It might not have escaped you that my last post did not include a recipe. And was just some weird rant about a difficult week and a random set of mixing bowls from Vermont. Which served – are serving, in fact, - as emotional support in turbulent times. Who writes about such things, I’ll ask you? But the damage is done now, and the embarrassing post was published, so we might as well try to find some use for the poor bowls. I did mention a banana bread last time, in passing. And you can find my basic weekend recipe here. But I will not write about this today. There will be a better time for it, maybe. And who needs another banana bread recipe, anyway, when there are hundreds, if not thousands, going around the Internet.
No, the bread, or pound cake of sorts (in France we call pound cakes “cakes”, and cakes, “gâteaux”), that I want to write about today came from an old-fashioned magazine clipping, which is ninety percent of the reason I wanted to make it in the first place. The other ten percent being that over two weeks ago, I mistakenly ordered four packs of four Pink Lady apples, instead of the four apples I thought I was committing to. I will not expound on the pitfalls of online grocery shopping in New York, and how much I despise it. Even more so after living off Paris open-air markets for two years. It would put me in a bad mood for the rest of the afternoon, and my mood is already fragile these days.
Let’s just say that after forcing apples down my children’s throats twice daily for two weeks (figuratively of course, although one might be tempted to make it literal at the end of a rowdy meal), I still had six to seven Pink Ladies lying around on my kitchen counter this weekend. And it just so happened that the previous weekend, I had saved a random apple quick bread recipe when going through a folder of old French food magazine clippings that have accumulated over the years, mostly untouched. I do confess that I rarely have the energy, or the inspiration, to reach for my red recipe box and its adjoining purple plastic folder, full of random clippings and photocopies (when and how did I ever get to photocopy pages of a cookbook?) dating back to the early 2000’s.
This time, however, I found myself feeling weirdly excited about going through these old papers. There is still the salt-crust lamb “daube” recipe that was on my cooking list for years and was never made, just because I did not own – and still don’t, to this day – the oval-shaped Dutch Oven cocotte that it called for. My only Dutch Oven, which I have dutifully used for soups and stews for the past twenty years, is round. And in perfect shape, credit to Le Creuset. However, what I was eying for a while, was a grey Staub oval 7-quart cocotte, just so I could make that promising lamb stew. But for some reason I never got around to buying one. It always seemed too pricey for something I knew I would barely use. And from what I’ve just seen when looking up a link to this most coveted item, the price has only gotten steeper.
Anyway. If I ever get to making that daube recipe, you will be the first ones to know – if it’s any good, that is. But we were talking about apples, weren’t we. And how I came across the perfect way to use my forlorn pink ladies. I wasn’t looking for a particular recipe when I went through my papers last time. I was just trying to make good on my commitment to reorganize, and label, my entire pantry, after deciding, in January, that I would finally settle down and make our new apartment a home. Two months later, I have only gone through half my closets, and my kitchen is still very much a work in progress. But my recipe folder has been pruned, and a good apple bread recipe was found. I had forgotten all about it but had a vague sense that there was a “cake aux pommes” recipe in there that had sounded intriguing to me at some point. But that one turned out to be a salty pound cake recipe, involving Pont l’Evêque cheese– from a “spécial Normandie” issue, I suppose. And that bread has now definitely landed on my cooking list. But, as I’m sure you are aware, Pont l’Evêque is not something one usually has handy, especially here in the U.S., so it will have to wait until I find myself near Zabar’s – if they even have it there.
What I did come across, however, was this caramelized apple cake recipe, which fulfilled my urgent need to get rid of decaying apples, as well as my yet unknown need to use the Trader Joe’s fleur de sel caramel sauce that has been sitting on my pantry shelf for months. Of course, that was the recipe. And there was genuine anticipation in knowing I could cook from something printed on paper, for once. Since I have moved back to New York, I haven’t touched a single cookbook. Every night when I make dinner, - I never make lunch, even on weekends, which are for leftovers - my modest collection is lined up in front of me, sitting on the table that was to be its temporary home but seems to have become their permanent habitat, eight months later. I am a procrastinator in many things, and home décor is one of them. Particularly after a second international move in two years. I really, really want the empty wall in my kitchen to be filled with pretty maple floating shelves, to organize these sad-looking cookbooks, alongside some pretty cups and bowls that have been piled up in my overcrowded cabinets so far. But for some reason I haven’t made it happen yet. For the first few months, I knew exactly why. I just didn’t want to admit to myself that I was back in New York. That I had left home and my beloved kitchen in Paris, no matter how imperfect it was. Now, I think it’s just laziness. But whatever the reason, I haven’t cooked from magazines, or cookbooks, in as long as I can remember. And this humble piece of paper from an outdated Saveurs magazine, or Régal, or whatever publication it was, might convert me all over again to the virtues of paper.
