I love to redefine the formula of a butter cake batter every now and then, especially to create a dreamy one that’s a little lavish, perhaps less conventional and tailored to the texture and essence of the main ingredient.
Such is this butter-and-cream-cheese-enriched batter, designed to highlight fresh apple chunks. It was inspired by little more than my pushing a shopping cart up and down the dairy aisle. The cake is so welcome as an autumnal dessert.
Cream cheese was not in the original plan. As I walked, the concept of skipping a liquid component (such as buttermilk or whole milk) in favour of adding a dense one (sour cream or yogurt) plus an additional egg yolk seemed like an effective way to build a mixture for supporting lots of fruit.
And it was. With the introduction of a small amount of cream cheese, the crumb became even more tender. An easy cinnamon-sugar finish completes the cake, creating a scented surface that is airy rather than baked-in. For me, it’s simple baking arithmetic: a few apples (plus) pantry staples (equals) a luscious confection.
HARVEST APPLE CAKE
12 servings (makes one 9-inch cake)
The tender chunks of apple help make this butter-and-cream-cheese cake moist and flavourful — a simple sweet for offering throughout the day and especially at brunch.
After two years of apple-baking testing, Lisa Yockelson reports that a wide variety of apples can be chunked up and used for a recipe such as this one. Rome Beauty, Cortland, Jonathan, McIntosh, Stayman and Empire apples meld beautifully, as do Fuji, Jonagold, Northern Spy, Winesap and York Imperial.
MAKE AHEAD: The cake can be made a day in advance and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.
From cookbook author Lisa Yockelson.
Ingredients
1 2/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt, preferably fine sea salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
8 tbs (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, plus 1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups peeled, cored and diced “cooking” apples (see headnote), in 1/2-inch chunks (3 to 4 medium apples)
3 tbs sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Steps
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use flour-and-oil spray to coat the inside of a 9-inch round baking pan with 2-inch sides.
For the batter: Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg onto a sheet of wax paper.
Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the cream cheese and beat for 1 to 2 minutes; scrape down the sides of the bowl. On moderately high speed, blend in the sugar in 3 additions, beating for 45 seconds after each addition, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition for 30 seconds or until just incorporated. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract, beating. At this point, the batter will look slightly curdled, but it will smooth out after the flour mixture is incorporated.
On low speed, beat in the flour mixture in 2 additions, mixing just until the particles of flour are absorbed. The batter will be thick. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the apple chunks.
Scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan, smoothing the surface. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the cake has risen and set. It should pull away slightly from the sides of the pan. The top of the cake will be a medium-golden colour and will look somewhat bumpy due to the chunks of fruit embedded in the batter.
Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto another cooling rack, lift off the baking pan, then invert again to stand right side up.
For the topping: whisk together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. While the cake is still warm, sprinkle the mixture evenly over the top of the cake. To serve, use a serrated knife to cut the cake into wedges.
Nutrition per serving: 250 calories, 4g protein, 36g carbohydrates, 11g fat, 6g saturated fat, 70mg cholesterol, 115mg sodium, 1g dietary fibre, 22g sugar
— Washington Post
