicious riff on apple pie. The apples sit on a layer of almond cream encased in a buttery, flakey pie crust.
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword almond cream, Apple galette, apples, zoe bakes
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes

Equipment

  • 1 mandolin optional
  • 1 food processor

Ingredients

Pie Crust

  • 1 recipe of Dorie's pie dough will make 2 galettes

Almond Cream Filling

  • 4 oz almond paste
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract

Da Apples

  • 5 large Apples thinly sliced on a mandoline or use a sharp knife and slice
  • Egg wash 1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar for sprinkling over top Can substitute raw or Demerara sugar

Instructions

Galette shell: Use Dorie's Pie crust recipe link below

  • Roll the chilled pie dough to an 1/8-inch-thick circle = 13-14" circle on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet or slide the parchment onto a baking sheet.

Almond Cream

  • In a food processor blend the almond paste, flour, sugar, butter, almond and vanilla extracts and yolk until smooth. Spread over the center of the dough, leaving about a 2-inch ring on the outside.

Assemble

  • Arrange apples over the almond cream. Fold the uncovered dough over the apples and pleat to keep it in place. Freeze the galette while you preheat the oven to 425°F.
  • Brush the crust with the egg wash and sprinkle the sugar over the crust and apples.
  • Bake at 425°F for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for an additional 25 minutes or until the apples are tender. Allow the galette to cool to room temperature before sliding it onto a serving plate.
  • Garnish with toasted almonds if you like and serve with a bit of Greek yogurt or whipped cream or ice cream (I like vanilla!).

Notes

Dorie's pie crust recipe
Apple Frangipane Galette, Almond Gonna Make This Again

Apple Frangipane Galette, Almond Gonna Make This Again

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Our weekly foray to the Farmer’s Market had me restocking my week’s worth of fruits and veggies。 I was looking for inspiration for a showstopper dessert to make for an outside, mask-on, socially-distance birthday celebration that evening.  My farmers market/crew bud, Mary, chimed in with “my go-to dessert is David Lebovitz’s Apple Frangipane Galette.  I’ve made it a zillion times and it always gets raves”.  Search over, an apple galette would be perfect.

How do you like them apples?

I stopped at Live Earth Farm’s stand for apples.  Not to brag or anything, ok, I am bragging.  I successfully identified all their apple varieties.  No small feat…Fuji, Gala, Pink Lady, Pippens and Jonagolds.  As Sir Issac Newton might have said…

BOOM, APPLE DROP

Apples in hand, I headed home to make David Lebovitz’s Apple Frangipane Galette.  I have just the right amount of almond paste left in the fridge from the Almond Plum Snack Cake.  That’s a sign, right?

The galette starts with a pretty classic shortcrust.  I do a deep dive into making crusts in a food processor with Claudia Fleming’s recipe for her Apple Crumb Tart with Bacon Toffee Sauce.  The key point, do not over-process the dough.  The crust is flaky, tender, and buttery.  The layer of frangipane elevates this tart to another level.  Don’t bother cleaning out your food processor after making the dough, just pop it back on the base and toss in the ingredients for the frangipane.  I used Amaretto in place of the rum and added vanilla extract and a dash of salt, just to round out the flavor.

Roll the dough on parchment paper, and transfer the parchment to a baking sheet, just pick up the whole dang thing and plop it onto your sheet-easy.  Spread the frangipane on the dough, 2 inches from edge.

Top with apples.  Sprinkle with sugar.  I am on a raw or turbinado sugar kick so I opted for raw sugar.  Fold the dough over the apples creating pleasts that overlap.

Arrange the apples in concentric circles or just pile them up, it’s supposed to be rustic.

Brush edge with melted butter and sprinkle sugar on the crust.  Drizzle the rest of the melted butter on the apples.

Serve the tart with honey or toffee sauce (extra from the last apple tart-worked like a charm!)

This galette is definitely going in my WOW factor dessert rotation!

