Simple apple coffee cake warms the autumn chill

Yankee Chef logoBy Jim Bailey
theyankeechef.blogspot.com

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his recipe is simple, inexpensive and, by far, the most extraordinary apple cake you will ever have. I purposely made the cake slightly less sweet than ordinary “coffee cake”-like desserts, because I wanted the apple to shine through, and it certainly won’t let you down. Use your favorite sweet, hard apple here.

 

sweetapplebadencake

Sweet apple baden cake

 

1 ½ cups flour
¾ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup apple cider reduction*
½ stick butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1 large or two small Liberty apples, peeled, cored and diced

 

 

 Topping

1 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2-3 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Spray nonstick cooking spray into a 9-inch pie pan. You can opt for a 9-inch square pan if desired. In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder and cinnamon, mixing well. Stir in the apple cider reduction, melted butter and egg until just blended, although lumps are fine. Transfer to the prepared pie pan. Evenly spread the diced apples over the top.

In a small bowl, combine all topping ingredients. Every bit of the topping must be damp so if you need more melted butter, add a tablespoon at a time. Then sprinkle on the apples.  Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until firm in the center when touched.

Remove to rack to cool for just a little bit, since you’ll want to serve this beauty warm. While waiting, make your glaze by combining all ingredients and mixing until smooth. Start out with 2 tablespoons milk and add more if needed to drizzle.

* I chose to boil apple cider until it reduced to make 1 cup. It is tremendously sweet and potent, perfect for this cake. If you don’t have the time, nor inclination, I suggest 1 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed. Or maybe a cup of maple syrup is your thing. It is all good.

Yankee Chef book coverSchiffer Books of Pennsylvania has released Jim Bailey’s new book The Yankee Chef: Feel Good Food for Every Kitchen. It contains more than 550 traditional New England comfort-food recipes tweaked for today’s palates with hundreds of kitchen tips and food facts. The hardback book is 312 pages and contains 200 color images. Its ISBN is 978-0-7643-4191-5 and the cost is $34.99. The book can be ordered through Misty Valley Books, 802-875-3400.

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Filed Under: Community and Arts LifeThe Yankee Chef

About the Author: Jim Bailey is a third generation Yankee Chef, New England food historian and newspaper columnist. His first cookbook, simply titled The Yankee Chef, has been published. He welcomes all feedback, questions or comments at theyankeechef@aol.com.

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