drowning in apples … Chunky Applesauce Cake

I’m drowning in apples right now. This happens every October/November and it’s not a bad problem to have. My farmer friend Pete had an orchard party and I did some picking – Jonagold, Golden Delicious, Valspar, McIntosh and who knows what else. I just wandered among the trees, putting whatever interested me into my bag so I’m not altogether sure what’s what anyway. My picking adventure resulted in soaking wet boots, two giant bowls that don’t fit in my refrigerator and a need to make some recipes packed with apples. A few days after the party, I made some apple fritters. Two apples down.

Pete, who knows a bit about having a lot of apples, recommended applesauce. It’s not something I eat much of but he had it at the party and it was quite good. He made it in the Instant Pot, and marveled at how quick and super easy it was. We discussed our mutual friend Daniel Shumski, of the Will It Waffle fame, and his latest cookbook that was about to release– How to Instant Pot: Mastering All the Functions of the One Pot That Will Change the Way You Cook. Since it was just before the books release, I asked Pete for his tricks. He told me to throw the peeled, cored apples (in big chunks), a little sweetner (I used honey) and a bit of cinnamon into the pot. Eight minutes at high pressure, release, a stir with a fork and I had applesauce. Was it as full flavored as a stovetop version? No, but it was good and took a fraction of the time, all hands off. I now had a nice batch of chunky applesauce and was down six more apples. Slow progress is still progress.

Now about this Instant Pot craze. I’ve had one for over a year and have really never warmed to it but this applesauce was promising. I’m not sure, for me at least, that it will the the savior others praise but I can see its usefulness in certain circumstances. Since I made this cake, a copy of Dan’s book arrived and it looks great. I’ve made a few things and am confident he’ll help me figure out this machine can work for me (I think the yogurt setting will be my thing). In the meantime, I looked around and realized that I may have been down six apples but I now had a lot of applesauce. I’d turned one problem into another. Yea.

So I decided to make cake. I’ve made plenty of applesauce cakes in my life but what about one with big chunks of soft apples? A quick search turned up an applesauce cake from Food52 that sounded like what I was looking for. Easy, well spiced but the kicker that sold it was a brown sugar caramel glaze. That was enough for me. I did tweak a few things, substituting dark brown sugar for light, increasing the spices a bit and using my chunky applesauce. It was delightful! Fall in a bundt pan. Moist, well spiced, lightly apple-y and that glaze was fantastic. I gave most of it away before I ate the whole thing. Then I made a pear version. Can’t stop, won’t stop.

STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: FANTASTIC FALL FLAVORS. This cake is wonderful; moist with all those great fall baking spice flavors throughout and studded with nice chunks of soft apple. As wonderful as the cake is, that brown sugar caramel glaze really makes it. Sweet, deeply flavored and with a great, almost chewy texture. It was mine, and everyone who had a slice, favorite part. But isn’t that how frosting always works?

Other apple recipes: Fresh Apple Fritters, Apple Pear Crisp, German Apple Cheese Torte, Classic Apple Pie, Simple Apple Cake, Apple Cider Compote and an Orchard Party, Simple Apple Tarts, French Apple Pie, Salted Caramel Apple Pie, French Apple Tart, Apple Cider Rolls, Cider Apple Pie
Eight years ago: Lamb & Ale Stew
Seven years ago: Blue Cheese Dressing with a Wedge Salad
Six years ago: Maple Buttermilk Spoonbread with Glazed Pears
Five years ago: Kale & Squash Salad
Four years ago: Sunday Lunch Ramen
Three years ago: Roasted Delicata Squash – 4 Ways
Two years ago: Simple Apple Tarts
Last year: Chicken Wing Friday – Green Curry Chicken Wings

CHUNKY APPLESAUCE CAKE – slightly adapted from this recipe
Serves 10

for the cake:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
½ cup dark brown sugar
1 ½ cups unsweetened chunky applesauce (14 ounces) (preferably homemade)
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the caramel glaze:
4 Tablespoons butter, cut into chunks
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar

1. Heat the oven to 350°F; butter and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan. Place a wire rack on a piece of parchment (or in a parchment lined sheet pan.) Set aside until needed.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, pepper and spices and set aside.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs with both sugars until light and fluffy.
4. Remove from the mixer and with a rubber spatula, mix in the applesauce, oil and vanilla until smooth.
5. Fold in the dry ingredients until just incorporated, taking care not to over-mix.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 45-50 minutes, until a cake tester inserted just off center comes out clean.
7. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes then turn out on the prepared wired rack to cool. Make sure the cake is completely cooled before you make the glaze.
8. For the glaze: melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat then add the brown sugar, cream and salt.
9. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly.
10. Boil for exactly one minute, and then remove from the heat.
11. Let the mixture to cool for a few of minutes, then gradually whisk in the powdered sugar until you have a thick, but pourable consistency (you may not need all the sugar). Whisk occasionally until the mixture is quite thick. If it cools too much or seems too thick, add a splash of cream to thin a little. The thicker/cooler the mixture, the less will run off the cake while glazing.
12. Pour the glaze over the cake, moving slowly and evenly to cover as much surface area as possible. Let the glaze set fully before serving the cake.