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Come Party With Me: Heroes Season Premiere - Dessert

partysugar — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:00:29 -0700

No dessert says TV dinner more than a dish that features warm fruit and cool ice cream. While a pie or cobbler are delicious selections, wow guests at a season premiere party (or any party for that matter!) with this to-die-for apple cake.

Complete with toffee crust, fresh apple filling, and rich butterscotch sauce, it's luxurious and comforting - sort of like a glam, grown-up sister to apple pie. Although the recipe requires patience and a bit of skill, the finished cake is a worthy reward of the time and work put into it. To look at the steps involved, read more.

Apple Cake with Toffee Crust
From Food and Wine magazine

Ingredients

For cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 large Granny Smith apples-peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For butterscotch sauce
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon brandy
For caramelized apples
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 large Granny Smith apples-peeled, cored and cut into 8 wedges each
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons water
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Directions

Make the cake: preheat the oven to 325°. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform tube pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the salt and baking soda.
In a large bowl, whisk the oil with the granulated sugar. Whisk in the eggs one at a time. Add the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.
Fold in the diced apples with a rubber spatula. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the lower third of the oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool slightly.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the butter, cream and brown sugar and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring. Remove the toffee glaze from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
Place the warm cake (still in its pan) on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the hot glaze over the cake and let it seep into the cake, poking lightly with a toothpick. Let the cake cool completely, about 2 hours.
Invert the cake onto a plate, and invert again onto another plate, right side up.
Meanwhile, make the butterscotch sauce: in a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Using a moistened pastry brush, wash down any sugar crystals on the side of the pan. Cook without stirring until a medium-amber caramel forms, about 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and quickly but carefully stir in the cream and butter. Simmer the sauce over moderate heat for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and stir in the brandy. Pour the butterscotch sauce into a pitcher.
Make the caramelized apples: in a large skillet, melt the butter and the brown sugar. Add the apples and cinnamon and cook over moderately high heat, turning the apples once or twice, until they are tender and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add the water to dissolve the caramel in the skillet, then transfer the caramelized apples to a plate.
Slice the cake and serve with the caramelized apples, butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream.

Serves 10-12.

Make ahead: the unmolded cake can be stored in an airtight container overnight at room temperature. The butterscotch sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week; reheat gently before serving. The apples can be made up to 2 hours ahead and kept at room temperature.

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Reader Recipe: Simple Apple Cinnamon Cake

YumSugar — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 03:01:31 -0800

I was looking through the posts on the Food and Entertaining Channel and came across a cake that I thought a lot of you would enjoy. TeamSugar member elleisa recently shared her recipe for a simple Cinnamon Apple Cake. You might enjoy it because it whips up in absolutely no time. It's basically a yellow cake mix with apple pie filling baked into it. Sometimes delicious doesn't have to be gourmet! To check out the recipe, read more.

Cinnamon Apple Cake
Submitted by TeamSugar member elleisa

I threw together this recipe when I was craving for an apple pie but also wanted cake. The apple filling starts out on top but sinks to the bottom while it is baking. Super yummy!

Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 21 oz. can Comstock Apple Pie Filling

Heat oven to 350 degrees for shiny metal or glass pan or 325 degrees for dark or nonstick pan.
Grease bottom only of 13x9 pan and sprinkle lightly w/cinnamon.
Mix butter yellow cake mix as directed on back of box.
Spread cake batter in pan.
Spoon apple pie filling on top of cake batter.
Sprinkle crumb topping on top of apple filling. (recipe @ bottom)
Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Crumb topping:
4 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
6 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Mix together with fork until crumbly.

