Print Page |
Email story |
A Piece of Cake
October 2007: Ninth Slice
Newsletter written by Anne Byrn October 03, 2007
A Word from Anne
Sitting in the school carpool line with the windows rolled down, I'm putting the finishing touches on this newsletter. What I love about fall is more than the cooler temps that allow me the pleasure of fresh air versus air conditioning. I love the hope and optimism the start of a new school year brings. New classes and teachers, new clothes, a football team with a new quarterback, applications to college, a freshman year—they all spell a fresh start. I'm feeling the same way about my new book out soon, a wee bit of a departure from the tried-and-true cake mix books but still jammed with great recipes and geared to the same busy audience—you and me.
It is called the What Can I Bring? Cookbook and, with more than 200 recipes and countless menus and suggestions, hopefully will be your answer to that age-old question of what to bring to a dinner party, a picnic, a potluck, a tailgate, that good friend, or just prepare at home when you've got the crowd coming over to your place. And each recipe includes suggestions on how it can be wrapped for traveling. I wrote this book after it was suggested to me by a friend and newspaper colleague and after traveling on tour and talking with book escorts on how they entertain.
These days we all love to gather with friends and family but no one likes to prepare the entire meal. Well, maybe a handful of people, but soon perfectionists tire of it, too! Look for the book on store shelves around the first of November. Many of my favorite recipes are inside, including the Fresh Apple Cake recipe I am sharing with you today.
Happy Baking!
Anne
[ Back to top ]
Word from Workman
Look for Anne on QVC this Sunday, Oct. 7. She'll appear on the "In the Kitchen with Bob" show from noon to 2 p.m. Eastern time. She'll show you more than a dozen recipes from the new book, including some of her favorite recipes to tote to parties—Missy's Chicken Tortellini Soup, Jan's Bruschetta, her sister's recipe for Cowboy Caviar, the wonderful Baby Blue Salad, her Aunt Elizabeth's Banana Pudding (a potluck staple), and the apple cake. Call in and talk with Anne on Sunday, or catch her on QVC again Wednesday, October 10th at 7am or on Thursday, October 11th at noon.
You can also see Anne on Good Morning America Monday, Nov. 19, and on tour in these cities:
- Nashville, TN - Davis-Kidd Booksellers, 6 p.m. Nov. 15
- St. Louis, MO - Left Bank Books, 7 p.m. Nov. 26
- Dayton, OH - Books & Co, 7 p.m. Nov. 27
- Chattanooga, TN - Barnes & Noble, 12 p.m., Dec. 1
- Raleigh, NC - Barnes & Noble Cary, 7 p.m., Dec. 3
- More cities, including Lexington, Memphis, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Jacksonville, and Tampa in 2008
For a full listing and more details, take a look at Anne's blog entry here.
[ Back to top ]
Recipe Swap
Since you can't be in the QVC studio with me and taste a bite of the apple cake, I'm sharing the recipe here. It's a from-scratch cake (but an easy one) and perfect for using those crisp fall apples. You could create a cake mix version by preparing a spice cake, using buttermilk, folding in chopped apples, baking in a Bundt pan and topping with this caramel glaze. Use any flavorful apples you can find—Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Winesap, you name it. And if you've got more pears than apples, use ripe and firm pears instead. This is a great cake to take tailgating or to a neighborhood potluck because it won't slip and slide, and you come home with a clean plate every time.
Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Glaze
Serves: 16
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 75 to 80 minutes
CAKE:
Vegetable oil spray for misting the pan
Flour for dusting the pan
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups chopped raw peeled apples, cut into 1-inch chunks, from 3 large apples
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
GLAZE:
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons heavy (whipping) cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly mist a 12-cup Bundt or 10-inch tube pan with vegetable oil spray, and dust the pan with flour. Shake out the excess flour and set the pan aside.
2. Place the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and oil in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on medium-low until the mixture lightens, 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, soda, nutmeg, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and stir to combine using a wooden spoon. Fold in the apples, walnuts if desired, and vanilla.
3. Transfer the batter to the pan and place the pan in the oven. Bake until the cake springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 75 to 80 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cake cool in the pan for 25 minutes, then invert onto one wire rack (for the Bundt pan), or then again onto another wire rack (for the tube pan), so that it is right-side up. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze.
4. Place the butter, sugars, cream, and vanilla in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Let the glaze boil for 1 minute, stirring, then remove the pan from the heat.
5. Poke a few holes in the top of the cake with a bamboo skewer or fork, and spoon the glaze over the warm cake. Let the cake cool completely before slicing.
You'll Love Apple Cake Loaves:
Pour the batter into two 9- by 5-inch loaf pans and bake at 325 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes. After cooling, remove the loaves from the pan and glaze.
[ Back to top ]
Bits & Bytes
 Christmas Cookbook Orders
Many of you have emailed wanting to order a copy of the Christmas cookbook/magazine I wrote last year. Oxmoor House Publishing in Birmingham has copies still in stock should you like to order. Call 1-800-491-0551 or click here to order.
My Cake Mix Line
Thanks to all of you for your suggestions on my Cake Mix Doctor line of cake mixes. As I might have mentioned earlier, the majority of you wanted an all-natural cake mix, but not necessarily from organic ingredients. So, all-natural it is! A chocolate mix and a vanilla mix are in development now, the packaging is being designed, and I feel like an expectant mother! The beauty of these mixes is their natural flavor, their ease in preparation, and their light and moist texture. We are shopping for a distributor, so in the next newsletter I should be able to tell you when these mixes will be in the marketplace. Continue to send cake mix suggestions to anne@cakemixdoctor.com.
[ Back to top ]
Hot Tips
Judging from the email comments I've gotten since I ran the recipe for the Symphony Brownies, we're all a little crazy about chocolate and about brownies. Karen McKinney of Tampa writes the secret of these brownies is to not refrigerate them. If you do, "the creamy mousse-like filling sets up hard and stays that way forever. They are too good to let that happen." Amen, Karen!
And Patricia Lynch of Plainville, MA, loves to bake cupcakes with her niece and nephew. She buys the hard-to-find larger cupcake liners—the 3- to 4-inch size—from the supermarket bakery. And during different holidays she also buys sprinkles by the pound from the in-store bakery. "They are much cheaper than buying them on the baking aisle. They usually have the seasonal colors in huge containers since they are making cupcakes, too." Love that ingenuity!
[ Back to top ]
Doctor the Doctor
Lori Matzke of Minneapolis baked Susan's Lemon Cake from my first book and wanted to bake it again with less oil. So she substituted 2/3 cup organic apple sauce for the oil and voila! "Most excellent...a huge crowd-pleaser. I have made it seven times since finding the recipe." Lori, I'll tell my sister Susan you lightened her recipe, and she'll be thrilled.
[ Back to top ]
Next Issue: November/December
Sweet Potato Cake ideas from readers. Holiday baking tips and gift ideas.
[ Back to top ]
|
