Bready or Not: Apple Sheet Cake
I’ve done a lot of different apple cakes. This Apple Sheet Cake is unique in that it’s 1) in a casserole dish, so can feed a lot of people, and 2) uses apple butter, diced fresh apple, diced dried apple, and cross-wise sliced fresh apples on top!
It probably goes without saying that this cake is loaded with apple flavor. There’s just enough batter to complement the fruit. Really, this is all about the apples.
I think the apple butter in particular carries a lot of weight here. It adds a touch more spice, but most of all it adds moist texture to the crumb.
Modified from a clipping for Applicious Sheet Cake.
Bready or Not: Apple Sheet Cake
Equipment
- 13×9 pan
- aluminum foil
- uneven spatula
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 medium baking apples
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 2/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 cup apple butter
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dried apples finely chopped
Icing
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon milk or half & half
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13×9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter. Set aside.
- Peel, core, and shred or finely dice-up one apple. Thinly slice the other apple cross-wise, removing the seeds.
- In a large bowl, mix together butter, brown sugar, apple butter, eggs, and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, scraping bottom of bowl to make sure everything is mixed. Fold in the shredded/diced fresh apple and the chopped dried apple. Spread batter in pan, using uneven spatula to level out. Arrange apple cross-sections over cake.
- Bake for about 40 minutes. The middle should pass the toothpick test. Move to a wire rack.
- Immediately mix glaze to go over hot cake. Drizzle it all over the top, using the back of a spoon or a pastry brush to distribute across surface. Cool completely to set the glaze, speeding process in fridge if desired.
- Use foil to lift cake onto a cutting board to slice. Pieces can be individually wrapped and frozen for later, or will keep several days covered in the fridge. Eat cold or warmed slightly in microwave.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Chocolate Chai Snickerdoodles
I reinvent Snickerdoodles on a regular basis, and here’s a fun new take: Chocolate Chai Snickerdoodles.
The flavor of these is chocolate-forward, followed by the warm combination of spices. The combo is fantastic, and the texture of the cookies is soft and chewy.
I highly recommend mixing up the sugar and spices a day or so in advance. There is such a variety involved that the measuring and washing of the measuring spoon ends up being the most tedious aspect of the entire recipe.
Bready or Not Original: Chocolate Chai Snickerdoodles
Equipment
- parchment paper
- baking sheet
- teaspoon scoop
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) room temperature
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup baking cocoa sifted
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 350-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Combine the first six ingredients; reserve a 1/2 cup in a separate bowl.
- Beat the butter until soft. Add the bulk of the spice mix, continuing to beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, cream of tartar, baking powder, and salt. Slowly work this into the butter mix.
- Use a teaspoon scoop or spoon to form small balls. Roll them in the reserved sugar-spice mix. Set them spaced out on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Due to the cocoa, it is hard to gauge doneness by color, so look for them to be set with some light crackling. These don’t crackle as much as standard snickerdoodles, though. Let them rest on the sheet for about 10 minutes, then transition them to a rack to completely cool.
- Store in a sealed container at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Baked Lemon Curd Hand Pies
Pie is good. Portable pie is something special indeed. These Baked Lemon Curd Hand Pies are a real treat.
This is a pairing of recipes that dirties numerous dishes and spaces, but the result is a good batch of hand pies. The recipe makes roughly 18 to 20, so make these for a group!
I usually experiment with freezing my baked goods to see how they keep, but I didn’t do so with these. My husband took them to work, where they were pretty much inhaled!
Use homemade lemon curd, if you have a reliable recipe, or use a trustworthy brand. I recommend going with one that is pretty thick, as a watery one might interfere with the seal of the pies.
Bready or Not: Hand Pie Dough
Equipment
- food processor
- food scale
- plastic wrap
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup plus 1 Tb unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup ice water
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Place the flour and salt in the bowl of the food processor. Pulse to combine. Cut the butter into cubes and add, pulsing until the pieces are pea-sized.
- In a liquid measured cup, combine the ice water and vinegar. With the processor running, pour in the liquid until the dough comes together. It will look crumbly but should come together if squeezed between fingers.
- Turn out the dough and divide it in half. Wrap tightly in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours. Store in fridge for a few days or freeze for later.
Bready or Not: Baked Lemon Curd Hand Pies
Equipment
- flour for dusting
- 2 1/2-inch cutter
- basting brush
- parchment paper
- baking sheet
Ingredients
- hand pie dough
- 1 cup lemon curd
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon water
- coarse sugar optional
Instructions
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of the prepared pie dough to be about 1/8-inch thick. Using a 2 1/2-inch cutter, cut dough, reforming scraps to roll out again.
