Spiced Apple Cake
You know those things you find yourself always going back to…? That dish at your favorite restaurant. That old, snuggly sweater. You go back because it’s good. You wear it because it’s comforting. It’s “tried and true.” That’s this cake. When I want a cake with “nailed it” results every time, I make this one. Well, also because it’s chock full of apple chunks, and so that’s healthy… And, if you read my Apple Slab Pie post, you know I eat desserts for breakfast. Only certain desserts, like this one! I’m not a savage…
This cake comes together so simply! It’s perfectly moist. You can make this as a bundt, but a layer cake is absolutely delightful for this recipe. Slather some apple butter between the layers and top with sugared cranberries. You have just found a little slice of heaven.
Check out how easy this cake comes together in my video:
The sugared cranberries are very easy to make, but you’ll want to prepare the cranberries in the simple sugar syrup the day before you need them. Sugared cranberries pair perfectly with this spiced apple cake. They’re festive and fun for the holidays, and you’ll love the sweet-tart *pop* of the cranberry through the crunchy sugar coating when you bite into one.
I made this cake for a brunch with my dear friends before we walked to the Old Town Alexandria Scottish Christmas Parade and it was a hit! This cake is a perfect fit during the holidays, but you’ll see… it is fitting for any time of year and should be eaten at any time of day!
This cake was inspired by the Dishing Up Virginia cookbook. It’s a fantastic cookbook that focuses on regional cooking in Virginia.
Spiced Apple Cake
This spiced apple cake is a must for your holiday menu! Chunks of apples, raisins, spices...and it's the most perfectly moist cake ever!
Ingredients
- Spiced Apple Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1/2 cup grape seed (or vegetable) oil
- 4 cups peeled, finely chopped apples (baking apples are best)
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Glaze
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
- Sugared Cranberries
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar (for the simple syrup)
- 1 cup sugar for coating cranberries (+ 1/2 cup of superfine sugar for final coating, optional)
Instructions
Sugared Cranberries (make the day before you need them)
In a small pot, heat the water and 1/2 cup of sugar until the mixture comes to a simmer and the sugar is dissolved.
Let the water / sugar mixture cool just a bit and then add the cranberries.
Note: if the simple syrup is too hot, the cranberries will pop. You don't want this. You can test out the heat by putting a few cranberries in the syrup to ensure they don't pop. When it has cooled just enough, add the cranberries to the simple syrup.
Allow the cranberries to soak in the simple syrup overnight (you can soak them for at least 1 hour, but overnight is best).
After the cranberries have soaked, strain them (keep the liquid...you now have a cranberry simple syrup!) and place the cranberries on a wire rack covered with parchment paper. Let the cranberries dry out for at least 1 hour.
Place 1 cup of sugar on a plate and roll the cranberries in the sugar to coat them. You can also place superfine sugar on another plate and roll the sugar-coated cranberries in the superfine sugar. It gives the cranberries that extra 'snowy' look!
Use that same day for garnish or as a fun addition to your appetizer spread. They will keep for a couple days in the refrigerator, but they get 'weepy' pretty quick-- so plan to use them the same day you roll them in sugar.
Spiced Apple Cake
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat two 8-inch cake pans or a bundt cake pan in butter or cooking spray.
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and add the eggs, applesauce, and oil. Stir to combine the wet and dry ingredients.
Fold in the chopped apples, raisins, nuts, and lemon juice. The batter will be stiff. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan(s) and bake 1 hour or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean (from the center of the cake).
Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes and then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Glaze
While the cake is cooling, make the glaze by mixing the confectioners sugar, vanilla, and 4 tablespoons of the cream in a medium bowl. Add an additional tablespoon of cream until the glaze is smooth. You don't want it to be stiff and you also don't want it to be runny.
If you've made a layer cake, place the bottom layer on your cake plate and spread a filling of your choice on the bottom layer. I've used the glaze (you'll need to make a double batch if you use the glaze), salted caramel, and apple butter as the filling between the cake layers. My personal favorite is the apple butter! Place the top cake layer on top of the filling coated bottom layer. Pour or spoon the glaze over the top of the cooled cake and let it run down so you can lightly glaze the sides of the cake. Top with sugared cranberries. Ta da!
https://www.travelynneats.com/2018/12/16/spiced-apple-cake/
Apple Slab Pie
I have been trying to rationalize apple pie as breakfast food for years. I don’t know why I love it for breakfast so much, but I do. Maybe it’s the perfect pairing with coffee. Maybe it’s the excuse to stand at the refrigerator and spray canned whipped cream in my mouth first thing in the morning. I don’t know what it is, but I love apple pie in the morning. This year, I took a different approach to my post-apple picking pie making: the slab pie. With my favorite crust recipe and some inspiration from Smitten Kitchen, I was eager to test the slab pie ratio of crust to apples. I loved it and something else happened– the “apple pie for breakfast dilemma” was over. The slab pie was invented to eliminate the guilt of pie for breakfast. Think: healthy pop tart. You’re welcome. 