Before:After:

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Yummy Links: From Beard Blog Awards to Sticky Apple Cake

partysugar — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 06:45:35 -0700

The James Beard Foundation is accepting nominations for the 2009 awards and they've announced a new category for food blogs. - Eater SF
This year make your own Halloween candy bars. - Chow
Learn how to properly pair beer with food. - Beer Utopia
Two hundred reasons to eat pizza. - Epi-Log
Enter the Serious Eats pumpkin-carving contest! - Serious Eats
Sticky Spiked Double-Apple Cake With a Brown Sugar-Brandy Sauce. Need I say more? - The Kitchn
Get creative and throw a portrait party. - Hostess With the Mostess

Source

52 Weeks of Baking: Week 2 - Apple Muffin Cake

YumSugar — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:18:51 -0800

Every couple of weeks we get a big batch of fresh fruit (apples, pears, bananas, tangerines) delivered to the office. People seem to go to town on the pears, tangerines and bananas, but the sad apples seem to accumulate. Last night I noticed that they weren't looking so great and decided that no one was going to eat them in that state. So, in an effort to prevent food waste, I took all the apples home and tried to come up with some way to rescue them. I ended up with 5 small apples (not sure what kind, there were at least two varieties) and one medium sized one (again, not sure what kind).

While I was looking for something to do with them (they weren't in the best state, and they weren't really baking apples either), I stumbled across an interesting looking recipe calling for 5 1/2 cups of apples and decided that it would be a good starting point. To learn how I turned sad apples into a happy breakfast treat, read more

First of all, let me start by saying that this was an odd recipe. I wasn't 100% sure of it when I started, was even less sure right before putting it into the oven, and was a bit frustrated when I took it out of the oven (the apples were bland when hot). However, the rate the crew here devoured it for breakfast squashed any sort of bad feelings I was having about the whole thing. The end result was moist and crumbly, like a muffin, and when cooled, the spices masked the poor quality of the apples.

Oh and it's sort of a weird coincidence, but this recipe arrived just in time for Apple's MacWorld.

Apple Muffin Cake
Based on a recipe for Amazing Apple Cake at allrecipes.com

2 cups flour
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
2 tsp baking soda
5 small apples
1 medium apple
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil plus 2 tbsp *See Note*
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar

Preheat oven to 325F (165C).
Sift flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and baking soda into a medium sized bowl.
Peel, core and dice apples.
In large bowl or mixer, lightly whisk eggs, oil and vanilla until mixture is uniform.
Add both sugars (you may want to mix them together first, but it is not necessary). Mix until incorporated. Scrape the sides of bowl as needed.
Slowly mix in flour mixture. Only add 1/3 at a time, and wait until it is incorporated before adding more. Scrape the bowl as needed. *Note* You may need to add extra oil to ensure a smooth, slightly caramel-like consistency.
Fold in apples until all are coated. Pour into an 8x8" baking pan - I didn't grease the pan, as I knew I was going to be serving directly in it, but you may want to grease it and line with parchment paper.
The end result will be quite odd and you'll probably think something along the lines of, "Um, there's no way this is going to work. There's not nearly enough batter and WAAAY too many apples." But trust me, as long as it looks like the photo, it'll be okay.
Bake for 65 minutes. Check on it often (I started checking around 50 minutes and every 5 minutes after), toothpick inserted into batter (not apple) should come out clean.
Let it cool completely. Serve!

View 9 Photos ›

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Get Ready for Apple Season!

YumSugar — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 06:48:19 -0700

In preparation for Fall, New York institution Dean & Deluca has added an adorable Apple Crate Cake to their menu. Molded marzipan apples sit atop chocolate straw in this $185 cake.

If $185 is too much to spend to get ready for Fall, then take our quiz instead! It's all about apples and it's absolutely free! Ready to discover how much you know about apples?

Take the quiz

Celebrity Chef Art Smith Scores New TLC Show

YumSugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:30:21 -0800

NBC and Fox aren't the only channels trying to nab a piece of the cooking show pie. So is cable channel TLC. Not only does the lifestyle network boast new programming like Cake Boss and the soon-to-air BBQ Pitmasters, but the channel has just ordered eight episodes of a new 30-minute series, Craving Comfort, starring celebrity chef Art Smith.

