Get over it, pumpkin spice! The classic fall trend is returning hugely. The cool, crisp fall days are in full swing, which means that plenty of Americans are drinking hot cider or heading toward New England orchards for a day of picking apples. For those looking for recipes for new apple recipes to test, you’re in luck! Yankee Magazine’s food editor senior and television anchor Amy Traverso has revised her 2011 edition of the Apple Lover’s Cookbook to offer up-to-date apple knowledge. The book, which launched in September of this year, will include the story of this fruit’s popularity and more than one hundred recipes, 70 apple flavor profiles, including the highly-popular brand-new Cosmic Crisp apple–and updated apple events and sources for products throughout all over the United States.
Apple studded brown butter streusel coffee cake from The Apple Lover’s Cookbook
Apple Tea Cake
with Lemon Glaze
My best friend from school often received care packages from home. They contained an incredibly lemon pound cake coated with a tart glaze. It was amazing (she was great at sharing). Two decades later, the cake inspired this version that consists of a buttermilk-based layer cake decorated with thin slices of apple and finished with a lemony glaze. When you cut the cake, you’ll see the beautiful layers and a gorgeous display.
Apple tea cake with lemon glaze from The Apple Lover’s Cookbook
Apple Notes:
Apples that are firm and sweet with distinct lemony flavors are especially good in this. Try a Ginger Gold or a Gravenstein If you can locate one. If not, a lovely Pink Lady or a Jazz is also a great choice.
EQUIPMENT
6-cup (8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inches) bread loaf pan mandoline; stand; hand mixer cake tester wire rack
YIELD
One cake eight servings
Active time 45 minutes
The total time is 1 hour 15 minutes
INGREDIENTS
Cake:
Eight tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter when it is at room temperature, as well as more to grease pans.
1 cup sugar granulated more to dust pan
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting pans
Table salt one tablespoon
Half a teaspoon of baking soda
One teaspoon of baking soda
Two large eggs plus one egg yolk at room temperature
1/2 cup buttermilk
One small (or half large) sweet apple that is firm and soft (about 4 pounds; refer to Apple Notes), unpeeled and divided lengthwise and then very thinly cut (about 1/4 inch) preferred using a mandoline
One teaspoon ground cinnamon
To make the glaze:
Two tablespoons of freshly squeezed juice from a lemon
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350oF. Place a rack in the center position. Butter and then flour the loaf pan. Set aside.
Mix the sugar and butter in a stand mixer, or in the case of a handheld mixer, mix them in an enormous bowl. Utilizing a whisk attachment, mix on high speed until it becomes very light, pale, and almost mousse-like. This can take between 6-8 minutes. Be patient, and be sure to scrape from the edges of your bowl frequently as you progress. In a medium bowl, mix the flour and baking powder, as well as salt as well as baking soda. Set aside.
After the sugar and butter have been thoroughly whipped to a smooth consistency, add the egg yolk and eggs each at a time, mixing thoroughly after each. Change to the paddle attachment. When the mixer is at low speed, add one-three-quarters of the mixture and mix until it is fully incorporated. Add half of the buttermilk and mix briefly. Repeat with the rest of the flour mix, then the buttermilk remaining, and finally, the final flour mixture. Mix until the mixture is smooth. Do not overmix.
Pour one-third of the batter into the bread pan and smooth it out using an offset spatula. The batter should be topped with half the apples and then overlap the slices. Add half of the cinnamon. Repeat with one-third of the batter and all the apples. Finish with the remaining batter and smooth it out with the spatula. Cook until the cakes are golden brown and the cake tester inserted into the center is clean, 45 to 55 mins. While baking, make the glaze. In the bowl, mix the juice of a lemon with confectioners’ sugar till it is smooth.
Take the cake out of the oven and let it sit for five hours in the cake pan. As long as the cake remains warm, poke the cake across with a toothpick that is inserted to the fullest extent. Pour half of the glaze over the cake and spread it evenly using a spatula. Allow to sit for another 10 minutes to absorb the glaze. Remove from the pan. Let cool on an air-tight rack for another 30 minutes.
After the cake has cooled completely, sprinkle generously over the glaze and let it run through the sides. The ice should dry for around 30 minutes, and then serve.
Recipes and images taken from The Apple Lover’s Cookbook: Updated and revised. Copyright (c) 2020 by Amy Traverso. Photographs (c) 2011 by Squire Fox. Use with permission from Squire Fox’s publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.