I look forward to the annual trek to the Virginia countryside to pick apples each fall. Stribling Orchard has become one of my favorites. Picking them off the tree, all the varieties, unwaxed, imperfect apples. I love them. I prefer Stayman apples for apple pie, which they have plenty of at Stribling. This year, I added some Arkansas Blacks to my pie. My friend, Lisa, has been talking about Arkansas Black apples for quite some time. Arkansas Black apples date back to 1870 and are native to Arkansas and Missouri; they are a variety of the Winesap.
When I met with Lisa for dinner recently, she handed me a big ‘ole bag of Southern treats (just thinking about it makes me all “bless her sweet Southern heart”). The treats included Arkansas Black apples; Pure Sorghum Molasses (because I once blurted out “what the hell is sorghum?” when she described what she had placed on her buttered biscuit); Mountain Comb Honey; and Sweet Red Pepper Jelly. Arkansas Black apples (the top apple in the picture below) are medium size, dark brilliant red, and the flesh has a slight honey flavor. They’re beautiful. I felt like I put a little history and some Southern love in my apple slab pie. Bless your sweet Southern heart, Lisa!
Lisa is an incredibly talented person. Accomplished professional, emergency responder in New York City on 9/11, published poet. There are lifetimes of experience in this one amazing person. If you’re lucky enough to dig into her story, you’ll find it slathered with Southern charm, poured over with passion, infused with intellect, and sprinkled with wit. She’s a deep, intriguing soul. Here is a taste of her poetry.
Penitence Enough
If I thought it was penitence enough
for turning my back,
for this fraudulence I wear
like a pond film over my skin,
I’d return home,
and lay deep
in that Old Dominion soil.
I’d pull the hollyhocks close,
sprout pennyroyal – pungent mint
and purple bloom – from my teeth,
my eyes full of nothing
but the backs of Blue Ridge steeps,
ears tipped with corn tassels
and calamus root and nothing
but the roll of the Shenandoah,
the ring of a banjo carried down
on mountain wind.
I would stand still and long
as August heat
till the kudzu took me over,
wound itself through me,
anchored me to that land
I can still see under my nails
after months of scrubbing.
I’d press my face to the cool damp
of the cannery walls,
my knees against the porch boards.
I’d open veins and spill
against the sycamore roots,
give myself over,
give myself back,
and lay me down
in that red Virginia clay –
if I thought it would have me.
~ Lisa J. Parker
Apple Slab Pie
Ingredients
- Crust:
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup cold water
- Filling:
- Approximately 4 pounds apples (peeled, cored, chopped into 1/2-inch chunks; about 8 cups)
- 1/2 lemon
- 2/3 cup sugar (you can add up to 3/4 cup sugar if you like sweeter pie)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon table salt
- 1 egg for the egg wash
Instructions
Crust:
In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar, salt, and cut in cold butter until the butter is pea sized or smaller and the butter/flour mixture is crumb-like. I use a hand-held pastry blender to cut in the butter. In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, egg and cold water. Add this liquid to the flour mixture and, with your hands, mold the dough into a ball. Divide the dough in half (make one slightly larger and use that for the bottom crust). Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes. The dough can be made in advance and refrigerated for 3 days. If you make it ahead, take it out of the refrigerator 15 minutes before you roll it out.
Heat the oven to 375 degrees and line the bottom of a 10 x 15 x 1-inch baking sheet with parchment paper.
Slab Pie Filling:
In a large bowl, toss the cut apples with lemon juice. Then, mix in the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ground ginger, cayenne pepper, and salt and stir to evenly coat the apples.
Assemble:
On a lightly floured surface, roll the larger dough half into an 18 x 13-inch rectangle. Work quickly, keeping the dough as cold as possible and using flour so it doesn’t stick to the counter. Transfer the rolled out dough to the prepared baking sheet; lightly press the dough into the sides and corners of the pan. Some of the dough will drape over the cookie sheet; trim this to 3/4-inch with scissors or a knife.
Pour apple mixture over and spread evenly in the dough-covered pan.
Roll the second and slightly smaller dough half into a 16 x 11-inch rectangle. Drape this over the apple filling and fold the bottom crust overhang over the edge of the top crust and seal them together with your fingers or by pressing with a fork. Cut small slits (vents) on the top piece of dough.
Brush the top dough with an egg wash and bake for 40 - 45 minutes until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling.
Transfer to a wire rack until just warm (about 30 minutes). Serve with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or enjoy plain as a hand pie!
This pie will keep at room temperature for 3 days.
