TWD: Double Apple Bundt Cake

WOW! My turn to host!! I a) never thought it would come up, at the rate we are powering through this book, and b) figured that if it did, I would be left with the last recipe that (GASP) no one else wanted to make. Wrong on both accounts!

I love ALL things apple, and so this recipe was perfect for ME and perfect as the kickoff to October…the first of four delish choices this month, all as Fall as you can get them.

So I broke out my Bundt pan, found some really fabulous store bought apple butter, a couple of organic Pink Lady apples, and dug right in. As bundt cakes go, this came together easily – the only part that was a little labor intensive was grating the apples (and none of my fingers). My only changes were to omit the raisins (as I do in every recipe) and the nutmeg, toast the pecans, and double the cinnamon. I also made a cinnamon glaze for the cake.

I know you won’t believe this…but I sent the cake off…UNTOUCHED…with my roommate to a friend’s house who was having some people over to watch the Redskins game. I know, I know. Seriously? My week to host and I didn’t even try any? But how could I send a cake with a piece missing??? I contemplated cutting a piece, digging out the insides, and then replacing it. 🙂 But I couldn’t do it. Which just means I’ll have to make it again!

Double Apple Bundt Cake

From Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking: From my home to yours”

• 2 cups AP flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ¼ sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 cup store-bought apple butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 medium apples, peeled, cored and grated
• 1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
• ½ cup plump, moist raisins (dark or golden)
• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)

For the Icing (optional)

• 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
• About 2 tablespoons fresh orange or lemon juice 

Getting ready:  Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9- to 10- inch (12 cup) Bundt pan. If your pan is not nonstick, dust the interior of the pan with flour, then tap out the excess. (If yo’ve got a silicone Bundt pan, there’s no need to butter or flour it.) Don’t place the pan on a baking sheet – you want the oven’s heat to circulate through the Bundt’s inner tube.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed, scarping the bowl as needed, for 3 minutes, or until the mixture is smooth, thick and pale. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each addition; you’ll have a light, fluffy batter. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the apple butter – don’t worry if it curdles the batter. Still on low, add the grated apples and mix to completely blend. Add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the batter. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the nuts and raisins. Turn the batter into the Bundt pan and smooth the top of the batter with the rubber spatula.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a think knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 5 minutes before unmolding and cooling the cake to room temperature. If possible, once the cake is completely cool, wrap well in plastic and let it stand overnight at room temperature to ripen the flavors.

If you’re not going to ice the cake, you can dust it with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.

To make the optional icing:  Put the sugar in a small bowl and stir in a squirt or two of either orange or lemon juice. Keep adding the juice a little at a time until you have an icing that falls easily from the tip of a spoon. Drizzle the icing over the top of the cake letting it slide down the curves of the cake in whatever pattern it makes. Let the cake stand until the icing dries, a matter of minutes, before slicing.