Apple & Caramel Cake

Living in the Midwest, we love our Falls. It's cold enough to put on our favorite sweaters, scarves, and pull out the cute boots, but not so cold we hate the outdoors all together. We know winter is coming soon, so we all head outside to enjoy the last bit of warmth for 5 months. I love going to the apple orchard in the Fall and finding the best apples I've had all year (since my last trip to the apple orchard), indulging in an apple donut and some warm apple cider. Pair apples with caramel, and you've hit one of the best fall food combinations around.

This cake is just that, a perfect combination of apples and caramel. The caramel is swirled into the cake, which makes every bite from top to bottom sweet and delicious. Drizzle a little more warm caramel on top, and it's perfect.

I originally made this cake last New Years Eve actually. (It just shows how bad I am at posting...) Every year for New Years, I have my close friends from high school over and make them dinner. It's my love language- food and acts of service- so I love doing it. I love cooking for them because they are always open to trying whatever I put in front of them (unlike my family who asks what I did to it to make it healthy). This cake was a hit; I'm pretty sure we finished the whole thing.

As always, the recipe is dairy-free. This time it's even vegan! So enjoy some great fall baking!

Adapted from Oh, Ladycakes
Makes one 9″ spring form cake

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 cups whole spelt flour
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup raw turbinado sugar (I used Sugar in the Raw)
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup almond milk
2 flax eggs*
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup caramel sauce, divided
3 tart apples, peeled and chopped

*to make 2 flax eggs: combine 2 Tbsp flax meal and 6 Tbsp water, let sit for 5 minutes.

Caramel Sauce:

1 1/2 cups coconut milk fat
3/4 cup raw turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)

Directions:

Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line the bottom of a 9″ spring form pan with parchment paper and spray with oil; set aside.
2. Stir the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and sugar in a large bowl.
3. Create a well in the center and pour in the butter, vanilla extract, almond milk, and flax eggs; beat with a hand mixer on high speed for 30 seconds.
4. Fold in the pecans then pour half of the mixture into the prepared baking pan.
5. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons of caramel, then top with the remaining batter. Run a knife through batter in a figure-8 motion several times.
6. In a small bowl, toss the chopped apples and remaining caramel. Place apples over batter and press to even.
7. Bake at 350˚F for 50-55 minutes. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve with warm caramel sauce drizzled on top. Keeps in an air tight container for 3 days, but is best the day of.

Caramel Sauce:

Yields 1 cup

1. Refrigerate two cans of coconut milk overnight, or at least 12 hours.

2. The next day, scoop the fat off of the top of each can and measure out 1 1/2 cups.

3. Place the coconut milk fat into a small sauce pan and heat over medium heat until liquid. Add the sugar and whisk until the mixture turns a dark caramel color.

4. Allow mixture to boil for 15-20 minutes, whisking briskly every 3-4 minutes. The longer it cooks, the thicker it will become; cook a minimum of 15 minutes.

5. Refrigerate extras in an air tight container. Reheat to soften.

Buckwheat, Apple and Ginger Muffins

The unfinished recipe for these muffins has been sitting in my "drafts" folder for about 8 months now. I was hesitant to post it for so long because there were a few minor changes I wanted to make in order to perfect these muffins that I had never gotten around to doing last summer. Being home for easter for a couple of days, I decided I should finally get around to remaking these.

After cutting the coconut oil in half by replacing some with applesauce as well as adding a little extra ginger, these are now perfect!

These muffins definitely have a unique taste. The buckwheat gives them a nice earthy flavor. The molasses and brown sugar add the slightest bit of sweetness. Plus, of course, the ginger. Oh, the ginger. I love ginger. The chopped crystallized ginger is brilliant in adding a pop of ginger in every couple of bites; plus, the ground ginger gives them a nice ginger flavor throughout the whole muffin.

As always, these are dairy free since they use almond milk and coconut oil. If you don't have these on hand, canola oil or rice milk would also work! Although not completely gluten-free due to the spelt flour, the spelt flour can be replaced with rice flour.

