An Apple and Cream Cheese Loaf Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I don't have great luck with cookbooks. Generally, if between their bindings, I find two recipes that will work for my family, I consider myself lucky and move on. There are, however, exceptions. Shortly after I began One Perfect Bite, I came across The Grand Central Baking Book and happily moved from page to page, experimenting far more often than I usually do, because I was so delighted with what I found. The recipe I'm featuring tonight comes from that book and it is making an encore performance because I can't let September pass without baking it at least once for my crew. It has, with good reason, become a family favorite and I suspect those of you who try it will quickly add it to your fall dessert rotation. The cream cheese gives the cake a lovely crumb and uniquely smooth texture, while the apples add their unique flavor and moisture to the finished loaf. I think you'll love this treasure of a recipe. Here is what I had to say about the recipe when it first appeared on One Perfect Bite.

Apple Streusel Coffee Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...We are several weeks shy of one year in our new home. While we love the new place, it's about 1500 square feet smaller than the house on the hill, so it has become especially important for us to keep an eye on objects and determine if they are worth the space they occupy. Nowhere is that more important than in the kitchen, and at this time of year, my personal challenge is to work through the contents of my freezer and pantry before things pass their sell date or are impossibly freezer burned. I always find something that surprises me, and this year, while turning the pantry, I found three 1-quart jars of apple pie filling that I had put-by two years ago. For reasons that escape me now, I decided to bring them with us when we moved last year. I could have used them to make apple pie, but I wanted to do something a little different, so I went searching for some new recipes that used prepared pie filling. The recipe I'm featuring tonight was develop by Nancy Dynes and I found it on her blog, Tattered Treasures. I know that those of you who have a sweet tooth will enjoy this coffee cake, but I must warn the rest of you that it is sweet. I used one-third the glaze that was suggested in the recipe and that was plenty for our taste. The cake is simple to make and the use of canned/jarred pie filling makes quick work of it preparation. I do hope you will try this. It is a nice brunch cake to serve to family and good friends and it is lovely when served warm. Here is how it's made.

Grape and Apple Sharlotka

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Sharlotka is an apple cake that is very popular in Russia. It is simple and inexpensive to make, and it is undeniably delicious. It is a marvelous fall dessert that can be made well ahead of serving and requires only 30 minutes to prepare. The version I'm featuring tonight is a riff on the classic cake. I was fortunate enough to find Canadice grapes in one of the markets I frequent and I love to bake with them. This is an early ripening seedless grape that is unique because its wonderful grape flavor also carries a hint of spiciness. It is smaller than most supermarket varieties, and, while it is small, it can stand up to mixing without bleeding into the surrounding batter. I decided to make the cake with grapes as well as apples to see what would happen. The sharlotka is a sponge type of cake that typically envelops an apple filling, and I thought the grapes would make a good cake really interesting. It worked. I really like this version of the cake. I prefer to serve it warm from the oven, but the cake can be made early in the day and reheated for serving if you know you will be pressed for time. In Russia the cake is served as is, but a scoop of ice cream will do it no harm. I do hope you'll try this simple peasant-type dessert. I suspect you'll really enjoy it. Here is how the cake is made.