apple cranberry bundt cake

I love pie.  I love apple pie.  I love eating it for every meal (thank goodness this only happens over Thanksgiving, or I would have to kiss a balanced diet goodbye!).  What I do not love?  The TIME it takes to make a pie.  I was feeling lazy (as usual), and wondering how I was going to use up the apples I picked when I went out to an orchard 2 weeks ago… and I turned to the internet.  This recipe was originally a loaf.  I turned it into a Bundt loaf?  But that sounds weird, so I’m calling it cake.  It has icing, after all!

Apple Cranberry Bundt Cake (modified from a Taste of Home recipe)

INGREDIENTS

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 cups chopped, peeled tart apples (in 1/2 inch chunks)

1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Coat a Bundt pan thoroughly with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.  In a small bowl, whisk eggs and oil together until combined. Stir eggs and oil into the dry ingredients just until moistened (batter will be very thick & heavy). Fold in apples, cranberries and walnuts.

Transfer batter to the prepared Bundt pan and press down into the mold. Bake for 60-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.  

Top with a glaze if desired (I used the same one from the Nutmeg Buttermilk Coookies last week, but with cinnamon instead of nutmeg). 

Note: The dough is very sticky and heavy, and it required 2 utensils to maneuver into the baking pan.  That said, it baked up very nicely and meshes well with the cranberry and apple.  So don’t be discouraged by how heavy it is.  It’ll turn out!

Recommended for: a great way to use up your leftover apples and cranberries, as a delicious and colorful addition to afternoon tea, and as a not-too-sweet fruity dessert for your fall feast.

Interested in other food-related posts?  Check out Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking!

cranberry duff

When I held a Canadian Thanksgiving party in October, I stocked up on all the fall food essentials at Costco, where you can’t help but buy in bulk.  That’s how I ended up with a five-pound bag of cranberries.   I made cranberry sauce and Cape Cod October Pie, but still had many cranberries left over.  I stuck them in the freezer, and now I have the impetus to try all those cranberry recipes I’ve stockpiled.  This Cranberry Duff seemed like a good place to start (and for your information, the dictionary defines duff as a ‘stiff pudding’ – but this is more like an upside down cake).

Cranberry Duff (modified from this Martha Stewart recipe)

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup unsalted butter, (1 stick), softened

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1/3 cup walnuts, chopped

1/3 cup plus 1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking dish using 2 tablespoons butter (reserve rest for recipe). Spread cranberries evenly over bottom of dish, then sprinkle walnuts on top.  Cover with 1/3 cup sugar; set aside.

Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a microwave-safe bowl or in saucepan over the stove; set aside. Place egg and the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in medium-size bowl. Beat with electric mixer on medium-high speed until pale and thick, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to medium-low and gradually beat in flour, then salt. Pour in melted butter in a steady stream, beating until smooth.

Pour (or in my case, ladle) batter into pan to cover cranberries. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour. Let cool 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge to loosen, and invert to unmold onto a serving platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.  Yields 6 servings.

The first thing I should tell you is that this smells divine while baking, and you’ll be tempted to take it out of the oven and eat it early.  Resist!  Golden brown and thoroughly baked is the way to go. The second thing is that if the finished dessert is resisting your attempts to get it out of the baking dish, give up and serve like brownies.  Or, you know... end up with a mess (I may have learned this the hard way).  No matter what it will be delicious, though, so don't worry: happiness guaranteed.

Recommended for: when you’re inspired to bake on a fall day, an unusual take on the upside down cake, and a sweet and tart treat that goes beautifully with an afternoon cup of coffee or tea.

Interested in other food-related posts?  Check out Beth Fish Reads’ Weekend Cooking.

cape cod october pie

Last year I took on the job of making the pies at extended family Thanksgiving.  It went well.  I’m doing it again this year.  The problem with pie-making is that I’ll only expend that kind of energy on a ‘need to’ basis.  But knowing me, I would forget the secrets of pie dough from one year to the next.  So…I decided to host Canadian Thanksgiving this last Monday to keep my hand in.  To make life that much more interesting, I tried a NEW type of pie.  The original recipe was provided by Big A’s mother (Big A is my roommate’s boyfriend), and it says it’s from Miss Ruby’s Cornucopia.  It was a HIT.

Cape Cod October Pie

INGREDIENTS

pastry for a two-crust pie (I used this pie crust recipe)

1 1/2 cups cranberries, coarsely chopped

1 cup peeled, cored and diced apples (I added an additional 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 Tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup cranberry juice (I’d leave this out if I made the recipe again)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 Tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry rolled to 1/8-inch thickness, set aside.

Toss together the cranberries, apples, raisins and walnuts with the sugar, flour, cinnamon, cranberry juice and vanilla in a medium-sized bowl.  Spoon carefully into the unbaked pie shell and dot with butter.  Cut strips from remaining pie crust (which can be rolled a tad thicker than the bottom for ease) and make a lattice over the top of the pie.  Crimp together the edges of lattice and bottom crust.  Sprinkle lightly with sugar if desired.  Bake for 40 minutes, or until fruits are tender and pastry is brown.  Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

I noted above that I’d leave out the cranberry juice if I made the pie again – and that’s because there was a lot of liquid in the fruit mixture even after baking.  It didn’t seem to affect anyone’s enjoyment – it was gone before I could even get a piece.  I’d say Cape Cod October Pie was a smashing success.  Besides, it’s so pretty!  Although clearly I am not the world's most expert lattice maker.  Whatever.

Recommended for: a flavorful and unusual pie at any party that requires an autumnal crowd-pleaser.

Interested in other food-related posts?  Check out Beth Fish Reads’ Weekend Cooking.