Alright kids- here's a recipe from weeks ago. Alas. It's been a busy month or so but life is slowing down in a way (for this week at least) and I'm determined to get all updated on the blog. I just got back from the land of hush puppies and fried catfish, so get excited. This weeks plan is to get things done and hope the next chapter of my life starts to materialize a bit more. I'm not sure my life could feel more up in the air and oh how humbling that feeling is...


Leslie got me a bundt pan for my birthday- thanks les!- and I immediately put it to use making this Apple Spice Cake I saw on David Lebovitz's blog. It was quite lovely. I think I love the bundt cake. It was part tea cake part breakfast cake.


Spiced Apple Cake thanks to...
The Vineyard Kitchen by Maria Helm Sinskey

ingredients:
2 tablespoons (30 g) butter, salted or unsalted
4 tart, firm medium-size baking apples, peeled, cored and cut into 3/4-inch (2 cm) cubes
2 tablespoons (30 g) sugar

12 tablespoons (6 ounces, 170g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups (350 g) sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (110 g) pitted, chopped dates: optional
3 cups (420 g) flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup (240 g) buttermilk or plain yogurt (regular or low-fat)

1. Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet and sauté the apples over medium-high heat until the turn golden brown, stirring them as little as possible as they cook.
2. Once cooked through, add the 2 tablespoons of sugar and cook until the apples cubes are nicely glazed. Transfer apples to a plate and cool to room temperature.
3. Preheat the oven to 350F and butter and flour a 12-cup bundt pan, tapping out any excess flour.
4. In a stand mixer, or by hand, beat the 12 tablespoons of butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla.
5. In a medium bowl, sift together the remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
6. Stir half of the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture, then mix in the buttermilk or yogurt. Then stir in the remaining dry ingredients until just almost mixed in completely, but do not over mix. Visible wisps of flour are normal.
7. Fold in the cooked apples. Scrape the batter into the prepare bundt pan and bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
8. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a cooling rack. Once cool, dust with powdered sugar, or glaze, if you wish.