De Baking Psychopath

So awhile back, my friend Shannon gifted me a great big jar of applesauce from her last big batch , and I used some of it for some awesome baked oatmeal , but I was even more excited to try out an applesauce cake recipe with the remainder! This cake is lightly sweet, very moist, and oh-so-fragrant from the ample oat-cinnamon streusel lining the bottom and rippling through the middle of the cake. It kept very well for several days in an airtight container, and if anything, developed more apple-y character and moistness over time! It is a splendid anytime cake and very versatile. Applesauce Cake with Oatmeal Streusel (adapted from Cake Keeper Cakes ) Ingredients: Streusel- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1 cup old-fashioned oats 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits or grated and chilled Cake- 2 & 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar 2 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 ...

Last year, I asked Michael to pick up some pumpkin puree. He came back with pumpkin pie filling (already with sweetener and spices), which would be fine if I made pumpkin pie, but I generally use my pumpkin for non-pie recipes. Luckily, the company has some nice recipes on their website for alternate uses for the pie filling, such as this pumpkin quick bread. I used a cup of chopped apple as the "stir-ins" and sprinkled raw pumpkin seeds on top. The bread was moist and flavorful with a really nice crunchy top crust. You can find the recipe here .

This year for National Bundt Day and our department's yearly fall luncheon, I made the Double Apple Bundt Cake from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From my home to yours . The double apple comes from shredded fresh apple and apple butter in the batter. Instead of raisins, I added 1 cup of frozen cranberries. And to frost it, I topped the cake with my favorite caramel frosting . In full disclosure, this bundt was a Frankenstein bundt! I unmolded the cake when the recipe said I could, but it was so steamy and delicate that I totally cracked it into several pieces trying to get it onto my cake carrier! Good thing the frosting covered up all the seams! Luckily no one really noticed or cared, but they did notice the taste. It was sooo good: moist, full of sweet apple and spice flavors, the tart cranberries were a great contrast, and the caramel frosting just reinforced the fall apple flavors. I got a lot of good feedback and requests for the recipe.  Happy Bundt Da...

Woo! Congrats to Mary the Librarian for surviving another pre-National Bundt Day marathon of bundts ! This is quickly becoming a tradition of epic proportions! With just seven minutes left of National Bundt Day, here is my Bundt-a-licious contribution this year! I decided to make the Pumpkin Apple Bundt Cake as featured by the blog StreamingGourmet for a department Fall luncheon tomorrow. Perfect timing. This cake seriously made my house smell amazing. Cinnamon, pumpkin, apples! I can't wait to try some tomorrow! Find the recipe here . I used Stayman Winesap apples, but any good baking apple would be good here, I suspect. More updates tomorrow on the taste! Update: This cake was SO moist and soft, I highly recommend it! The apples were soft but not mushy, and the pumpkin cake was lightly spiced and moist and just the right level of pumpkin-ness. Super yum.

I have no pretenses--this is a very ugly pie. I had a lot of difficulty rolling out the dough, which wouldn't stay together in one piece enough for me to do any sort of crimping. And there's the issue of the top crust collapsing a bit in the middle. But the marriage of a crazy amount of bourbon (1 cup!) and apples was downright amazing. The alcohol from the bourbon had cooked out, but the full-bodied flavor remained and gave the pie a whole extra dimension. I'd used a combination of Golden Delicious and Fuji apples, and they still maintained some structural integrity despite some cooking and an hour in the oven--excellent news for me, since I am not a fan of mushy apples in pie. It was easily the hit of the evening, especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I still have a whole lot of bourbon left over from the bottle a friend left over at my house, and apple season's only just beginning...I'm thinking this pie will show up a few more times this Fall. Bourbon A...