Double Apple Bundt Cake

This cake is made with both applesauce and diced Granny Smith apples.  We used a chunky applesauce, but feel free to experiment with your favorite style.  The cake is wonderfully moist and aromatic, and makes a nice afternoon snack with a cup of creamed tea, or a tasty evening dessert.

Double Apple Bundt Cake

Ingredients

1          cup            butter, room temp

2          cups           sugar

5                           eggs

1 1/2     tsp            vanilla

2           tsp            lemon zest

3           cups          unbleached A.P. flour

1 1/2     tsp            baking soda

1/2        tsp            baking powder

1 1/2     tsp            cinnamon

1/4        tsp            salt

1/4        tsp            nutmeg

1/4        tsp            allspice

1/4        tsp            ginger

1 1/2     cup            homestyle applesauce with cinnamon and brown sugar

2                            granny smith apples, peeled and diced

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 300° convection (350° conventional), place shelf in middle of oven.
2. Butter and flour bundt pan.
3. Combine dry and set aside.
4. Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping bowl each time.
5. Add lemon zest and vanilla and combine well.
6. Alternate between adding dry and apple sauce, starting and finishing with dry.
7. Fold in diced apples, then fill bundt pan.
8. Bake until done through to center and cake is golden brown, 80 minutes in our oven.
9. Cool on rack completely, then remove from pan.  Serve at room temperature.

Flatbread with Sauteed Apples, Fennel, Radicchio, Escarole and Stilton

This flatbread, with its pungent leafy greens, tart apples and strong blue cheese, practically screams autumn.  But here In Houston, our growing seasons are a bit upside down.  We grow fall vegetables such as leafy greens, lettuce and brassicas during the winter for a spring harvest in order to avoid the impossibly hot summer temperatures that start as early as April.  This means we are eating vegetables like collards, fava beans, chickpeas, and escarole in the spring instead of the fall.   While we're enjoying the last of these wonderful vegetables, our snap beans, tomatoes, and other summer vegetables are also maturing, a clear sign it's the end of our spring vegetable season.

This flatbread includes both radicchio and escarole from the garden, two of our favorite chicories.  These plants, started last October, have far exceeded expectations by producing massive, thick heads of leafy greens.   We also use a fennel bulb from the garden.  All these plants are suffering badly due to our high temperatures.  We're hoping the fennel will last a few more weeks still, but the chicories are about done for the season.  To enjoy this flatbread despite the heat, we just turned up the air conditioning and let the flavors serve as a reminder that cooler weather, at least here in Houston, is only about five months away.

Flatbread with Sauteed Apples, Fennel, Radicchio, Escarole and Stilton

Ingredients

2           cup             escarole leaves, washed, stems removed and 
                               coarsely chopped
2           cup             radicchio leaves, washed, stems removed and 
                               coarsely chopped
1           cup             apple juice
1                             small fennel bulb, thinly sliced, about 1 1/4 cups
1                             Granny Smith apple, very thinly sliced
                               sea salt and black pepper
1           Tbs             olive oil, plus more for flatbread
1           Tbs             butter
3           oz               Stilton or other strong blue cheese, crumbled
                               (we used Neal's Yard Colston Basset Stilton)                   
1                             ball flatbread dough, at room temp for 5 minutes before rolling out
                               flour for rolling out dough and cornmeal for peel
Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 450° and place rack in top third of oven.  Place pizza stone on rack and heat, ideally for one hour, before baking flatbread.
2. Heat apple juice over medium high until it is reduced in volume to 1/3 cup.
3. Heat olive oil, fennel, 1/4 tsp salt and a few pinches of pepper over medium.  Saute about 2 minutes, then add greens and another 1/4 tsp salt and another pinch of pepper.  Cook until greens are wilted, about 2 minutes.
4. Add apples and apple juice and continue to cook until greens are very soft.
5. Remove from heat and leave in the pan to cool.  Add the butter and toss together.
6. Roll out dough on a well-floured surface.  Cover very lightly with olive oil.
7. Spread half the cheese over the dough, then add greens and apples.  Top with remaining cheese, and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
8. Bake until bread is crispy and golden brown and cheese is well melted.  Serve immediately.

Printable Recipe

Other Escarole recipes from Vegetable Matter:
Escarole Soup with Arborio Rice and Escarole Blue Cheese Crostini

Taleggio Melt with Escarole and Fig Jam

Salad of Bitter Italian Greens, Strawberries and Parmesan

Panini with Braised Escarole, Apples and Walnuts

Panini with Braised Escarole, Apples and Walnuts

Escarole is a type of endive, all of which are chicories.   Like other chicories, escaroles prefer cool temperatures and are grown in Houston as a winter green.  This variety is Natacha from Johnny's Seeds.  We started seeds in August and September, and our garden is now full of rows of escarole ready for harvest. 

Escarole forms big heads of mildly bitter, soft leaves.  The leaves in the center are supposed to be milder in flavor, but we always use the whole head together.  Escarole is rich in folic acid, fiber, and vitamins A and K, and makes a wonderful cooked green.  Here we continue our sandwich series* with a panini stuffed with braised escarole, sautéed apples and toasted walnuts.   The sweet apples, bitter greens and earthy nuts meld perfectly in this filling panini.  Using escarole fresh from the garden makes it taste even better.

