Apple Cranberry Cake, an Autumn Celebration

The aroma that wafted through the cottage was intoxicating. Or maybe it was the wine.

My family has always been cake people; JTs family are pie people. I always thought it was the difference between Europeans and the English. We usually had some fruit with or in our cakes whereas JTs family always had some pastry with their fruit. This was never a big deal for us because I’m not much of a dessert eater, but it did pose a challenge because I had to learn how to make a pie! Now that we’re more accustomed to each other, I make a variety of cakes and pies and JT happily samples them.

Recently, my friend Barbara Bamber from Calgary author of Just a Smidgen posted a gorgeous Martha Stewart recipe for a fall apple cake and I was smitten! When I suggested that I bake this cake to take over to my niece’s cottage-fest on our last weekend at the cottage JT was all over it. It’s moist and quite flavourful, the perfect mix of fruit and cake. We served it warm and at room temperature and both were very tasty. Although cake is always considered a treat, this could be perfect as a breakfast muffin, made in smaller portions.

Martha Stewart’s Apple-Cranberry Cake

makes one 9″ spring-form pan cake

Ingredients:

• sugar for dusting pan
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 6 tbsp butter, unsalted and melted, plus a bit more for the pan
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup milk (I used skim)
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 3 Golden Delicious or Janagold apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 2 mm sliced wedges
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp butter cut into pieces

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Butter a 9″ springform pan and line the bottom with parchment. Sprinkle with sugar and shake the pan to coat.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
3. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together melted butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, milk and eggs.
4. Slowly fold the butter mixture into the flour mixture, just stirring until blended.
5. Spoon the batter mixture into the prepared springform pan, smooth the top evenly.
6. Arrange the apple slices and dried cranberries as you wish onto the cake batter. Then press each piece of fruit gently down into the batter.
7. Sprinkle over with the 2 tbsp brown sugar and cinnamon. Top the brown sugar by dotting the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter over.
8. Bake until top is golden and the fruit has softened, about 35-50 minutes in a convection oven (fan oven for my European friends), or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Notes:

I added cinnamon to the batter, the original recipe did not have it.

Next time I will shroud with foil so that the top doesn’t darken as quickly.