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Apple-Frangipane Galette

From Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz a delicious Frangipane Apple Galette. Apples sit on top a creamy layer of frangipane in a flaky, buttery crust.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword almond, apple, Apple Frangipane Galette, david lebovitz, Dessert
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour

Ingredients

Galette Dough

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick unsalted butter (4 ounces) sliced into 8 cubes and chilled
  • 6 tablespoons ice water

Apple Filling

  • 6 medium apples, peeled, cored and slice 1/2 inch approximately 3 pounds any variety you like to bake with, I like a combo of Jonagolds, Fuji and Pippens or Mutsus
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted or salted butter melted
  • 4 tablespoons granulated sugar substitute raw or turnbinado

Frangipane

  • 4 ounces almond paste crumbled
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted or salted butter at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon rum sub kirsch, Calvados or almaretto
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt if using unsalted butter

Instructions

Dough

  • Place flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add chilled butter and process until butter is broken into pieces about the size of peas. Uneven size pieces of butter is to be expected and larger bits will make for a flaky crust when baked.
  • Add all the ice water at once and process until the dough begins to hold together. (Note: this whole process can also be done with a pastry blender or a stand mixer.)
  • Turn dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Wrap in the plastic wrap and shape dough into a round 5-inch disk. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days. Dough can also be frozen for up to 1 month.
  • Peel, core, and cut apples into 1/2-inch thick slices.

Frangipane

  • Process almond paste, sugar, flour, salt if using, and almond extract in a food processor until almond paste is in fine pieces. Add butter and process until completely incorporated, then add egg, vanilla and rum. Continue processing until almond paste is as smooth as possible. If you do see tiny bits of almond paste, they will disappear with baking.
  • Store frangipane in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 1 month. Bring it back to room temperature before using.
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Putting it all together!

  • Place a large sheet of parchment paper on your counter or directly on the baking sheet and lightly dust it with flour. Place dough on top of parchment and spread a large piece of plastic wrap or parchment on top of the dough. Roll dough out between the parchment and plastic wrap into a rough circle, 14 inches in diameter. Lift and rotate to prevent sticking while rolling. Place on baking sheet if rolled on counter.
  • Spread all the frangipane over the dough, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Place apple slices either in concentric circles or pile on top of the frangipane. Fold the border of the dough over the apples and brush half the melted butter over the crust and the rest over the apples. Sprinkle half the sugar over the crust and the remaining over the apples.
  • Bake for about 1 hour, or until the crust is brown and apples are tender. Rotate halfway thru baking. Slide galette off the parchment onto a wire rack to cool when done baking.
  • Serve warm or at room temperature. Top with a drizzle of good honey or caramel sauce. Or serve with vanilla ice cream.
  • Galette is best eaten the day it's baked.
Fall-in for Apple Cider Donuts

Fall-in for Apple Cider Donuts

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Yes, fall is upon us. Amazing how a year can go so quickly and yet feel interminable.  Jamie came home yesterday from work and pronounced “We need to make something sweet today” to which I replied, “Sounds good to me but NO PUMPKIN”.  Pumpkin lattes, desserts, all things pumpkin are popping up everywhere, its way too early if you ask me.  Luckily Jamie did not have pumpkin on the brain either.

Our favorite fall fruit is undoubtedly APPLES.  As the fall season comes into swing, I dust off the peeler and pie pans knowing that any day now Wes will say, “Are there apples at the farmers market yet? Is it PIE time?”  For me, I will invariably think about making apple crisp, homey, delicious and a little easier than making apple pie.

But, none of the usuals made the cut yesterday.  Jamie had spied a recipe on NYTcooking for baked Apple Cider Donuts.  I was all in.  Not a west coast thing, apple cider donuts are a tradition in the northeast and marks the start of the fall harvest season. The donuts are tasty and easy to make providing you have a donut pan (duh, of course, I do), and are a little easier on the waistline than fried donuts.  They are tender, with a nice spiciness from the cinnamon in the batter and cinnamon-sugar topping.  If you aren’t a gadget freak like yours truly, these can be made in muffin tins.  Jamie added diced apples bits to the batter that made them even better, a BOSS tweak.

These are delicious, perfect with a cup of coffee or tea on a brisk autumn day or a warm fall evening, or ANYTIME.