Panini with Braised Escarole, Sautéed Apples and Toasted Walnuts
makes 2 panini

Ingredients

2           Tbs            butter
1/2                          Granny Smith apple, thickly sliced
1                             shallot, thinly sliced
2                             garlic cloves, minced
1                             escarole head, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2       tsp              cider vinegar
1          Tbs             water
1/4       cup             walnuts, chopped and toasted
4                             slices sourdough or similar bread
                               sea salt and black pepper
                               olive oil for pan

Procedure

1. Sautée apple in 1 Tbs butter over medium heat until soft and starting to caramelize, about 2 minutes.  Remove apples from pan and set aside.
2. Add remaining 1 Tbs butter to pan and sautée shallot over medium-low heat until softened.  Add garlic and cook briefly, then add escarole and sautée until it starts to wilt.  Add vinegar and water and cook until tender, about four more minutes.  Add apples, walnuts, and salt and pepper to taste and sautée briefly.
3. Top bread slices with braised escarole filling and grill on panini press or in pan lightly coated with olive oil.  If using pan, use another pan to press sandwich, and weigh down with a tea kettle or similar.  Flip to evenly grill both sides and serve immediately.

 Check out our other sandwiches in this series:
Panini with Anjou Pears, Caramelized Walnuts, Brie and Arugula Pesto Mayo
Caramelized Apple Melt with Aged Cheddar and Arugula
Green Apple, Caramelized Onion and Brie Panini

Green Apple, Brie and Caramelized Onion Panini

Because our restaurant specializes in panini and soup, we rarely make either at home.  The last thing David wants to do is come home and cook more of what he spent all day preparing at Be-Wiched.  But for some reason, we've been on a bit of a sandwich kick at home the last few weeks.  It started with our Caramelized Apple Melt with Aged Cheddar and Arugula last week, and the theme, albeit unintentional, seems to be fruit and cheese on bread.

This week, our panini combines rich caramelized onions with tart Granny Smith apples and creamy brie (our favorite is Saint-André).  Wonderful, intense flavors from just main three ingredients.  And, the onions are the only real cooking that is required, making this a quick recipe ideal for a late dinner when you're too tired to make anything elaborate.    The only problem is that it is hard to stop at just one sandwich.

Green Apple, Brie and Caramelized Onion Panini
adapted from mariannika.wordpress.com

Ingredients

2           Tbs           olive oil
2 1/2     cups          onions, sliced
2           Tbs           brown sugar
1           Tbs           balsamic vinegar
1                            Granny Smith apple, sliced thinly
4                            slices thick sourdough bread
4       oz                  brie, sliced thinly

Procedure

1. Heat 1 Tbs olive oil over medium high and saute onions until they start to brown, about 10 minutes. 
2. Reduce heat to medium and add balsamic vinegar and brown sugar.  Stir frequently until onions are a dark brown, at least 10 minutes.  Remove from heat to cool.
3. Assemble sandwiches with caramelized onions, brie and apple slices.  Heat remaining olive oil in pan or use panini press and add sandwiches.  If you're using a pan, place another pan on top of the sandwiches and weigh it down with a tea kettle or something similarly heavy to press and toast the sandwiches.  Flip over when the first side is golden brown and toasted and repeat.  Eat immediately.

Caramelized Apple Melt with Aged Cheddar and Arugula

Arugula is a year-round green in our garden.  In the summer months, the leaves don't get big but the flavor is amazingly intense.  At this time of year, the leaves are huge, and the flavor equally wonderful.  We're now harvesting our winter arugula on a regular basis, and starting new seeds for spring.  We especially love the arugula from Franchi Sementi, available at Seeds from Italy and Botanical Interests.

This sandwich plays the strong, bitter flavor of arugula against gooey, sweet caramelized apples and sharp cheddar cheese.  Use as much or little arugula as you please.  Ours is so intense, a little goes a long way, but we still loaded our sandwiches up with several leaves and even included the stems.

Caramelized Apple Melt with Aged Cheddar and Arugula
makes 2 sandwiches

Ingredients

1                           medium red delicious apple
6         Tbs            unsalted butter
1/3      cup            sugar
2         tsp             cinnamon
1 1/2   tsp             nutmeg
6                           thick slices extra sharp white cheddar
8                           big arugula leaves
4                           slices pumpernickel bread

Procedure

1. Peel and dice apples into 1/2" cubes.
2. Melt butter in large skillet over medium.
3. Add sugar and stir until sugar begins to melt, about 1 minute.
4. Add apples and saute until brown and tender, and juices form, about 10 minutes.
5. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon, leaving juices in the pan.
6. Add cinnamon and nutmeg to juices in pan and mix well.
7. Return pan to medium heat, then add bread slices.  Brown well, then flip and repeat. 
8. While second side of bread is toasting in pan, place cheddar slices on two of the bread slices so the cheese will melt.
9. When bread is browned, removed from pan.  Add caramelized apples and arugula (3-4 per sandwich depending on how strong your arugula is), and assemble sandwiches.  Eat while still warm.

