First World Problems: Did You Smell Something?

We've recently started going to food swaps.  Last time we had a visit from the Marshmallow Fairy and got delectable Salted Carmel Marshmallows!  They are beyond phenomenal in hot cocoa or plain.  As such, when we heard they were going to be at the food swap in Winnetka, we knew we had to schedule it in so we could get more mallows!  More!

We decided to can some of our apple filling which we have been altering for various apple recipes.  Only when you find a pot in the basement that might have been in your house for more than twenty years you may be in for a surprise.  As were we, as we heated up water in this canning pot which was going completely normal until the water started to get closer to a boil.  There was a funny smell and we realized that the formica next to the stove was melting!  There is a black spot the size of a silver dollar next to our stove!  We had no idea that it would melt at all.  We boil pots of that size all the time on that burner, but they're not nearly so old.  We had no trouble using another pot to can our apple mixture, but it was certainly a hair raising moment.

Followed by the dog being unsupervised which led to a foot licking frenzy.  She has a fetish and licks non-stop.  So, then we had a dog who was bleeding all over the kitchen.   Rosie certainly was not cooperative.  She wanted to be in the kitchen near all the smells but she was stubbornly wanting not to be cleaned.

We found out that we cannot make coconut butter in our new ninja blender.  The blender is too powerful and the coconut was too dry.  So, we had a messy blender with stubborn coconut that I wanted to put on my toast but could only stare at longingly.  Oh, fresh bread with coconut butter is marvelous for breakfast.  Alas, we are without coconut butter.   Hard times they are here.

As always the cat continues his nightly terrors.  He runs from room to room wanting to snuggle with a human.  For some reason, he does not like being kicked.  He will run out of the room and then return shortly afterwards.  He is most fickle.  Thus, causing all the heat to escape from the room with a humidifier running.  He has taken to creepily staring as well.  He goes from human to human when hungry and meows and hopes for signs of awareness.  Then, he will settle to stare at Susie as she sleeps.  He can sit still for hours staring waiting for her to wake up which can start earlier than dawn.

So that was our crazy week!  How was yours?

Salted Apple Sliver Cake

Around the holidays, we tend to go big.  Usually this  means a lot of work for the payoff of great flavors.  Yet, this time around we wanted to keep it a little simpler.  Certainly there are a few components to this dish, but altogether it is a cake with fruit filling and frosting.  Not too complicated when you break it down.  Of course, this time the flavor is not just impressive but the size as well.  We went big with three whole layers.  Let's just say when you cut a slice of this for your family they will be stunned. 

As for the ingredients well, it uses some of our favorite new creations.  With spiked apples, salted caramel and whipped frosting.  If you can make all of those things plus a cake, then you are certainly able to pull this off.  Over all we wanted to do something different for our fall treats.  We're used to the same variety of pies at this time of year.  So, we wanted to switch our focus on other fall flavors.  We traded in gourds for apples and the results are splendid.  The cake is definitely large, but it is also definitely disappearing at the same rate as any other.  Which is more impressive because it seems to be three times the size of a regular cake.

I picked up everything for this recipe at the Sunset Foods in Long Grove.  They truly have the most amazing selection of groceries.  I just knew they'd have all the ingredients.  That's the great thing about Sunset, I can easily find what I'm looking for in one trip.  Whereas if I'd shopped elsewhere, I'd have had to go to multiple stores.

I'd recommend making the caramel and apples the day before to make things easier on yourself.  I went with McIntosh apples for this recipe because to me they just taste like sweettarts.  If you use different baking apples, you'll need to taste and adjust the sugar as needed.

Also the cake should be refrigerated at least 1-2 hours before serving.  This will make it a lot easier to slice as the buttercream frosting will firm up nicely.

Salted Caramel Sauce
1 cup raw sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

In a medium saucepan, cook sugar until it starts to melt and then whisk continuously until it's melted.  Remove whisk and occasionally swirl pan until caramel reaches 345 degrees.  Whisk in butter, be careful because mixture will bubble up a lot.  When butter is fully incorporated, slowly whisk in cream and then whisk in salt.  Allow to cool to room temperature, pour in a jar and refrigerate until ready to use.

