Apple Walnut Coffee Cake #SundaySupper

 

Confession time.  For the longest time I refused to eat cooked apples.  In all honesty, I refused to eat any cooked fruit. 

I don’t know what it was, the texture, the fact that it was warm, but I just didn’t like it.  Therefore up until the last year or so I didn’t really appreciate pie.  I know, PIE.  If pie was around me, I’d eat the crust and leave the rest.  

Then something changed, call it maturing (I refused to say getting older), but I started to like cooked fruit.  The mushy apples didn’t bother me as much.  Pass over that apple pie.  Apple cake?  Sure, I’ll have a slice!  Homemade applesauce?  You bet! The jarred stuff?  Eh, still not a fan, too sweet and baby foodish for me. 

 

Fall is in the air and apples are finding their way into my CSA basket.  I love apples, and now I don’t mind cooking with them.

 

Apple Walnut Coffe Cake #SundaySupper

Author: Susan Palmer

Recipe type: Dessert, Breakfast, Fruit

 

I’ve had the base recipe for this cake sitting around for years. I originally scribbled it down from my Aunt after she served it for brunch one afternoon. My husband loved it so much, he insisted that I get the recipe. Where the source is from, I have no idea! All I know is that it was a kosher cookbook because there was no dairy listed. A few swaps, plus some apples and walnuts and we have a new cake!

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1¼ cups whole milk
• 1 lb. apples, peeled, cored and cut into ½ inch dice
• ¾ cup toasted walnuts, chopped
• ½ cup granulated white sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3 teaspoons cocoa powder

Instructions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees and grease and flour a bundt pan.
2. Using a stand or hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and airy – about 2-3 minutes
3. Add the eggs one at a time until well combined and then whisk in the vanilla extract.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt.
5. Alternating between the dry ingredients and the milk in three parts – starting with the dry, beat together until combined, careful not to over mix.
6. In a small bowl, combine the filling for the cake, stir together the walnuts, remaining ½ cup sugar, cinnamon and cocoa powder. Set aside.
7. To build your cake, spoon about ¼ of the batter into the bottom of your bundt pan. Spread ½ of the apples around the batter and add another ¼ of batter. Scatter the walnut mixture over the batter, then more batter (it will be difficult to smooth out, it is okay if it isn’t perfect). Finally, add your remaining apples and smooth the remaining batter on top.
8. Next take a long skewer and insert it into your cake batter and carefully make small swirls – this will give you the lovely swish once the cake is baked.
9. Bake for 45-50 minutes, insert a toothpick to test that the cake is done.
10. Let cool completely before inverting the cake from the bundt pan onto a platter.