Granny Smith Apple Fritters

No need for a deep fryer; these fritters cooked beautifully in a saucepan on the stove.  You'll need the oil to be about 2 inches deep.  If you let the kids help out as we did, just be sure to supervise closely to ensure the safety of both your kids and your fritters.

Granny Smith Apple Fritters
makes about 12 fritters

Ingredients

1         cup            unbleached A.P. flour
1/4      cup            sugar
3/4      tsp             salt
1 1/2   tsp             baking powder
1         tsp             cinnamon
1/3      cup            whole milk
1                           egg
1                           Granny Smith apple, peeled, with 1/2 finely diced and the other 1/2 shredded
                             vegetable oil for frying
                             thermometer
                             powdered sugar and milk for glaze

Procedure

1. Heat vegetable oil to 375° (use a candy thermometer).
2. While oil is heating, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon.
3. Add milk and egg until just combined. 
4. Add diced and shredded apple.
5. Drop a heaping tablespoon of dough into oil.  Fry until well browned, using slotted spoon to make sure doughnut is fried on both sides.   
6. Remove to paper towels to dry.
7. Combine about 1 T milk with enough powdered sugar to make a thick glaze (about 1 cup).  Drizzle over apple fritters.  Flip doughnuts over and glaze other side.
8. Eat while still warm.
   

Granny Smith Apple Risotto

Apples and parmesan cheese may sound like an odd combination, but the flavors in the savory risotto will convince you otherwise.   We vegetarianized Mario Batali's recipe and added more cheese (can you ever have enough parmesan?), but otherwise remained true to the original.  We still have lots of Italian parsley in the garden which is loaded with flavor.  If you use store-bought parsley (which in our experience is quite bland), you may want to double the quantity for this recipe.

Granny Smith Apple Risotto
adapted from Mario Batali's Simple Italian Food

Ingredients

4 -5            cups       vegetable stock, warmed up
4                 Tbs        butter
2                 Tbs        olive oil
1                               red onion, diced
2                               Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced
2                cups        arborio rice
1                cup          dry white wine
3/4             cup          parmesan, grated
1/4             cup          Italian parsley, chopped
                                  sea salt and black pepper to taste

Procedure

1. Saute onion in 2 Tbs butter and 2 Tbs olive oil over medium heat until just soft.
   
2. Add apples and rice and simmer 4 minutes.
3. Add wine and simmer until wine evaporates.
4. Add enough warm stock to cover the rice and simmer until the liquid goes below the top of the rice.  Keep adding stock and cooking until most of the stock has been absorbed, about 18 minutes.  Stir frequently to prevent sticking.  Rice should be tender but not mushy.
5. Add 2 Tbs butter, 1/2 cup cheese and parsley and combine well.  Season with salt and pepper.
6. Serve topped with parmesan cheese and fresh apple slices.
   

Apple Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

The second night of Hannukah was a pot-luck dinner.  Our contribution was an apple cake from Dorie Greenspan's From My Home to Yours.  Although apples are traditionally associated with Rosh Hashanah, for us here in Houston it is just now cool enough to crave apples and other autumn desserts.  We stayed true to the recipe for the most part, but added a cream cheese icing instead of the sugary glaze in the original.  This amazingly moist and flavorful cake is easy to prepare, and will keep well for several days at room temperature if well-wrapped.

Apple Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
based on Dorie Greenspan's Double Apple Bundt Cake

Ingredients

Cake
2             cups        unbleached A.P. flour
2             tsp           baking powder
1/2          tsp           baking soda
1/2          tsp           cinnamon
1/4          tsp           nutmeg
1/4          tsp           ginger
1/4          tsp           salt
10           Tbs          unsalted butter, at room temp
1 1/2       cup          sugar
2                             eggs, at room temp
1             cup          apple butter
2                             red apples, peeled and grated
1/2          cup          pecans, chopped
1/2          cup          walnuts
1/2          cup          dark raisins

Icing
8             oz            cream cheese, at room temp
1/4          cup          butter, at room temp
1             cup          powdered sugar, sifted
1/4          tsp           vanilla

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 300 convection (350 regular), with shelf in the middle. 
2. Butter and flour bundt pan.
3. Combine first 7 ingredients, mix with a fork or whisk, and set aside.
4. Cream butter and sugar on medium high until fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating about 1 minute after each.
5. Reduce speed to low and add apple butter.  Scrape sides and mix under well incorporated.  Batter will look ugly and curdled.
6. Add grated apples and mix well.
7. Add dry ingredients and mix on low until fully incorporated.  Don't overmix.
8. Fold in nuts and raisins.
9. Fill bundt pan, then bang on the counter several times to level.
10. Bake straight on oven rack (no sheet pan) until cake is springy and knife comes out clean, about 1 hour in our convection oven at 300 (may be less in a conventional oven at 350).
11. While cake is cooling, make icing:  mix butter and cream cheese until well combined and fluffy.  Add vanilla.  Then add powdered sugar.
12. Because icing must be refrigerated, but cake is best stored at room temperature, do not ice the cake.  Instead, serve slices of cake with the icing on the side.