An Apple Cake That You Will Make Over And Over Again - Forbes

When you cook and create recipes for a living, you are always making something new. But I have a collection of family recipes that I make over and over again.

One recipe is my Grandmother’s apple cake. She made it frequently enough—especially in the fall and winter—that we all took the cake for granted. That is until she passed away and we realized that we didn’t have the recipe.

She made it so often that she knew the recipe by heart. For years, my mother and I searched high and low for the recipe and baked every apple cake that we read about, and none were the same. Then, as if she couldn’t stand it any longer—when I was working on the cakes for my cookbook, Steak & Cake—I found an old notebook with a simple recipe written in it for “Apple Cake.” I baked it immediately and when we tasted it, we knew it was the one!

I added my Grandmother’s apple cake to ten other cakes, some classic and some new-fangled for a neighborhood tasting—the cookbook writer’s version of a “cake walk.” Interestingly enough, everyone gravitated towards this rustic cake.

The cake is very simple, quick to make but immensely satisfying and comforting. When the votes were in, my mother and I felt validated in our love for this cake and were happy that so many others liked it as well. Sometimes, the memory is better than the reality but in this cake, it was not.

I had to stop myself from adding a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of vanilla to the batter as I rarely make a cake without it, but I decided that I should preserve this cake just the way my Grandmother made it. The batter is very stiff—like cookie dough—before you add the apples, but rest assured as soon as the apples give up their juice, the batter loosens and will bake beautifully. The juice from the apples bubble and bake and create a really crisp crunchy exterior that perfectly balances the sweet soft moist interior.

The glaze for the cake is made with an apple cider liqueur distilled from local Michigan apple cider ... [+] by the Journeyman Distillery located in Three Oaks, MI.

Elizabeth Karmel

I don’t tinker with the recipe often, but I recently was gifted a bottle of O.C.G. Apple Cider Liqueur from Journeyman Distillery in Three Oaks, MI. It’s bottled in a miniature jug that evokes apple cider. It is made with local Michigan apple cider and un-aged rye whiskey and has a nose of honeyed cooked apples with sweet autumn spices. As soon as I opened it, I thought about using it to make a glaze for “Grandmother Odom’s Apple Cake.”

The cake is dark in color with a craggy crust and tastes of caramelized apple juices. The crumb is super moist and studded with chunks of tart apples and nuts. I’ve made the cake with pecans but prefer walnuts—if you don’t want to use any nuts, I would add a cup of dried cherries or cranberries instead.

I love this cake because it is a delicious apple cake and reminds me of my grandmother, but mostly, I love this cake because it is the one cake that is universally loved by all who taste it. I can’t tell you how many people who were prickly towards me—or downright didn’t like me—until I served them this cake and it won them over. I think of it as a friendship cake that is perfect for making and sharing. It is also one of those cakes that non-bakers love so much that it gets them to start baking.

The cake is chock full of chunks of apple that are tender but still chunky.

Elizabeth Karmel

Grandmother Odom’s Apple Cake

You can make this cake in a stand mixer or by hand using a sturdy blending fork.

Makes 8-10 servings

4 generous cups raw apples, peeled and cut coarse (about 5 large apples)

2 cups granulated white sugar

½ cup neutral vegetable oil or untoasted walnut oil

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 overflowing cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped

Apple Cider Liqueur Glaze:

2 cups confectioners sugar

Pinch of fine-grain sea salt

4-5 tablespoons of Apple Cider Liqueur, or half Apple Cider Liqueur, half Bourbon or Rye

_{Special Equipment: Bundt Pan}

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare Bundt pan with Baker’s Joy [or Crisco and Flour], making sure to spray well so it doesn’t stick.

Peel and chop apples and set aside. Meanwhile, beat together sugar and oil and add eggs one at a time until creamy.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon and soda. Add to batter in 3 stages.

Fold in chopped apples. The batter will be very stiff like cookie dough but will loosen up as the apples release their juice. Let sit for 5 minutes, stir well and add walnuts. Mix well. The battery should go from chalky looking to glossy.

Pour batter into a prepared pan and place on a sheet pan to bake and place in the center of the pre-heated oven.

Meanwhile make the glaze: Place sugar in a small mixing bowl. Add liqueur one tablespoon at a time and mix with a fork, adding the liquid and stirring until the desired texture is reached. Set aside until the cake is baked and cooling on a rack.

Bake cake for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan 10 minutes, then invert on a cake cooling rack.

Glaze cake while still warm. Drizzle glaze over the top of the cake and let it run down the side. Let the cake cool and the glaze set before serving. If you want to guild the lily, serve with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream.

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