Spiked Apple Filling

8 (2 1/2 lbs)McIntosh apples, peeled and thinly sliced
5 tablespoons raw sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 ounces of your favorite whisky

In a large saute pan combing apples, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally until apples release their juices.  Meanwhile, whisk together cornstarch and lemon juice in a bowl.  When apples are juicy, slowly stir in cornstarch mixture and whisky allowing apples to cook until the juices have thickened.  Remove from heat and refrigerate until ready to use.

Three Layer Yellow Whisky Cake
4 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups raw sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 3/4 cup buttermilk at room temperature
1/4 cup whisky

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, cut parchment circles to fit three 9-inch cake pans.  Grease cake pans and put parchment circles in the bottom of the pans.  Set aside.

Whisk together first four dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.  In a mixer, cream butter and sugar together until they are light and fluffy. 

A great tip to get your eggs warm faster, place them in a bowl and cover with warm water.  Change water at least once and your eggs will be ready in no time!

Add eggs one at time, mixing until incorporated then add vanilla and mix again.  After that alternate adding buttermilk and dry ingredients, mixing well after each addition.  You'll end up with a super thick cake batter.

Pour cake batter evenly into pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until done when tested with a toothpick.  Cool in pans for 10 minutes and then cool on rack.

Salted Caramel Frosting
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 egg whites
12 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 cup salted caramel sauce

Using a double boiler, make a slurry with the egg whites and sugar.  Whisk this over medium heat for about 6 to 8 minutes, mixture should be thick, white and opaque.  Remove from heat, scrape into mixing bowl and beat for 6 to 8 minutes until you have a shiny white meringue.

Beat in butter and continue to mix for 3 to 4 minutes.  Drizzle in caramel sauce and beat to incorporate.

Assembly

Place the first cake layer on a plate, top with 1/3 third of apples and top that with 1/3 of frosting.  Repeat with remaining two layers.  Once assembled, place in refrigerator until frosting has firmed up, 1 to 2 hours.  When ready, slice and serve.  Store remaining cake, covered in fridge.

Spiked Dutch Apple Pie Minis

Did you notice that we like apples?  Apples are a go to fruit in our family.  There are banana allergies.  Plus the usual gamut of dislikes towards certain fruits.  Apples are generally the beloved fruit to all of us.  Up there with peaches and nectarines which is an entirely different discussion.

So, yet again we have an apple recipe.  One that takes out some of the work of Apple Pie.  Or at least the work of eating it.  You may eat them with a fork as we did when they were warm, but when cool they held up just fine.  An apple pie you can eat on the go, as long as you are not waving it about upside down.  There's only so much anti-gravity powers that a gelled apple mixture can contain in one bite.

This isn't your average apple pie.  We boosted the flavor with some Spicebox Whisky.  There is a vodka in the crust to make it flaky, but that alcohol will bake out.  The whisky in the apples is there to stay.  You will not be sorry as the extra vanilla makes this treat extra sweet.  Truly, this pie is a milder more adult version.  Don't count on a cinnamon or lemon zing but a succulent vanilla swirl.

Spiked Dutch Apple Pie Minis

Apple Pie Filling
3 Rome apples, peeled, cored and diced
3 MacIntire appes, peeled, cored and diced
5 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 ounces Spicebox Whisky

Dough
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
3-4 tablespoons ice cold vodka

Dutch Crumb Topping
1/2 cup flour
3 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Make the dutch crumb topping first.  In a small bowl, combine flour and sugar.  Using a pastry cutter, two forks or your fingers work butter into flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Set aside.

In a large skillet combine the apples, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 5-7 minutes, until apples are tender but firm.  In a small cup, whisk together cornstarch and lemon juice.  Add to apple mixture along with whisky and continue cooking until mixture thickens.  Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool.

