Autumn Apple Recipe Round-Up

Days getting shorter, air feeling crisper, wind breezes coming through the window, leaves beginning to change the color of the landscape, and apples hanging patiently on branches waiting to be picked. All signs of autumn's much anticipated arrival. And in less than two weeks, I will be spending the beginning of my favorite season in the mountains of Colorado. Be still my heart!! Containing my enthusiasm may prove to be an even greater challenge than figuring out how to travel with only one suitcase (says the Queen of Overpacking). Were it not for a few distractions going on in my life (an upcoming half-marathon), I might not get any sleep in the next two weeks.

It was on a trip to Colorado almost ten years ago where I first discovered and tasted Honey Crisp Apples. In one bite I was smitten. For awhile this sweet, crisp, firm hybrid apple was almost impossible to find at grocery stores. Fortunately, the number of orchards growing this apple have increased significantly over the years, now making them readily available. Honey Crisps are my go to apples to put on a cheese platter and just one of the many varieties of apples used in the cakes, crostatas, pies, crisps, tortas, and galettes coming out of my oven. There have been a number of apple recipes posted to the blog over the years. To celebrate the start of 'apple season' I am re-posting nine of my favorites. Each of the recipes recommend the best apple or apples to use as not all apples are created equal when baked! Note: There are other great apple recipes to be found in the recipe index on the blog as well (although, yikes, you might not be able to judge this by their photos) so look at this round-up as a starting point to inspire you. 

Happy apple baking season, happy autumn, happy September!

Brown Butter Caramelized Apple Crisp

Apple Cider Doughnut Cake

Torta di Mele (Apple Cake)

The French Laundry's Cranberry and Apple Kuchen with Hot Cream Sauce

Apple Galette

Baked Apples ala Mode

Baked Apples with Oat Crumble

Fresh Apple Cake

Rustic Apple Crostata

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Espresso Doughnuts

The earliest description of or reference to the doughnut first appeared in print in 1809. In his book "A History of New York, from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty", Washington Irving wrote "Sometimes the table was graced with immense apple-pies, or saucers full of preserved peaches and pears; but it was always sure to boast of an enormous dish of balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog's fat, and called dough-nuts, or oly koeks: a delicious kind of cake, at present scarce in this city, excepting in genuine Dutch families." While there hasn't been any debate regarding a doughnut's deliciousness over the past two centuries, apparently there has been some contention over whether or not it should be spelled doughnut or donut. The AP Stylebook (the journalists bible) and Grammarly (the site for grammar nuts) prefer the word 'doughnut', while the internet skews significantly toward the spelling 'donut'. Which means if you are doing an exhaustive search for 'doughnut' recipes on the internet, you may come up short if you don't also look for 'donut' recipes. Because we sometimes look for a scapegoat in times of conflicts, the finger has often been pointed at Dunkin' Donuts for popularizing the shortened spelling. Yet regardless of which spelling camp one falls in, time would be much better spent on making and eating these confections. Right?

So let's talk about why you should be making these Peanut Butter and Chocolate Espresso Doughnuts, why you need them in your life.

There may be no better doughnut flavor combination than a deep rich chocolate and creamy, salty peanut butter one. It's classic, it's timeless, and we have H.B. Reese, a farmer working for Hershey's to thank for giving us this winning combination. 

Do you think it's delusional to believe dipping a chocolate expresso baked doughnut into peanut butter icing is a way to ensure we get our daily intake of protein? Which means the icing actually makes them good for you, right? I suppose the answers depend on how gifted one is at rationalizing the irrational. 

Unlike the earliest doughnuts, these are baked and not fried. Which, if you think about it, makes them one of the healthier versions, right? (Again, you decide what you want your answer to be. There is no right or wrong here.) After combining the dry ingredients with wet ingredients, the batter is spooned or piped into a doughnut pan. Either method works. This recipe will make 18 mini-doughnuts. If for some reason you only want 9 of them (which I can't' for the life of me figure out why you would), you can halve the ingredients. 

The mini-sized doughnuts bake for 13-15 minutes in a preheated 325 degree (F) oven. After short three to four minute rest, the doughnuts are carefully turned out onto a cooling rack. 

