Monday, October 30, 2006

Apple chunk coffee cake


Something about October makes me buy several pounds of apples every time I go to the grocery store. I don't know if it's nostalgia for my childhood, when my family would go apple picking, bring home three bushels of apples and just bake bake bake for the next week straight, or if I just really like apples. Either way, I've been looking for new ways to cook them. This one is adapted from a recipe in "The Apple Lovers' Cookbook" and it came out beautifully. It's moist, a little crumbly, and perfect for breakfast, snacking or even dessert. Plus, it gave me an excuse to use the sunflower bundt pan that I got for my wedding.

Ingredients:
1 c. sugar
1 c. vanilla yogurt (can substitute sour cream)
1/2 c. butter
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. chopped apples
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1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F, and grease and "flour" (use confectioner's sugar to avoid a floury exterior for your cake) a bundt pan. Beat together liquid ingredients (sugar through eggs) until most chunks of butter have disappeared. Sift together the dry ingredients (flour through allspice) and add them to the wet mix. Mix until all the dry ingredients are moist, then add the vanilla. Beat another 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl often. Fold in the apple chunks.

Prepare the streusel by combining the butter, cinnamon and sugar (just use your hands for this) until crumbly. Add in the nuts, if desired (I didn't).

Spread about half the batter into your prepared pan. Layer with the streusel, leaving the outer 1/2 inch or so bare, and then top with the rest of the batter. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted at the fattest part of the cake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes at least, then invert on a serving plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving, if desired (the cookbook suggests a glaze of 1 c. confectioners sugar, 1/2 tsp. vanilla and 3 tsp. milk, but that seemed like overkill to me). Makes 12-16 servings.

2 comments:

Rachel said...

That looks yummy and I love the pan!

Jackie said...

Thanks! I love all the Bundt pan options out there nowadays, although I don't really have room in my cabinets to own more than maybe two. :)