While the apple mixture cools, work on the crust.  In a medium bowl, add flour and salt whisking to combine.  Using a pastry cutter, 2 forks or your fingers work shortening into flour mixture until it resembles coarse sand.  Add 3-4 tablespoons cold vodka and work mixture into a pie dough.  Roll out dough and cut into 5-inch circles.  By re-rolling the scraps you should be able to get 10 circles of dough.  Carefully set dough circles into a muffin pan, making sure to line bottoms and sides of cups with dough.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Completely fill dough lined muffin cups with apples.  Sprinkle dutch crumb topping over apples.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until bubbly and crust is golden.  Let rest 5 minutes and serve warm.

Fresh Apple Galette

It's finally FALL y'all!  I am so excited it's here.  I've been waiting all summer long for it to get here.  Don't get me wrong, I like summer too.  But fall means fresh apples!  I love apples almost as much as I love strawberries and my love of strawberries is legendary!

I like the super tart baking apples the best.  Romes, Granny Smith, MacIntires to name a few.  They're crisp and just have that tart bite that reminds me of sweet tarts.  One of my absolute favorite candies growing up.  Even though I don't make it apple picking every year, I still make lots of apple things.

This is the first of those recipes.  A fresh apple galette.  What is a galette, you might ask?  Its like a free-form open faced pie.  I think galettes are easier to make than a pie.  They aren't meant to look perfect and taste the same.  A perfect dessert for a busy family.

Fresh Apple Galette

2 Rome apples, cored peeled and thinly sliced
2 MacIntosh apples, cored peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 egg yolk beaten with 2 tablespoons water
sugar to sprinkle

Dough Recipe

1 cup flour
1/3 cup shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
3-4 tablespoons ice cold water

In a large heavy bottomed saute pan combine apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Cook over medium low heat about 5-6 minutes, until juicy but still crisp.  In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch with lemon juice.  Slowly whisk into apples.  Cook about a minute until juices thicken.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile combine flour and salt in a medium bowl, whisking to combine.  Use a pastry cutter, two forks or your fingers to work shortening into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of water and work into dough, adding more water until dough just comes together.

Form dough into a round disk, place on floured countertop and roll into a rough 12 inch circle.  Move to parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Mound apples into center of dough, spreading slightly.  Going round in a circle fold dough towards center overlapping slightly.

Brush entire galette with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar.  Bake 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden and bubbly.  Remove from oven, cool slightly and serve.

Spiked Caramel Apple Cider Recipe

Nothing says fall to me like a hot caramel apple cider.  The caramel makes the apple cider buttery and the perfect fall drink.  That and I just love everything with caramel in it.

I thought to myself what could make it better?  Enter Spicebox whisky.  A shot of this whiskey perfectly compliments the caramel apple cider.  I decided to top it with some whipped cream, a dusting of cinnamon and a cinnamon stick.

Spiked Caramel Apple Cider

1 ounce caramel or 4 Kraft caramels
1 (8 ounces) cup real refrigerated apple cider
dash of cinnamon
1 ounce Spicebox whisky
whipped cream
cinnamon stick

Heat cider in either a saucepan or the microwave.  Add caramel and stir to melt/combine.  Add a dash of cinnamon, stir.  Pour Spicebox into a glass and add caramel apple cider.  Top with whipped cream, sprinkle of cinnamon and a cinnamon stick.

Susie Savors: This is a whiskey drink that coated my tongue in fall flavors.  The Spicebox whisky is an excellent flavor pairing with apple cider.  The spices enhance each other and add extra layers of flavor.  Served warm it really can take away the chill of a fall day and replace it with a fierce dose of spices.  Also, the astringent sting of alcohol was gone and replaced by a warm coating of apples.

*This is a sponsored post.  All of my opinions are my own*

Wholesome Wednesday: French Apple Coffee Cake

Original

I found a pretty beat up old copy the Antoinette Pope School Cook Book published in 1955 at an estate sale.  The covers were falling off and it looked pretty bad.  I'd never heard of the Antoinette Pope School, but there was a location in downtown Chicago at 316 N Michigan Ave.  There was also a file folder with recipe lessons in it.  Total score for me!!  The estate sale just threw in the folder which was even better.  :)

Original

Alternate

I decided to make this French Apple Coffee Cake.  At my house we tend to have a lot of apples in the fruit drawer at any given time.  I love apples, but once they go into the drawer, its like they've disappeared in the fridge never to be seen again.  I think its due to out of sight, out of mind.  I don't even think about them till I want a yummy apple dessert, just like tonight.

