Caramel Apple Pound Cake Cup Cakes

Whether we like it or not- Fall is quickly approaching.  The time for sweaters, woolen scarves and warming cups of tea is right around the corner.  I say, while it's sad to say goodbye to the wonderful sunny days of Summer, why fight it?  Recently a friend reminded me of the beauty of those wonderful Fall treats, Caramel Apples.  Crisp apples encased in luxurious caramel, warm and melty, chilled only by the brisk air-they are the perfect treat.  

Inspired by this idea this weekend, I turned to my kitchen and looked to see how I could re create this treat, but in typical fashion, put a little twist on it.  I played with the idea of a cupcake for several days, considering a variety of combinations and toppings.  However finally, I settled on the rich sturdiness of Pound Cake, over which I would spoon Caramel Apple sauce.  I loved the dense nature of the Pound Cake which I enhanced with the warming spices of Mace and Nutmeg.  The resulting flavor was a light hint of fall flavors, enhanced with the homemade caramel sauce.   I edited both of the recipes below- I've put my additions in italics under them.

Vanilla Pound Cake (recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour)
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour or cake flour
4 large eggs
1 tsp mace
1/2 tsp nutmeg

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugars, salt, vanilla, and baking powder until smooth and fluffy.  Add the flour and mix well; the batter will be almost like paste.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl after each addition; the batter will be quite fluffy.  

Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 9-10 inch tube pan, 9-10 cup bundt pan, or 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.  Bake the cake for about 45 minutes, or until a cake tester or tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

I spooned the batter into a cupcake pan, and then watched the cupcakes starting at a 1/2 hour.  They came out of the oven around 33-34 minutes.

Deep, Dark Salted Butter Caramel Sauce [Sauce au Caramel au Beurre Salé] Recipe from the Smitten Kitchen


Makes about 1 1/3 cups

3 ounces (6 tablespoons) salted butter, the better you can get, the better it will taste---I used unsalted butter and then added 1/2 tsp - 1 tsp of salt
1/2 cup plus two tablespoons heavy cream, at room temperature

Melt the sugar over medium to moderately high heat in a larger pot than you think you’ll need-at least two or three quarts, whisking or stirring the sugar as it melts to ensure it heats evenly. Cook the liquefied sugar to a nice, dark copper color. Add the butter all at once and stir it in, before turning off the stove and pour in the heavy cream (The sauce will foam up quite a bit when you add it; this is why you want the larger pot.), whisking it until you get a smooth sauce.

You use it right away or pour it into a jar and store it in the fridge for up to two weeks. When you take it out, it will likely have thickened a bit but 60 seconds in the microwave brings it right back to pouring consistency.

Caramel Apple Sauce
2 small semi tart apples, cored and chopped.
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 - 3/4 cup caramel sauce (recipe above)

In a saute pan over low heat melt the butter and add the cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  Add the apples, and stir until they are coated with the spice mixture and just slightly tender.  Add the walnut and the caramel sauce and stir until combined. 

Spoon the caramel apple sauce over the cupcakes and serve. 

Apple Pie- the Ultimate Comfort Food?

Sometimes life is hard.  Sometimes, things are stressful, days are long, and there doesn't appear to be an end in sight.  Sometimes you just want something comforting to envelope you like a big hug and squeeze until that monster under your bed has found a new home to live in.  Sometimes you just want to indulge in something that brings you back to childhood, when your biggest concern was staying up past your bed time, and not that terrible deadline that is looming.  On days like those, a nice big slice of apple pie is often all that's needed to bring you the comfort that you so desperately seek. 

Now, I know what you're going to say- it isn't the season for apple pie!  Apple pie is supposed to be made with it's cold outside and the wind howls and that "white stuff" falls from the sky.  Traditionally, sure, I agree with you. However, when life is handing you a rough hand, I see nothing wrong with perking up with a nice slice of homemade apple pie- and maybe even top it with some ice cream!

With all of this in mind, I set off this weekend to my first ever apple pie- a task I have always left to my mother.  I began with the pie crust.  Ever since my trip to King Arthur Flour earlier this summer, I have wondered if my pie crust knowledge would translate in my own kitchen, or if I would fail without the watchful aid of the King Arthur Flour ladies on my side.  I figured there was no way to find out without trying and so I cracked open my big King Arthur cookbook and got to work on their basic pie dough.

2 2/1 cups all purpose flour
1 cup butter (cold)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup - 1/2 cup ice cold water

As I was taught at KAF, I whisked together the salt and the flour, then I cut half the butter into the dry ingredients and combined the two with a fork.  Then I added the remainder of the butter in the same way.  The idea here is that when you add the butter in two batches, pieces of the butter remain in tact to some degree and are pretty big in the dough.  The benefit to some of the butter keeping its size, is that when you go to bake the dough later, the butter melts in the oven and creates steam.  That steam creates that lovely flaky affect in the pastry.  After adding the butter- is the "tricky" part.  Add the water, just a little at a time, until the dough holds together when you make a ball.  The challenge here it to a. not use too much water (pasty-yuck), and b. to not over work the dough.  If you handle the dough too much, the butter will melt and you can say good bye to those flakes we were hoping for.  Once the ingredients are combined, turn out the dough, which will still be a little crumbly, and lump it together on your counter top.  Using the heels of your hands, push the dough together and then kneed it out away from you in one motion, fold it and kneed it one more time.  The dough should be well formed at this point, wrap it in Saran wrap or wax paper and refrigerate for at least two hours- I left if there over night.