Adapted from My Darling Lemon Thyme
Makes 12-14 muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup almond flour
2 Tbsp ground flax seed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped crystalized ginger
1 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup spelt flour (or brown rice flour to make it gluten free)
1/4 cup corn starch
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
pinch of sea salt

2 eggs, at room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp molasses
1/4 cup refined coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup almond milk, at room temp
2 medium apples, grated with skin on  (about 1 1/2 cups once grated)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin tins with 14 muffin tine liners nd set aside.
2. Whisk together flours, flax seeds, sugar, ginger and remaining dry ingredients in large bowl. Make a well in the center of the combined ingredients.
3. In a small bowl (actually use a separate bowl for this- no shortcuts), whisk together eggs, vanilla, molasses, oil, and milk. Pour mixture into dry ingredients, then add grated apple, stirring until just combined.
4. Spoon mixture evenly between muffin tins then bake for 17-21 minutes or until risen and cooked through, using a toothpick to test center of muffins.
5. Remove from oven and cool in tins for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack.

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Apple and Blackberry Cobbler

As Easter nears, I am reminded of the many delicious spring and summer recipes that are about to explode on every blog, magazine, and instagram account that I browse. Recipes filled with berries, leafy greens, baby carrots, and other color-filled fruits and vegetables. This dessert is one I made a couple years ago and had in a combined-post with another dessert (Blueberry and Lemon-Poppyseed Cake), but I felt it was time for each to get it's own post, since they are equally as delicious, yet completely different.

As I mentioned in the original post, I am often put in charge of desserts for family get togethers. In order to make everyone happy, I usually make a "healthy" and a "not-so'healthy" dessert. This cobbler was a perfect pick for the normal people in the family (whatever normal means).

My family could not stop raving about this cobbler; they ate the entire thing. The tartness of 
the berries worked so well with the sweet, yet plain, cornmeal biscuits. The biscuits have a great texture from the cornmeal as well. This cobbler is definitely best hot, and pairs perfectly with vanilla bean ice cream.

Serves 8-10
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients:

Filling

3 pounds (8-ish cups) baking apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4-inch wedges

2 cups frozen blackberries, thawed
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soft (not melted) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Biscuit Topping

1/2 cup medium-grind cornmeal (not quick-cooking)
2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for work surface
1/4 cup sugar plus more for sprinkling
6 tablespoons soft (not melted) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup heavy whipping cream 

Directions:

Filling

1. Preheat oven to 375°. 
2. Combine apples, blackberries, sugar, cornstarch, honey, butter, and lemon juice in a large bowl and stir. 
3. Transfer mixture to a shallow 3-quart baking dish (about 10x12) and set aside.

Biscuit Topping and Assembly

1. Combine cornmeal, baking powder, salt, flour, and sugar in a bowl with a pastry blender or pulse in a food processor. Add butter and mix/pulse until pea-size lumps form. Transfer flour mixture to a large bowl and add 1 cup cream and stir until a dough forms.

2. Transfer mixture to a lightly floured work surface and knead just until dough comes together, about 3 times. Pat or roll out dough into a 14x4-inch rectangle about 1/2 inches thick. Cut dough rectangle in half lengthwise, then cut each strip crosswise into 4 equal pieces to make 8 biscuits.

3. Arrange biscuits over fruit mixture, spacing about 1/2 inch apart. Brush biscuits lightly with cream and sprinkle evenly with sugar.

4. Bake cobbler until filling is bubbling around edges and biscuits are golden brown, 35-45 minutes.

5. Transfer to a wire rack and let cobbler cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

**I made the dough and filling the day before Easter then refrigerated them overnight. I assembled it and baked it the day of so it was hot for serving. This worked great. To do this wrap the dough in cling wrap with a little flour around it to keep from sticking. Keep the filling in the bake tray and cover in cling wrap then place both in fridge.