Alternate

The reason I've listed an alternate apple filling is because the first one left the pastry kinda dry and bread like.  I've since made this recipe again and changed the filling and its amazing.  You could even actually increase the amount of apples and it would still be great.  I'll make sure to label the pics original and alternate so you can see the difference.  :)

Alternate

French Apple Coffee Cake
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 cup flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold milk
2 egg yolks, beaten with a fork
1 oz compressed yeast (combined with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar) or 1 pkg dry yeast with 1/4 cup       water.  If using dry yeast reduce amount of milk by 1/4 cupful.

1/4 cup unsalted butter to roll in dough (soft)

Cut 1/4 cup of butter through dry ingredients until it looks like a coarse meal.  Add the milk and eggs, yeast, and beat well until smooth. Turn out onto a pastry cloth and knead gently several minutes, keeping dough soft as possible, adding a little more flour if necessary.  When dough is smooth, roll it to measure about 12x18 inches.  Spread 1/4 cup soft butter over 2/3 of the dough.  Fold into three, cover, and let rest in refrigerator for about one hour.  After one hour remove from refrigerator, cut through center into two pieces.   Roll each piece to measure about 8x14 inch rectangle.  Spread center of dough with about 1/2 cup of filling. Tun over to enclose filling.  Cut as desired or leave plain. Lift up carefully and place on lightly grased baking sheet.  Cover and let rest in refrigerator for about 20 minutes, not more than 30 minutes.  Bake in oven preheated at 400 degrees, for about 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove, let stand until cool, brush with lukewarm corn syrup, drizzle with Coffee Cake Icing and sprinkle with nuts if desired.

Apple Filling
1 cup apples peeled,cored and cut in small thin slices
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1/4 cup water combined with 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Cook all ingredients together until thick and glazy.  Let simmer 2 or 3 minutes.  When cool add 1 teaspoon lemon juice.  Will fill 1 coffee cake.

Alternate Apple Filling

5-6 medium cooking apples, peeled, cored and coarsely diced
5 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice

 In a large skillet, combine the apples, sugar and cinnamon.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes, until apples are tender, but still firm.  In a small cup, whisk together cornstarch and lemon juice.  Add to apple mixture and continue cooking, stirring occasionally until juices are thickened.  Removed from heat and let cool a few minutes.


Coffee Cake Icing
Combine 1 tablespoon hot milk or cream, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and about 3/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar.  If it is too thin, add more sugar.  If too thick, add more liquid.

Wholesome Wednesday: Apple Pie Coffee Cake

I absolutely love any baked goods with fresh fruit in them.  And apples are a big favorite.  A definite no-brainer to alter this old coffee cake recipe to include apples instead of blueberries.  I mean what could be better than coffee cake and apple pie for breakfast?  Unless there's chocolate thrown in there somewhere I don't think it could be better.  :)

Apple Pie Coffee Cake

4-5 medium to large sweet tart apples, peeled, cored and coarsely diced
5 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk

First, make the apple pie topping.  I typically have baking apples (granny smith, gala, rome, jonagold, jonathan, mcintosh) in the fridge and use a variety.  They've all worked great just make sure they are sweet, tart and crisp.  To prepare topping, in a large skillet combine the apples, sugar and cinnamon.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes, until apples are tender, but still firm.  In a small cup, whisk together cornstarch and lemon juice.  Add to apple mixture and continue cooking, stirring occasionally until thickened.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Second, mix the dough.  Using a mixer, cream together butter and sugar till light and fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla, mix.  Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add alternately with milk.  Beat batter until smooth and spread in a greased 8x8 inch square baking pan.  Carefully spoon cooled apple topping over batter being careful not to press to hard when spreading.  If you push too hard the batter will be thin in the middle and thicker on the edges.  It will still bake fine and taste amazing but might look a little off.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Use a toothpick to test.  Serve while still warm.