Rather than demoing dishes in the traditional cooking show sense, Smith will travel the country in search of America's most satisfying eats. Each show will focus on one particular comfort food, such as fried chicken or apple pie. Craving Comfort will debut in late 2010.

Smith, who owns Table Fifty-Two and was Oprah Winfrey's personal chef for a decade, recently starred in the Bravo series Top Chef Masters. I think David Chang is right in saying that comfort foods will be big in 2010, and that this show will take off. Are you a big enough fan of Art Smith to tune in?

Come Party With Me: Fall Dinner - Menu (Dessert)

partysugar — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 10:13:56 -0700

Nothing says early fall more than apple pie. However, I want to surprise my fall dinner party guests, so instead of making classic apple pie or apple crisp, I'll make an apple buckle.

A buckle is a simple streusel topped cake similar to a dessert coffee cake. It is typically made with summer fruits, but this nontraditional version wonderfully showcases fall apples. It will pair perfectly with a dessert wine or a cup of just brewed coffee, so get the recipe now read more

Autumn Apple Buckle
From Food & Wine magazine
Image Source

Crumb Topping
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Pinch of salt
1 stick (4 ounces) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
Batter
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup half-and-half
2 pounds Granny Smith apples--peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch dice
Sweetened sour cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter and flour a 10-inch springform pan.
Make the Crumb Topping: in a food processor, pulse the flour with the brown sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest and salt. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles moist sand. Add the walnuts and pulse 3 times. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and press into large crumbs.
Make the Batter:in a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder, ginger and salt. In a large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the honey. Add the lemon zest, vanilla and eggs and beat until smooth.
Add the dry ingredients in 2 batches, alternating with the half-and-half and beat at low speed until smooth. Fold in the apples.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with the crumb topping. Bake the buckle in the center of the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the topping is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for at least 1 hour before unhinging the springform and removing the ring.
Cut the buckle into wedges and serve with sweetened sour cream.

Serves 10-12.

Make ahead: The buckle can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

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Taste Test: Cheesecake Factory Cheesecakes

YumSugar — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 07:50:57 -0700

I must admit: I'm not the world's biggest fan of cheesecake, it's always seemed a bit too rich. But I'm obsessed with red velvet cake, and was intrigued when I first heard about red velvet cheesecake. I put it on my list of things to make and before I could get to it, The Cheesecake Factory came out with a version and sent one our way - along with a couple others. Was it the perfect hybrid of Southern red velvet and smooth cheesecake decadence? How was the cheesecake on a whole? Find out when you read more

Would You Say Yes to a Cupcake Proposal?

partysugar — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:50:48 -0700

I was browsing the YumSugar Community - brides to be: did you know there is an entire group devoted to Wedding Talk? - when I stumbled across these adorable cupcakes. Reader and foodie Kbussanich says that her boyfriend surprised her with the proposal and cupcakes!

The cakes were created by the Flour & Sun Bakery in Pleasantville, NY, and were a mix of chocolate and vanilla cake with vanilla icing that was dyed bright blue. When she heard Kbussanich's answer was yes, the bakery's owner sent over an engagement gift of seasonal (pumpkin and apple with cream cheese frosting) cupcakes. While I'm not a fan of public proposals, the idea of cupcakes at home is incredibly sweet. What do you think? Would you say yes to a cupcake proposal?

Got something you want to share? Participate in the YumSugar Community and you may just be featured here!

'Wich of the Week: Pecan Pumpkin Cakewich

YumSugar — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:00:10 -0700

In Autumn I welcome the arrival of all things pumpkin, whether it's pumpkin lattes at Starbucks, pumpkin chocolate cookies, or pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. So why not pumpkin sandwiches? Inspired by carrot cake with cranberries folded in, this sweet sandwich would make a great dessert or an afternoon snack with cider. Just in time for Halloween, you can make your own pumpkin bread or use a mix from a store like Trader Joe's, which is where I found the apple-cranberry chutney. Get this comfy Fall recipe now.