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Baked Apple Cider Donuts

Welcome the fall season with these delicious BAKED Apple Cider Donuts!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Baked Apple Cider Donuts
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Calories 333kcal

Equipment

  • donut tin or muffin tin, regular or mini

Ingredients

Batter

  • 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour 225 grams
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 10 tbsp unsalted butter 140gm *2 sticks, at room temperature* 10 tablespoons for the batter and 6 tablespoons for the cinnamon sugar coating
  • ¾ cup light brown sugar 165gm
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup apple cider 120 ml
  • 1 small apple, cored, peeled and diced 1/4 inch Use any kind you like, Jonagold, Fuji, Golden Delicious for sweeter apple or Pippin for a tart apple

Cinnamon Sugar Coating

  • 6 tbsp unsalted butter melted
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

  • Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 6-cavity doughnut pans (or a 12-cup muffin tin) with nonstick spray.
  • In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and whisk to combine. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until well incorporated after each addition, scraping the bowl as necessary. Beat in the vanilla extract.
  • Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until incorporated. With the mixer running, add the apple cider in a slow, steady stream and mix to combine. Scrape the bowl well to make sure the batter is homogeneous.
  • Spoon the batter into prepared doughnut pans, filling them about 2/3 of the way full (you can also do this using a disposable piping bag or a resealable plastic bag with a 1/2-inch opening cut from one corner).
  • Bake until evenly golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the thickest portion comes out clean, 12 to 15 minutes. Rotate the pans halfway through baking. (If you are making muffins, divide batter evenly between the prepared cups and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, rotating halfway through.)
  • While the doughnuts bake, whisk the granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon together in a small bowl to combine. In a separate small bowl, melt the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter in the microwave.
  • Let the doughnuts cool for 5 minutes after baking, then unmold them from the pans, brush with the melted butter and dredge them in the cinnamon sugar while they are still warm. Serve immediately, or let cool to room temperature.

Notes

If you don't use the apple you can reduce the cider for more apple flavor.  Start with 1-1/2 cups cider and reduce over medium to 1/2 cup.  It will be sweeter so you can reduce the sugar by 20% in recipe.  It's more work, up to you.
Or you can add 1 Tablespoon of Boiled Cider, I use King Arthur Boiled Cider to amp up apple flavor.  To be really picky, substitute this for 1 tablespoon of the apple cider
We made mini muffins and donut holes, fill the donut hole pan only half so it creates a round top.  Reduce baking time to 12-15 minutes.
 
Mom’s Apple Pie

Mom’s Apple Pie

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I admit this is a misnomer.  It’s really not mom’s apple pie, at least not my mom.  My mom was not a baker.  In fact, I cannot remember a single baked good made by her…nada, zilch.  That’s not to say we didn’t have desserts or baked goods, they just happen to come from a bakery or restaurant or somewhere else, just not our kitchen.  There were plenty of bakeries in the city and in Chinatown.  My parent’s after-work excursions for dinner ingredients often included a sweet treat from one of the Chinatown bakeries.

We snacked on almond cookies from Eastern Bakery.  Swooned over the best damn sugar doughnuts in town (providing you ate them in the first 5 minutes after they were made) from Sun Wah Kue.  Hiked up the hill to the Fortune Cookie Factory.  For special occasions, we walked over to Victoria’s Bakery in North Beach, a stone’s throw away from Chinatown, and picked up a St. Honore.  Imagine a cake with layers of rum-laced pastry cream, covered with billows of whipped cream, and then wait for it…little cream puffs perched around the edge.  My mom’s absolute favorite cake.

Our favorite desserts came from a deli-restaurant we went to all the time, Ping Yuen Bakery Cafe.  Their Apple Pie was an American-Chinese mash-up.  Strictly sweet apples layered in a crust made with lard and painted with an egg wash that gave it a crackly pattern on top.  This was the apple pie of my childhood.