So here we are. A set of white porcelain bowls from Vermont, a French magazine recipe from the year 2010 or thereabouts. And a bunch of apples pleading for their lives. Add two eager, over-excited boys who woke up too early, and you have the Saturday morning activity you didn’t know you needed.
I wasn’t sure about this recipe at first. The caramelized apples looked tantalizing right away, but the batter proportions didn’t look right. It came out very thick and sticky and barely filled a quarter of my large bundt pan. I thought I would end up with a sad, flat cake no matter how much baking powder was in there. But it came out fine, if a little overbaked. I would recommend testing the cake a good five to ten minutes before the recommended time. I did it five minutes early and it was already too late, I’m afraid. Without the heap of caramelized apples and caramel sauce on top, it would have been quite dry. But it was appreciated by all and filled the house with a comforting smell that reminded us that it was still winter, and that we need an extra dose of coziness these days. The weather changed this week, and I’m not sure we are going to crave this kind of heavy pound cake in the coming weeks. Strawberries will soon be a welcome replacement. And the New York Times is advising us to get cracking on this kind of delicious-looking lemon pudding. Caramelized apples were perfect for the time being, however. These days, as far as I’m concerned, what I need more than anything is a measure of peace, and comfort, and trying to reassure myself that I will be okay, that our family will be okay, no matter what side of the Atlantic we find ourselves on, and no matter how crazy things are in Washington, D.C. and beyond. This is my madness-proof recipe of the day, if you will. And baking has proved to be one of the most effective ways to keep me away from my phone and the anxious doomscrolling that can ruin my days.
As I mentioned I used my bundt pan for this cake, but it can be made as a rectangular loaf cake as well, with no expected changes to the taste. I felt like having a pretty round thing on a cake stand this time but do whatever strikes your fancy – as one always should.
Caramelized Apples Pound Cake (or Bundt Cake)
From an old French cooking magazine.
4 to 6 servings
For the caramelized apples
3 apples (about 1 ½ pounds total)
50 grams salted butter → 3 ½ tablespoons
40 grams cassonade (Muscovado or brown sugar) → 3 tablespoons
For the batter
3 eggs
60 grams sugar → ¼ cup + 1 teaspoon
130 grams softened butter → 9 tablespoons (a bit over ½ cup)
160 grams flour → 1 ¼ cups
50 grams almond flour → ½ cup
1 sachet (about 11 grams) baking powder → 2 ½ teaspoons
1 tablespoon rhum (or Bourbon)
For the salted caramel sauce
100 grams sugar → ½ cup
20 grams salted butter → 1 ½ tablespoons
30 grams heavy cream → 2 tablespoons
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°C/175° F
Butter a loaf pan or bundt cake pan
Caramelized apples
Wash the apples, core them and cut them up into small cubes.
Melt the salted butter in a pan, add the apple pieces and mix.
Add the muscovado sugar and let caramelize on low heat, until apples are soft.
Batter
Break the eggs in a bowl, add sugar and whisk well.
Add flour, almond flour, baking powder and rum. Mix well and add the softened butter. Mix until incorporated. Fold 2/3 of the caramelized apples into the batter, set the rest of the apples aside.
Pour batter into the cake pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, maybe less depending on your oven. Check doneness with a toothpick or knife. I would go for a slightly wet batter over a perfectly clean knife. My knife came out completely dry and the cake turned out a bit dry as well.
Caramel sauce
Melt the sugar in a pan.
When it is turns into an amber-colored liquid, add the salted butter and whisk quickly to incorporate.
Add the heavy cream, whisking continuously.
Serve the cake with the remaining caramelized apples on top, and a dollop (or two!) of salted caramel sauce.
Comments