How Barmy Got Her Groove Back

Well, more like how I'm working on getting my groove back. I decided that I needed to just start browsing my baking books again, this was a daily habit of mine awhile back and when I lost my baking mojo I just kind of let the books sit on the shelf collecting dust. I have now turned to one of my favorite (also a favorite of many many other people)baking books, left my baking mojo to fate and let the book fall open to where it would. As I'm a bit rusty on the blogging bit of things, I'll just get right to it and present you with the Double Apple Bundt Cake from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. It was quite a fortunate fall open, as it was a recipe I hadn't tried yet from the book and the ingredient list reads like heaven. So without further ado, on to the recipe!

Double Apple Bundt Cake (from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours) :

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (I do think next time I'll add a full teaspoon of cinnamon)
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg (I don't really measure my fresh ground nutmeg, I just grate it over the flour and guess when it's enough..mmmmm, fresh ground nutment...)
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 Tbsps or 5 ounces) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup store bought apple butter, spiced or plain (I didn't have any of this on hand, but I had quite a few apples. I made them into a cranberry applesauce and then cooked that down to apple butter consistency the day before I baked this cake. I used approximately 7 apples peeled and sliced, 1/2 cup cranberries, 1 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon and a few grates of fresh nutmeg. Cook it over medium heat in a heavy bottomed saucepan, puree once the apple are soft and then continue to simmer it over low low heat until it reduces by about half.)
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and grated
1 cups pecans or walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup plump, moist raisins (I have my seemingly endless supply of booze soaked raisins, so I used those here...the ones I currently have on hand are soaked in bourbon)
Confectioner's sugar or Icing to finish (optional, Icing recipe to follow)
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-Preheat oven to 350f and position a rack in the center of the oven.
-Butter and flour a 9 to 10 inch Bundt cake pan.
-Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices together and set aside.
-With a stand mixer and paddle attachment, or a hand held mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for about five minutes on medium speed.
-Add the eggs, one at a time, incorporating each before adding another beating one minute for each addition.
-Add the apple butter on low speed. The mixture may appear curdled when you add the apple butter, but that's ok!
-Mix in the grated apple on low speed until completely blended in.
-Continuing on low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix only until the flour just disappears. Gently fold in the raisins and nuts.
-Scrape the batter into the Bundt pan and smooth it out evenly.
-Bake for about 50 to 55 minutes or until a little knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
-Cool the cake for five minutes on a rack and then turn the cake out of the pan. Let the cake cool to room temperature and then either wrap it up, or dust with confectioner's sugar or ice and serve!

the Icing:
1/3 cup confectioner's sugar
2 Tbsp or so of fresh orange or lemon juice
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-Mix together until you get a nice smooth consistency and drizzle over the finished cake.

This cake is moist and delicious, the smell of my apartment was just heavenly. I'll make this again and again for company. Really that's all I can say about it...need I say more?

I do hope G's coworkers enjoy it!

Serve it up with your favorite beverage of choice. I enjoyed my little slice o' heaven with a nice cuppa.

Happy Baking!

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