All About the Pie

Whoops, lost in nostalgia.  My first attempt at pie-making was an apple pie and it remains my favorite pie to make.  The crust is made with butter and a little bit of shortening, double F-bombs, flavor, and flaky (gotcha).  My current fav is Dorie Greenspan’s pie crust which you can find here.  For the filling, I opted for mace instead of nutmeg, substituted brown sugar for granulated sugar (caramel overtones), and added a squeeze of lemon (cuts the sweetness).  You could call this my lifelong project-perfect pie. When apple season rolls around I head to my favorite purveyor of apples Prevedelli Farm.  My favorites include Mutsu, Jonagolds, Pippens and Granny Smiths.  I  combine 2 or 3 different varieties of apples to hit sweet, tart, crisp, and soft all in one bite.  Experiment, that’s my mantra.

This is a good old-fashioned all-American apple pie, packed with apples, a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg surrounded by a flaky, buttery crust!  YUM.  Now go make one!

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Mom’s Apple Pie

My go-to Apple Pie recipe, been using this for years. Tried and true.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Apple Pie, apples, Cinnamon Bun, Pie crust
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

My current favorite pie crust recipe is from Dorie Greenspan. It makes a generous amount of dough so you will have excess that you can use for hand pies or small pie.

  • Pastry for 9-inch Two-Crust Pie Link in notes
  • 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar + 1/4 c dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour*
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground mace
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Dash of salt
  • 6 cups thinly sliced pared tart apples about 6 medium
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon KA Boiled Cider (secret apple booster) optional

Instructions

  • Prepare pie crust. Place in fridge to chill while making filling.
  • Heat oven to 425 degrees.
  • Mix sugar, flour, mace, cinnamon and salt.
  • Stir in apples. Turn into pastry-lined pie plate; dot with butter.
  • Cover with top crust that has slits cut in it; seal and flute.
  • Make a 3 inch aluminum foil ring. Set aside to use if crust browns too much
  • Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 375 degrees, bake until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, 40 to 50 minutes. Cover edge with ring if necessary.

Notes

All About that ‘Crust, No Filling (Pie Crust Recipe)
Pumpkin Apple Bread-Here, There, Everywhere

Pumpkin Apple Bread-Here, There, Everywhere

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Everywhere I turn I am reminded that Fall is upon us.  Shorter days, cooler nights, falling leaves blanketing the ground….and pumpkin in EVERYTHING!  Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bars, cake, cookies, cheesecake, pancakes…augh!  It is endless.  But as much as the pumpkin onslaught has tempered my enthusiasm for all things pumpkin I still find myself wanting to pull out my loaf pans and bake some pumpkin bread.  Today was the perfect day to do so.  With rain in the forecast, it was time to hunker down at home in my jammies and bake.  I pulled out a favorite recipe, Rebecca’s Apple and Pumpkin Bread from Gourmet magazine’s You Asked For It column. Moist and flavorful, spiced with cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, chunks of apples peppered throughout plus a crunchy cinnamon-sugar topping. It is a slice of yumminess.  Perfect with a steaming cup of tea or coffee, especially on a wet, chilly day.

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TWEAKS

I add chopped toasted pecans to the streusel topping to add some crunch and substitute brown sugar for part of the sugar in the topping.  If you like the contrast of tart and sweet, use Granny Smiths or Pippins. I have used Golden Delicious, Fuji, and Mutsu apples with great results.  Really, any apple that doesn’t break down works well.  At times I use mace instead of nutmeg for a milder, subtle flavor and I add ginger to up the spice.  The recipe makes two loaves of bread, one for now and one you can wrap and freeze for another day.  Enjoy!

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Apple Pumpkin Bread

Delicious, moist, spiced pumpkin bread with apples added.
Course Breads
Cuisine American
Keyword apple, crumb topping, Pumpkin Bread
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour

Ingredients

For topping

  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 5 tablespoons granulated sugar I use 3 T granulated sugar + 2 T brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans

For bread

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or mace
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger
  • 1 15-oz can solid-pack pumpkin (original recipe calls for 16 ounce, add 1/4 cup applesauce if desired)
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2-1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs lightly beaten
  • 2 apples peeled, cored, and chopped (2 cups) I use Pippen and Fuji, your choice

