Triple Apple Cake

Look at this sticky, sweet/tart cake ! I was originally thinking that it should be served warm with a  big gob of vanilla ice cream along side, but ...

This morning I cut into the cake at breakfast and had it with a piping hot cup of coffee, the sunny back porch, and the morning blogs (I read the blogs instead of the morning paper - freak, that I am.). OMG - this is such a great cake! It's not a fancy cake. It's a cake that is solidly moist and chewy. The batter is made with liberal obscene amounts of butter, brown sugar, unsweetened applesauce, and eggs. That shiny stickiness is due to a tart apple cider glaze that gets liberally wantonly brushed onto the cake and apple slices while the cake is still warm from the oven. The glaze soaks in overnight (or for at least an hour before serving) and creates this Sweet Tart-like tang that encases the moist underlayer of crumb. (Remember Sweet Tarts? They were these lozenge-like sour candies that would explode in your mouth when you chomped into them.)

Yum! Applesauce, apple slices, apple cider glaze - triple apple cake. Get it ?  Now, you COULD have this cake warmed with a gob of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream, but I think the warmth would soften things up too much. I'm a proponent of the cool, chewy bite with that tangy cider flavour 'hit'. Excuse me while I go cut another piece!

Triple Apple Cake

a Martha Stewart recipe … I  think

Oven: 325° F

Bake Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Ingredients:

¾ c. unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), softened

1 ¾ c. light brown sugar, packed – divided

3 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1 ½ c. unsweetened applesauce

2 ¾ c. all purpose flour

2 ¾ tsp. baking powder

1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. fine grain salt

2 firm apples ( I used Golden Crisps), peeled cored, and sliced into 15 thin slices

2 ½ c. apple cider

Making the Cake:

1. Preheat the oven and butter a 9-inch square baking pan. Spring-form pans work well here. Line the pan with parchment paper so that the paper laps out over the edges on two sides (for ease of lifting the cake to a platter).
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk together and set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat 1 ½ c. of the brown sugar measure with the butter until it is fluffy and the sugar grains are almost dissolved into the butter.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well between each addition.
5. Beat in the vanilla.
6. Alternating between flour mix and applesauce, beat to make a fluffy batter.
7. Turn the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Prep the apples and lay the slices in three rows across the top of the cake batter, overlapping the slices just a bit. Use an apple coring tool to create a 'donut hole' in the apple.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour 15 minutes. A cake tester inserted in the center of the cake will come out with a few moist crumbs attached.
9. While the cake bakes, place the apple cider and ¼ c. of the brown sugar measure in a sauce pan and bring to a gentle boil. Boil, stirring often for 20 -25 minutes until the cider is reduced and syrupy. Be careful at the tail-end of the boiling time, as the glaze bubbles up and could singe if you’re not stirring and keeping a sharp eye on things.
10. Remove the cake from the oven when perfectly baked and cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Then use the parchment paper to lift the cake to a cooling rack that is set over paper or foil.
11. Carefully peel away the parchment paper from the bottom and edges of the cake.
12. Use a basting brush to glaze the top and sides of the cake, being very generous with the glaze. It should soak the cake.
13. Slide the cake to a pretty platter and let it ‘cure’ in the glaze for at least an hour before serving.