Note: This slab pie cuts easily with a pizza cutter.
https://www.travelynneats.com/2018/11/25/apple-slab-pie/Virginia Apple Pie
I’m a full-fledged fall fan. It took me a while, but watch out… I’m so in it now… I’m loving your fallen leaves, your crisp mornings and scarf-worthy breezes, your sweat pant hugs, your apple picking.
The apple picking. Virginia, do you ever have some apple picking.
Branches heavy hanging. Children laughing, running through rows, sitting under trees, sneaking little nibbles. Carefree, family outing, dogs curiously sniffing, bags overflowing, enthusiastic fruits, ground covered, harvest tables, so inviting. So lovely, apple pie.
APPLE PIE.
Because there’s comfort food, and then there’s apple pie.
…And I just felt like there was one thing that needed to happen after picking: APPLE PIE.
I have played around with this recipe for years, and I think I’ve finally reached my version of apple pie perfection. The cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and dash of cayenne combine into an earthy richness that add a subtle warmth to the sweetness and a balance to the tartness.
A few little tips: 1) Cook the apples in advance. The apples cook down so you can really create a jam-packed apple experience. I’ve made plenty of apple pies without cooking the apples first, and the results don’t even come close. 2) Use an apple wedger (buy one, just do it). 3) Use a great quality pie plate. I use a stoneware pie dish that browns the crust perfectly. And, it just looks cute… I used a mix of Idared and York apples because, well, that’s what was on the trees. Result: fantastic. I’m also a fan of Braeburn apples for pie. Ultimately, though, you’re the artist and it’s your (pie) palette.
“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the Universe.”
Carl Sagan gave a tall order, but I think you’ll find this recipe within the realm of the earthly possible. At the very least, you’ll end up with a little slice of heaven…
Virginia Apple Pie
2016-10-25 21:05:09
Serves 8
The absolute perfect apple pie. Packed to the brim with spiced apples and nestled in a flaky crust. Go ahead, have a slice for breakfast too, no one's watching...
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
50 min
Total Time
1 hr 20 min
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
612g
Servings
8
Amount Per Serving
Calories 711
Calories from Fat 231
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 26g
41%
Saturated Fat 16g
80%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 7g
Cholesterol 88mg
29%
Sodium 313mg
13%
Total Carbohydrates 122g
41%
Dietary Fiber 13g
53%
Sugars 78g
Protein 6g
Vitamin A
25%
Vitamin C
44%
Calcium
5%
Iron
7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
PIE CRUST
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup + 6 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup cold water
PIE FILLING
- 10 - 12 apples
- 1/2 fresh lemon (to squeeze over apples after slicing)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 dashes of cayenne pepper
- 1/8 cup all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
PIE CRUST
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix the flour, sugar, and salt with a fork. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry knife. Alternately, you can cut the butter into the flour mixture with a food processor. With either method, mix the butter into the flour until you have a crumb-like mixture.
- Mix the vinegar, egg and water with a fork and combine the liquid mixture into the dry mixture until all ingredients are moist. With your hands, mold the dough into a ball and tightly cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes and up to 2 days. Don't you just love a pie crust that will let you wait until the last minute or plan ahead...
PIE FILLING
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Peel, core and slice 10 - 12 apples. Don't be intimidated. You're going to cook the apples, so they will cook down a bit and allow you to really pack your pie full of apples. If you have an apple wedger--perfect! If not, slice apples into 1 inch wedges after peeling, cut out the core, and then cut the wedges into half pieces (the apples will pack into the pie crust easier). Place the apples in a large glass mixing bowl. Squeeze lemon over the cut apples to keep them from turning brown. Mix the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, cayenne pepper, and flour in a bowl; then sprinkle the mixture over the apples and thoroughly toss the apples in the sugar and spice mixture.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator right before you cook the apples.
- In a very large skillet (I actually use a wok), cook the apples for about 10 minutes until they are fork tender, but not mushy. Much of the water from the apples will fill the skillet--you want this to happen. Remove the apples from the skillet and place back in the large mixing bowl. Continue to cook the remaining liquid over medium heat until it reduces and thickens (another 5 - 7 minutes). Remove the reduced liquid from heat.
ASSEMBLING
- Cut the dough in half. Take one half and roll out thinly so that it will hang over the edge of your pie dish by 1/2 inch. With a large spoon, place the cooked apples into the pie shell in the pie dish. Drizzle the reduced apple and spice liquid over the apples. Dot the apples with 3 tablespoons of butter cut into small pieces. Roll out the other half of the pie dough and place over the apples in the dish. Fold the overlapping crusts together and crimp the edges all around the pie dish edge (a fork works well for this).
- Place the pie on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes. Check the pie at the halfway point, if the crust starts to brown too quickly, you can loosely cover the top or edges with aluminum foil to control the browning.
TraveLynn Eats https://www.travelynneats.com/