Instructions

  • For topping: Blend together flour, sugar, cinnamon, and butter in a small bowl with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add nuts. Set aside.
  • For bread: Put a rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 X 5 inch loaf pans. Set aside.
  • Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg or mace, cloves, ginger and allspice into a medium bowl.
  • Whisk together pumpkin oil, sugar, and eggs in a large bowl.
  • Add flour mixture, stirring until well combined.
  • Fold in apples.
  • Divide batter between buttered loaf pans. Sprinkle half of topping evenly over each loaf.
  • Bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of bread comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool loaves in pans on a rack for 45 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool completely, about 1 hour.
  • Yield: two loaves.
Apple Crisp (How Do You Like Them Apples)

Apple Crisp (How Do You Like Them Apples)

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My consolation for summer ending is the arrival of Fall, the magical transition that eases us into the coming colder months.  The air is crisp and cool without the icy sting of winter.  I love how the trees drop their leaves creating a carpet of orange and yellow hues.  Yes, I will miss summer’s yummy bounty but the fall season has its rewards. From our weekly trek to the farmer’s market, we will bring home a variety of beautiful apples and pears instead of peaches and plums.  Not a bad trade-off.

dsc04790Too lazy to make a pie I mulled over what to do with the apples, my aha moment came quickly, APPLE CRISP.

Let me get straight to the point.

There is never enough oatmeal, sugar, and buttery goodness blanketing the apples.  Are you with me?  Oh yeah, you are.  More buttery, crunchy, sweet topping, please.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the apple filling-warm, slightly sweet, and spiced with cinnamon and mace.  But I freely admit to being a topping junkie.  My go-to recipe is an adaptation of one I found in The Family Baker by Susan Purdy and yes, she too thinks you can never have enough of the crumble topping.  Feel free to tweak this recipe to your liking. When my kids were little they liked all things sweet. This meant I used only golden delicious apples (sometimes I snuck in a Fuji).

I use a mix similar to my apple pie such as Pippins, Jonagolds, Mutsus, and Fujis in a 1:1 ratio now.  Explore your farmer’s market, there are so many great apples to try.  Ask your friendly apply purveyor which ones hold up well when baked.  I also add pecans to my crisp, I’m sure walnuts or almonds would work well too.  The original recipe calls for nutmeg, I like to use mace.

But, whatever you do…

Don’t forget a scoop or two or three of vanilla ice cream.  That makes it even better!

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How Do You Like Them Apples (Apple Crisp)

Ingredients

Filling:

  • 5-6 apples peeled, cored and sliced (~6 cups of apples) any combination of apples. For a more tart filling use Pippins or Granny Smiths. For a sweeter filling use a combination of Fuji's, Golden Delicious and Pippins (approximately 2 of each)
  • 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 t grated nutmeg or mace
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • dash of salt

Topping (yum)

  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal not instant or quick cook
  • 1 stick of unsalted butter softened
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Mix topping ingredients with pastry blender or fingers until crumbly.
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Butter a 9 inch deep dish casserole or gratin dish.
  • Combine sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and lemon juice with apples.
  • Pour apple mixture into dish. Top with crumble mixture.
  • Bake for approximately 40-50 minutes until topping is browned and apples are soft when pierced with a knife.
  • Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or custard sauce.
Pumpkin Bread, A Darty for Lucky

Pumpkin Bread, A Darty for Lucky

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I bet you are wondering about 2 things right now.  What is a “darty” and what’s with the picture of pumpkin bread and dog biscuits? Am I right?

The answers begin with our dog Sammy receiving an invitation to a darty, a doggy birthday party for his buddy Lucky.  Yes, even our dog has a social life.  We decided only homemade doggy treats would do for Lucky.  Sammy’s favorite, which we made for our 12 days of Christmas cookies, are these doggy-licious pumpkin peanut butter treats  I found on the blog Use Real Butter.  For this batch, I  had some applesauce so I added a scoop of it to the dough just to sweeten the deal.

What to do with the extra pumpkin puree and applesauce…Pumpkin Bread of course.  It was a no-brainer, despite the fact that we are on the cusp of summer not fall, it would be a shame to let the extra go to waste.

