ffwd - apple cake

Originally, I tried to post the photo from my phone, but it looks like that didn't work at all. Boo.

I made two Dorie apple cakes this week - her Double Apple Cake from BFMHTY and the French Fridays' recipe for the week - Marie-Helene's Apple Cake. It was a great excuse to use up some apples that a friend picked. I preferred the Double Apple Cake, and hubby preferred Marie-Helene's. Both of us enjoyed both thoroughly!

I was able to use an 8" springform for the first time on Marie-Helene's cake. I bought a set of three to get the 10" for a Martha Stewart cheesecake several years ago, and the 8" has been sadly neglected since then. My apples were smaller, and the receipe called for larger apples, so I added an extra apple, and it seemed to work out nicely. Look at that pretty browning!


I had to buy a bundt cake pan. A couple of years ago I had a fit and threw out any bundts I had because I couldn't convince a cake to come out cleanly. Given my prior fits, I'm pretty proud of how this one turned out! Maybe I can face bundts again.

Tres Leche

One of my co-workers recently celebrated a birthday, and his cake request was for tres leche cake. I'd never made one before, so I wanted to go with a source I trusted. I found an Alton Brown recipe, and figured it was the way to go. It definitely was.

Alton Brown's Tres Leche Cake

Ingredients

For the cake:
Vegetable oil
6 3/4 ounces cake flour, plus extra for pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces sugar
5 whole eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the glaze:
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup half-and-half
For the topping:
2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the topping:
2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly oil and flour a 13 by 9-inch metal pan and set aside.
Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
Place the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until fluffy, approximately 1 minute.

Decrease the speed to low and with the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar over 1 minute. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl, if necessary.

Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix to thoroughly combine.

Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine.

Add the flour mixture to the batter in 3 batches and mix just until combined.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly. This will appear to be a very small amount of batter.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake is lightly golden and reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees F.
Remove the cake pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 30 minutes.

Poke the top of the cake all over with a skewer or fork. Allow the cake to cool completely and then prepare the glaze.

For the glaze:
Whisk together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and the half-and-half in a 1-quart measuring cup.

Once combined, pour the glaze over the cake.

Refrigerate the cake overnight.

Topping:
Place the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer.

Using the whisk attachment, whisk together on low until stiff peaks are formed.

Change to medium speed and whisk until thick. Spread the topping over the cake and allow to chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

I really liked it, but found that the milk glaze pooled in the bottom of the pan once a slice had been cut out. I'm not sure if this is normal, but it did deter some of my co-workers who were unfamiliar with tres leche. In general, it just wasn't a very pretty cake, so I'll spare you pictures. The topping was to die for though. I could have eaten in straight!

Mr. Lover's cake

Mr. L celebrated his birthday last month, and of course, I was quick to offer to make a cake for him. He's usually pretty good about not keeping sweets around the house, and he's a bit of a foodie, so I thought he'd jump at the chance to have a made-to-order, made from scratch cake for his birthday. Not so much. I underestimated the power of nostalgia. The order I got was for one boxed mix yellow cake with canned chocolate frosting. He didn't even want any fun decorations like sprinkles! So, he got one ugly sheet cake. But yeah, there is something incredibly comforting and Delicious about a classic box cake. I liked it too.

Friday Sugar High: Citrus

True to my word, I tried a recipe from a new cookbook, Noses and Tails. I bought it from the Rockbridge County SPCA, and the recipes all looked to be fairly easy contributions from friends of the SPCA.

This seemed like a good month to start playing along with Friday Sugar High, and tartlette chose citrus as this month's theme! Orange is citrus, right?

Orange Cake

1.5 cups sugar
1 cup room-temp butter
zest of one orange (My zester disappeared, and I actually don't own a grater, so I literally peeled the orange. I haven't tasted it yet, but I have hope that the pieces weren't too big)
1/2 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup sour cream
3 eggs, separated

Preheat oven to 350.
Cream together sugar and butter.
Add egg yolks.
Sift together baking soda, baking powder, and flour. (I obviously didn't bother with this step)
Add dry mixture and sour cream (alternating) to creamed mixture.
Stir in nuts and orange zest.
In a seperate bowl, whip egg whites until firm, but not dry.
Fold egg whites into batter.
Pour into tube pan - bake at 350 for 50 min, or until done.

Glaze

1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup triple sec (orange liquor)
2 tbsp almond slivers (I went ahead and used all of a 1/4 cup bag)

Stir together orange juice and triple sec.
Pour over hot cake.
Add almond slivers.