The next morning, armed with my pie crust and 7 Granny Smith apples, I made my way to my mothers to take full advantage of both her expertise and her air conditioning.  We peeled the outer skins off the apples, cored them, and sliced them.  Then we combined a bout a cup of sugar, a couple of tablespoons of flour, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste and just a spot of salt in a small bowl.  We had no exact measurements.  My mom's apple pie is a feeling- if the apples are very juicy- a little extra flour is added, if they are a bit dry, less is used.  If the apples are extra sweet, less sugar is used- and so on until perfect marriages are found.  We added the dry ingredients to the apples, tossed, and then let them hang out together, marinating in the spices and allowing the juices and flavors to mingle.  

I rolled out half my pie crust and lined the bottom of a square pie plate, and then rolled out the other half for the pies top.  In this piece of dough I etched a tree-some might have called it an apple tree-personally I don't think my artistic skills warranted that.  However, once the oven was heated to 425 degrees, we loaded the apples into the pie plate, dotted the top of the apples with just small little pats of butter for a little extra "love", covered them with the top pastry level, squeezed the two pastry layers together and painted the top with heavy cream to give color to the top dough.  Then, as an added touch, we sprinkled an even mix of cinnamon and sugar over the top for some fun crunch and flavor. 

I ask you-is there anything, anything, so wonderful as apple pie?  The spicy flavors from the cinnamon and nutmeg combined with the sweet tart apples all encased by flaky pastry...it is heaven on a plate. 

What is your favorite comfort food?  When you've had a tough day- what do you most want to help you get through it?   

Pork chops with Pumpkin Cider sauce, and Arugula Gremolata salad makes another appearance

Though I say it about almost every season, I think that Fall really is my favorite. Everything about it just wonderful- orange pumpkins decorating the window boxes and stoops, mums are out, apples everywhere, the kid like charm of running through freshly fallen leaves...its just wonderful. The flavors of this season are some of my very favorites as well (so much so I tend to use them far into winter as well...shhhhh). Last night was one of those beautifully crisp days that lets you know that winter is on its way- and therefore to me- it was a perfect day to make a dinner to celebrate October.
I was in a "foreign" kitchen last night so I neglected to take as many photos as usual- so the final product will have to do :-). I decided to make pork chops, with a sauce for a tribute to the season, and serve with a salad that to me really encompasses the season. The salad that I made is actually one that I've made several times- Arugula with a Gremolata dressing (http://abostonfooddiary.blogspot.com/2008/11/chicken-and-arugula-salad-with.html) -for last night I just omitted the chicken.
Having a tried and true salad in the bag, I got to concentrate heavily on the main course. I had found some really beautiful boneless pork chops in the grocery store, and had picked them up with sage, garlic, and was happy to find a whole shelf full of wonderful canned pumpkin (what pumpkin shortage??). I also made sure I had some of my favorite hard cider on hand-Strongbow.
My first task back in the kitchen was to chop a couple of cloves of garlic, several leaves of sage and mash them together in a bowl with a little kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. I rubbed this mixture onto the pork chops, placed them in a Ziploc bag, and then covered them with about half a can of Strongbow. I removed any air from the bag and then let them marinate in the fridge while I made the salad.
After they had marinated for about 20 minutes or so, I heated a skillet pan on the stove top with just about a tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive oil. I also preheated the oven to 400 degrees. Once the pan was at a hot enough level-I added the pork chops for them to sear. Once both sides had gotten a nice golden brown to them, I transferred the pan to the oven for them to finish cooking. Then I turned my attention to a sauce I wanted to make.
I melted about a teaspoon of butter into a sauce pan, and added two cloves of chopped garlic, several leaves of chopped sage, a pinch of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. After those flavors had nicely melded I added a handful of dried cranberries and at the same time, another half a can or so of Strongbow cider to the pot, and then set it to boil and reduce. Once the cider had reduced significantly, and the flavors were becoming really nice and concentrated, I stirred in about a half a can of pumpkin. This added as a really nice thickener to the sauce, and again boosted that fall flavor thing. It also made a really pretty color. I allowed that to simmer for a few minutes, and then tasted it again- added a bit more chopped sage, and a little less than half a teaspoon of butter to round out the flavors, and the sauce was complete.
The pork chops finished in the oven, and I was able to serve a plate with a generous serving of salad, and a beautiful pork chop covered in Pumpkin Cider sauce. The sauce had some really amazing flavor to it-each element really played well off of each other. The sage had that wonderful earthy flavor to it, pared with the pumpkin that has its own wonderful flavor, and adds a really nice creaminess when used. The cider added the sweet side, and it was really played off well with the tart cranberries. The flavors of that sauce were fantastic- and echoed really nicely with the flavors of the pork chop.
The salad was a good accompaniment in that it added a certain level acidity with the Gremolata dressing that was missing in the main dish, as well as the differing textures.
All together, we agreed, that this was a great fall dish. Each of the different flavors of the season were nicely portrayed in a delicious and easy dish. The part that I really loved about this was that it really wasn't at all time consuming. Each piece of it could be done as another piece was marinating/cooking/melding and it just made for a super simple, filling, and tasty week night meal.