I do have a favorite pumpkin bread recipe but I remembered I had purchased a jar of pumpkin pie spice from King Arthur Flour.  So instead of using my favorite recipe, I searched and found a new version on the blog  My Baking Addiction that uses pumpkin pie spice.  Game on…

This bread is easy to make and delicious I will be baking loaves year around.  It is moist not gummy and just sweet enough, perfect with a cup of tea or coffee.  The spice mix adds that familiar cinnamon and clove but doesn’t overpower the pumpkin.  The flavors develop so it is even better the second day.  Toasted with a smear of cream cheese or a pat of butter? Delish.  Yummy enough to stand in line for a slice..but behind me, please.

Two for the Time of One

The recipe makes 2 loaves so freeze the second loaf for a rainy day.  As with many quick bread recipes, it lends itself well to additions and substitutions, I couldn’t resist tweaking it.  I added a cup of chopped apples, reduced the oil to 3/4 cup, and replaced the remaining 1/4 cup with applesauce.  To finish the bread I added chopped pecans to the top of the batter and liberally sprinkled the top with cinnamon sugar. In place of apples, raisins, and nuts or chocolate chips would be crazy good.

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That’s it for now, oh wait…more mail for Sammy. Ah, the life.

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Pumpkin Bread with Apples

Traditional fall treat, Pumpkin Bread with Apples and Streusel Topping. Delicious!
Course quick breads
Cuisine American
Keyword Pumpkin Bread
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup vegetable oil or 3/4 cup oil & 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups sugar
  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 cup diced apples granny smith or pippin or fuji which is less tart

Topping:

  • 1/2-1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
  • cinnamon sugar 1T granulated sugar + 2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • Grease and flour two loaf pans. 8.5x 4 although with additions use 1 8.5x4 and 1 9.5x5 pan
  • Combine dry ingredients flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a bowl and set aside
  • In a large bowl add pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, applesauce, water, vanilla and sugar. Whisk until well combined. This can be done by hand or in a mixer.  Fold in dry ingredient mix.  
  • Add diced apples and half of nuts.
  • Divide batter between loaf pans. Top with remaining nuts and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
  • Bake 50-60 minutes. Loaves are done when cake tester comes out clean.
  • Cool and remove from pans.
  • Enjoy!

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Birthday party for Lucky!
Apple a Day… (Apple Cake)

Apple a Day… (Apple Cake)

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I walked outside the other day, the sunlight was a little different, not so bright, not so in your face. The light had taken on a warm orange hue.  Even if temperatures are high, it just doesn’t seem as hot, the day’s end is a little earlier.  There is a crispness in the air and colors seem more vibrant. That’s when I sense fall has arrived. I love the fall, it means APPLES!  Remember the scene from Forrest Gump with Bubba reciting what you could do with shrimp?  Well, that’s how I am with apples.  You can bake it, cook it, juice it, put it in salads, pancakes, casseroles, eat it out of hand.  There’s apple pie, apple dumpling, apple cake, fried apples, sautéed apples, applesauce, apple crisp, caramel apples….yep, love them apples.

AppleCake1Growing up there was the one apple to rule them all, the Red Delicious (ok, so I grew up in the city).  I didn’t know other varieties existed, when Golden Delicious apples started showing up, that was a major deal.  Now the varieties are endless, Jonagold, Empire, Mutsu, Pink Lady, the list keeps growing. When I make an apple pie I use at least 3 different varieties, I look for a balance of tart and sweet, apples that hold their shape and some that breakdown as the pie bakes.  Apparently, I just don’t micromanage my kids I seem to be an apple pie micromanager as well…sigh.

We were invited to  Rosh Hosannah celebration the other evening, I volunteered to make dessert.  Not enough time to make a pie (recipe for apple pie will be in a later post, promise), I decided on a simple French Apple Cake I found on Once Upon a Chef.  A perfect way to bring in the New Year.

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French Apple Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar plus more for sprinkling over cake
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons dark rum
  • 2 sweet baking apples peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (Fuji or Golden Delicious work or combination)
  • Confectioners' sugar optional, for decorating cake

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-inch springform or regular cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  • In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and rum. Don't worry if the batter looks grainy. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chopped apples.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the cake is lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool until just warm. Run a blunt knife around the edges of the cake and remove the sides of the springform pan if using. Using a fine sieve, dust with Confectioners' sugar (if using).
  • Cake can be served warm or room temperature, with or without lightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.