A Brunch Bunch Favorite - My Recipe Rotation - Apple Kuchen

The countdown to the start of our annual adventure has begun. We will be spending October in Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. For most of the trip, I will not have access to the internet, so I've put the blog on autopilot to assure you have something to read when you link here. This year, I've picked 35 recipes from my personal recipe rotation to share with you while I'm gone. When, and if, I am able,  I'll bolster these recipes with pictures and verbal reflections of the trip.  November should see the return of business as usual. Hopefully, we'll be able to talk before then. 

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The Silver Fox comes from a family of German ancestry. His mother was a fabulous pastry cook and her kuchen puts any I make to shame. That, however, does not keep me from trying to best a pastry whose taste, I'm certain, has been enhanced by memory. While it is a bit of work, I love the kuchen I'm featuring today. The aroma of apples and fall spices brings back memories of a childhood that included bonfires and the smell of burning leaves that was enhanced, of course, by the aroma of cinnamon and cloves melding in the oven. I find it impossible to think of a fall kitchen without apples and this kuchen is so pretty, and, I might add, so tasty, that if I could only pick one apple dessert to last a lifetime, this would be it. The kuchen first appeared here in November of 2008. Here's what I had to say about it at the time.

German Apple Pudding Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This very old recipe is more ancient than I am. It was probably carried to this country by a German Frau who made the passage from the old world to the new in the steerage of a ship. Today, you'll find many versions of her cake floating in cyberspace, but the recipe for the one I'm featuring tonight comes closest to the pudding my husband's family regularly enjoyed. While many call it a cake, its density makes this dessert more like a moist pudding than a cake, so, in my family we always refer to it as an apple pudding. That, of course, means we can serve it warm, dressed with a sprinkling of sugar and scoop of ice cream that allows it to become  one of the better fall desserts. The batter for the pudding is clay-like in its consistency and it barely coats the apples that this dessert is really about. If you enjoy homely, old-fashioned desserts, you'll love this one-bowl wonder. Here is how the pudding is made.

An Old-Fashioned Apple Butter Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...When I was quite young apple butter was the breakfast spread of choice. Butter and sugar were rationed, so back in the day those wise old cooks used recipes, some of which predated colonial America, to make a highly concentrated form of apple sauce that was spreadable and could be used in place of butter on morning toast. Fruit butters are sweet spreads made of fruits that are cooked to a paste and then lightly sweetened. Apple butter has a longer shelf life than applesauce and it is a wonderful way to use the last of the apple crop. I mention this, because I came across a recipe for an apple butter cake that sounded much like the one I had as a child. In order to make it, I thought I'd put-by my own apple butter, but on reflection, I wasn't sure I wanted 12 pints of it taking up my limited pantry space. I called around and found a store that carried apple butter, so there was no reason not to give the cake a try. The recipe is simple and as close to can't fail as they come, the cake is inexpensive to make and it is perfect way to end an informal fall meal. These cakes have a tendency to be dry, so be sure to spoon the flour into your measure and level off the excess, rather than scooping it directly into the cup. I'd also advise using a liquid rather than a dry measure for the apple butter and buttermilk. The apple butter gives this cake a subtle apple flavor, but in my opinion it is more like a spice cake. I've cut back on the ground cloves that appeared in the original recipe, and have used mace to replace most of it. You can experiment with the spices until you come up with a combination that is to your liking. This is a simple cake, so I dress it up a bit by using a flour buttercream to frost it. I've shared that frosting recipe before, but if you need a reminder you can find the recipe here. Here is how the apple butter-spice cake is made. Do give it a try.

Apple Crumble Coffee Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I'm gong to pretend that the thermostat sits at 75 degrees and a strong breeze is blowing from the river, carrying with it the fresh odor of a fish run that rivals the aroma of my spiced apple cake for scent of the year. I want you to think it's a perfect fall evening, but truth be told, it's hot here and even this lovely crumb cake fails to whet the appetite. What does catch the eye are the great clumps of streusel that top the apple cake, and I know that, hungry or not, curiosity will get the better of me and I end up on the deck with a piece of this cake and iced coffee in hand. The cake is a riff on the Rhubarb Big Crumb Cake that first appeared on the blog Smitten Kitchen. Other than substituting apples for rhubarb and changing the way the crumbs are made, I've not strayed far from the original recipe. The cake is moist and lovely and packed with the flavor of cinnamon and apples, but it is the crumb topping that will capture the eye of any streusel lover worth their salt. This cake is all about the crumb topping. The largish chunks of streusel are formed by pinching them off a ball that's created as the crumbs are made. Is it wretched excess? Absolutely, but it make for a delightful coffee or snack cake, which is even better day two than it is day one. I do hope you'll give this cake a try. It is not that all hard to do and it really is a delicious special occasion cake. Here is how it is made.

