Plate to Plate

You guys like Smitten Kitchen as much as I do, right? What is there not to like? Deb is a genius. She almost makes me fondly romanticize the minuscule, zero-counter-spaced, three-quarter-size-ovened kitchen that Dan and I spent our first years together cooking in. Almost. (Believe me, there is much to be romanticized about living in New York, and I spend a great portion of every week dedicated to the task, but the tiny kitchen isn’t one of them.)

So when I returned home from Vermont recently with a haul of apples and a burning desire for some kind of moist, sweet, spicy, cakey apple concoction, I immediately thought of Smitten Kitchen. Because the woman can turn out some really great cakes. She is one of those rare people who can cook and bake equally well. Really well, even.

Into my Google toolbar I typed: “apple cake smitten kitchen.” And of course I wasn’t disappointed. Top hit — Mom’s Apple Cake. I made the cake, subbing in just a touch of whole wheat pastry flour for the APF, and it was phenomenal. Best part: thick chunks of soft, cinnamony apple laced through the dough.

Idea: slice it thick, and drizzle with some homemade caramel.
Idea: stick it in the toaster, and have it with tea.
Idea: save a few slices, let them go stale, then french toast them.
Idea: eat the whole damn thing in two days.

Smitten Kitchen’s Apple Cake

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, obvs.

6 apples, SK likes McIntosh
1 tablespoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar

2 cups flour, sifted
3/4 whole wheat pastry flour, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a tube pan. Peel, core and chop apples into chunks. Toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones, then add eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.

Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean.