An Apple A Day...

  I'm gonna be honest here and say that apples have been on my mind. This is due in part to the fact that I have found the PERFECT apple. And I am not the only one who thinks so. My friend-boss has been ranting about this apple off and on for a while now. Most recently this occurred after a visit to the fruit farm. During this trip she was denied THE APPLE. Later during a classroom visit to the same farm, we were able to pick these apples. And.... oh my.... the Pixie Crunch is an amazing apple. It is closely compared to the Honey Crisp. The Pixie Crunch is a small, super sweet and crunchy apple. It is so delicious! The apples I picked on our field trip where the best I have ever had. These apples are perfect for eating, not for baking. But good luck trying to find them. They are an elusive breed of apple.
  Another reason I have apples on the brain is that I actually have a lot of apples to use. My best friend keeps handing over bags of apples. Mostly in an attempt to acquire homemade baked goods of her very own. And I am all too happy to oblige. But a gal needs to use apples in a variety of different ways. So today, we are exploring Spiced Apple Bundt Cake with Rum Glaze. The inspirational recipe came from Alton Brown. Of course I changed it quite a bit, because I am me and that is what I do.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, pepper, ginger, Chinese 5 spice, cinnamon and rosemary.

Cream together the sugars and butter.

Add the eggs and vanilla paste.

Prepare the apples, crystallized ginger and bundt pan.

Fold the apples and ginger into the cake batter.

Bake the bundt for 70 minutes. Let it cool in the pan for 30 minutes.

Turn out the bundt on a wire rack. Let it cool completely before adding glaze.

Make the glaze by whisking together powdered sugar, rum and water.

Spiced Apple Bundt Cake with Rum Glaze

Ingredients 

3 and 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp Chinese 5 spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh rosemary, finely minced
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
12 tbsp unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla paste
3 apples, peeled, cored and finely diced
4 tbsp crystallized ginger, finely chopped
2 cups powdered sugar
5 tsp rum
2 tsp water
demerara sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325F. Prepare the bundt pan with butter and flour.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, pepper, ground ginger, Chinese 5 spice, cinnamon and rosemary. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer cream together sugar, brown sugar, vanilla paste and softened butter. Add eggs, one at a time. Add the flour mixture one third at a time. The batter is a thick one. Fold diced apples and crystallized ginger into the batter with a spatula.  Pour batter into the prepared bundt pan.

Bake at 325F for 70 minutes. Let the bundt cool in the pan for a half an hour. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack. Let the cake cool to room temperature.

Prepare the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar, rum and water together. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake. Sprinkle the demerara sugar on the glaze.