Norwegian Apple Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This simple Norwegian cake is all about apples. It is a "remembered" cake from the files of Hege whose blog Repolished contains a number of Norwegian recipes that she enjoyed as a child.  I decided to add her recipe to my already large collection of apple desserts because of its peasant quality. I happen to love apple desserts. Apples are always available and they keep well. Quantity purchases are inexpensive and it is hard to find desserts that cost less than those made with apples.  I use Golden Delicious apples in almost all my apple desserts. They are sweet without being cloying and they manage to keep their shape as they cook. This is a homely dessert that I'm sure can be found in any Norwegian kitchen.  If I had done an exhaustive search, I suspect I would have found dozens more recipes for this cake, but I stopped because this one seemed very authentic and the directions were a bit old-fashioned. I liked this cake and will make it again. I think salt and a small amount of vanilla should be added to the ingredient list. I added them to the recipe below. My additions are in red. Here is the recipe.

Apple, Cranberry and Walnut Bread + Mimolette (Cantalope Cheese)

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a wonderful bread, but it may not be to everyone's liking. I make and serve it with fruit and cheese, but only to close friends and family whose tastes I know. Despite the apples, this is not a sweet bread and I use it in place of crackers to serve with sharp Cheddar or the Edam-like, Mimolette, which, because of its shape and color, is also known as cantalope cheese. There is more about Minolette following the recipe below. The bread is simple to make, and, if you have a stand mixer, it will do most of the work for you. The loaves are well-flavored and have a crust that offers only slight resistance to the tooth. The bread is a moderately good keeper, and while it makes excellent toast, I do have a caution to share with you. Use your broiler or a toaster oven if you decide to use the bread for toast. Pieces of fruit tend to slough off the bread slices and they will burn in a standard toaster. The aroma of your morning coffee can't fight with that of burnt fruit.The bread is also wonderful with goat or cream cheese. I do hope the adventurers among you will try this bread. I think you'll really enjoy it. Here is how it's made.

Apple Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Streusel Topping

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I have apple fever, and today, following a visit to a local orchard, I officially opened my fall kitchen. Jars of cinnamon and nutmeg moved to the front of the spice cabinet where they now share space with the other pumpkin spices, ginger, clove and allspice. I have some new apple recipes that I want to test this fall, and I can't wait for their familiar aromas to perfume my kitchen. Time prevented me from trying any of the more complicated recipes today, but this easy one, from Nina Simonds, was perfect to get me started. It is a coffee cake that can be served for breakfast or dessert. It is a moist sweet cake that I think is best when served warm, but warm or cold, it is delicious. It is simple to make and I know you will enjoy it, and should you decide to make it, I suspect its aroma will drive you wild. This is a great season-starter recipe. Keep your apple slices thin to insure they cook through and make sure that all your ingredients are at room temperature before you begin to make the cake. I used a one piece tube pan to bake mine. To insure easy release, I lined the bottom of the pan with parchment paper that I also greased and floured. If you are ready for the heady aromas of the fall kitchen, this cake is a perfect way to start. Here is how the cake is made.

Apple and Blueberry Pudding Pie

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...While it is delicious, it's really hard to categorize this dessert. It was first developed for Martha Stewart's site and then adapted for a feature on Serious Eats. They both described the creation as a pie/cake that resembled a deep dish apple pie with a streusel topping. To further confuse the issue, I think it is more like an apple pudding cake that a deep dish pie. No matter. Whatever you decide to call this dessert, I suspect you'll use delicious as an adjective to describe it. Once the apples are sliced, this is a simple dish to assemble, and, as long as it is baked until it's set, you simply can't go wrong. I like to serve the pudding warm with a dollop of ice cream on the side. I do have one caution to share with you. This is a very moist dessert that gets goopy if it sits too long. Try to serve it a couple of hours after it's made to avoid that problem. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. Here is how the cake/pie/pudding is made.