- Dollop about a teaspoon of lemon curd into the center of half of the dough rounds.
- In a small bowl, beat together the egg and water. Brush the egg mix around the edges that surround the curd; do not discard egg wash. Top each with a remaining dough circle, stretching them slightly to cover. Press edges firmly to seal, then apply the tines of a fork to bind the halves. Chill hand pies in fridge for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven at 425-degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Place hand pies on parchment. Brush tops with remaining egg wash, then use the tip of a knife to cut a small x in each to vent steam during baking. If desired, sprinkle coarse sugar over the tops.
- Bake for 13 to 16 minutes, until pies are golden. Move to a rack or different sheet to completely cool. Store in a covered container. Best eaten within a day or two.
OM NOM NOM!
Happy Valentine’s Day news–my book release has moved up!
I’m happy to share the news that the release date for A Thousand Recipes for Revenge is now June 1, 2023. That’s right, you can get it two weeks sooner!
Along those lines, I’ll repeat the plaintive plea of all authors: please, please preorder! Those orders can make or break a new release. To help you along, here are some handy dandy links.
- Amazon: paperback | kindle | audio CD | audible
- Barnes & Noble: paperback | audio mP3 on CD | audio CD
- Bookshop: paperback
- Books-a-million: paperback | audio mP3 on CD | audio CD
#SFWAPro
Read MoreBready or Not: No-Bake Cookie Bars
When you have no time to bake and you need sweets fast–or you don’t have an oven or can’t heat the house–no-bake treats are the way to go. These No-Bake Cookie Bars involve little fuss and are sweet and tasty.
Also, these are pretty cheap to make. I used a generic kind of vanilla wafers that were a dollar-something.
Since I live in Arizona, I had to store these in the fridge, but in most places, you’d probably be fine keeping them at room temperature.
Bready or Not: No-Bake Cookie Bars
Equipment
- 9×9 pan
- nonstick spray
- aluminum foil
- waxed paper
- heavy glass
Ingredients
- 11 ounces vanilla wafer cookies generic is fine
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup chocolate chips semisweet or milk
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Line a 9×9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray.
- Use a food processor or a gallon bag, rolling pin, and muscle to crush all of the vanilla wafers.
- In a big bowl, stir together the cookies crumbs, sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, nuts, vanilla, and salt. Completely mix and coat.
- Dump the mixture into the prepared pan. Level it out, then use waxed paper and a heavy object such as a glass to evenly compress the crumbs. Chill in fridge for at least 2 hours.
- Use the foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board. Slice up and store in a sealed container either at room temperature or in the fridge.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Double Apple Spice Cake
This Double Apple Spice Cake includes chopped apples in the batter and sliced apples prettily arranged on top. You’re pretty much guaranteed to get apple in every bite!
I came across a version of this recipe promoted by Kerrygold Irish Butter. I thought it looked amazing, but I wanted to change it to a square pan for easier slicing and freezing and make a number of other little changes, too.
Instead of dusting the top with confectioners’ sugar, I decided to use a technique I also use for my Calvados Apple Galette: brushing honey across the top near the end of baking to add some sweetness and glisten.
This is really such a pretty cake. The spices are gentle, but present enough to boost the flavor of the apples.
Modified from Kerrygold.
Bready or Not: Double Apple Spice Cake
Equipment
- 8×8 or 9×9 square pan
- aluminum foil
- nonstick spray
- basting brush
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 3/4 cup sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 8 ounces Kerrygold Salted Butter melted
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 3 medium baking apples like Pink Lady, Envy, Granny Smith, etc
- 2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar
- 1/3 cup honey
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line an 8×8 or 9×9 square pan with aluminum foil and apply nonstick cooking spray.
- Prepare the apples. Peel then dice up one of the apples. The other two, peel and slice thinly.
- To a large bowl, add the brown sugar and eggs. Whisk for about a minute until thoroughly combined and creamy.
- Add the sour cream/yogurt, pure vanilla extract, and melted butter. Whisk well.
- In a separate medium size bowl, combine flour, kosher salt, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and allspice.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Before the dry ingredients are fully incorporated, add the diced apples. Continue to fold in until no streaks of flour remain.
- Pour batter into the prepared baking pan, then use an offset spatula to smooth it out. Shingle the thinly sliced apples on top. The sprinkle turbinado sugar all over the slices.
- Bake for 35 minutes. Pull out the cake and brush on the honey across all of the nooks and crannies. Place the cake back in oven to bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the top is turning golden brown. The apples on top should be fork-tender with the center cake passing the toothpick test.
- Let cool at least 30 minutes before slicing in. Store covered in the fridge. Cake can also be frozen for later enjoyment.