Once you make this peanut butter icing, you will be making it all of the time. Just remember to sift your confectionary sugar before mixing all of the icing ingredients together. This doughnut deserves to be glazed with a smooth icing.

The doughnuts can be dipped once they have cooled to room temperature (approximately 20-30 minutes).

While the icing on the doughnuts is still wet, top with sprinkles. Chocolate sprinkles, colored sprinkles, chocolate and colored sprinkles, any kind of sprinkles. Just sprinkle them!

From beginning to end it takes a little more than hour to make these almost too pretty to eat Peanut Butter and Chocolate Espresso Doughnuts. I won't tell you how long it will take for all of them to be eaten. 

Regular sized doughnuts are 'too big' for me. The mini doughnuts are just the right size. Big enough for a couple of satisfying bites and small enough to eat two (without feeling too much guilt) if I wanted. Bring these Peanut Butter and Chocolate Espresso Doughnuts to your next meeting or put them on a platter and serve to family, friends or co-workers and watch them disappear! 

Recipe
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Espresso Doughnuts (slight adaptations to the Baked Espresso Glazed Doughnuts from Shutterbean and Joy the Baker's Mini Peanut Butter and Chocolate Baked Donuts)
(makes approximately 18 mini-doughnuts)

Ingredients
Doughnuts
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 Tablespoons espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
Substitution Note: Can use 2 cups of all-purpose instead of 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of cake flour)

Peanut Butter Icing
1 1/2 cups confectionary sugar, sifted
1/4 to 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (Recommend Jif Peanut Butter) 
2 teaspoons vanilla
4-6 Tablespoons whole milk
generous pinch of kosher salt

Chocolate and/or colored sprinkles for decorating

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Spray a mini-doughnut pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour(s), baking soda, espresso powder, unsweetened cocoa, and kosher salt. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, vegetable oil and vanilla until blended and smooth.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, whisking until well blended and all ingredients are well incorporated.
5. Spoon doughnut batter into a pastry bag (or into a large resealable plastic bag) and squeeze batter into the prepared doughnut pan (about 2/3 full). Bake for 13-15 minutes or until doughnuts spring back when lightly pressed.
6. Allow doughnuts to cool in pan for at least 3 minutes, then turn carefully out onto a rack to cool. Allow the doughnuts to cool to room temperature before icing.
7. For the peanut butter icing: Combine all of the icing ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Whisk until smooth. Transfer frosting to a smaller bowl. Note: Begin mixing frosting with 4 Tablespoons of whole milk. Add additional milk, one tablespoon at a time, if frosting is too thick.
8. Dip the tops of the cooled doughnuts into the icing. Return to cooling rack  and top each of the cupcakes with chocolate sprinkles, colored sprinkles, or a combination of both.
9. Allow the icing to set. 

Notes: (1) Make sure to sift your confectionary to ensure the creamiest, smoothest icing possible. (2) I used 1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter, but will try reducing to 1/4 cup the next time to determine which I like better. (3) I love adding the espresso powder to these doughnuts as it deepens the flavor of the chocolate, but you can leave it out if you want to. (4) I absolutely love the NordicWare non-stick mini-doughnut pan but I still prepare the pan with cooking spray when making these doughnuts.

Fruits and vegetables aren't the only things found at the Farmer's Market.

Cherry Tomato Jam for Cheese

With the arrival of September came the departure of the unwelcome oppressive humidity July and August brought this year. And in the last twenty four hours I have been transformed into one of those slightly annoying giddy school girls. Not because September is the official start of the Pumpkin Latte season or because it's my birthday month or because within the next couple of weeks the apple orchards will have an abundance of fruit to be harvested from its' trees or because the astronomical start to fall will soon arrive or because the cooler night air will remind me of what Wisconsin felt like during my childhood family vacations or because in a few short weeks I will be breathing in the Colorado mountain air and hiking on trails ablaze with the golden leaves of aspens set against an even deeper blue sky. Although each of those reasons on their own merit are enough to cause me to be heedlessly dizzy, their collective compounding effects have me feeling so deliriously punch-drunk I should probably not get behind the wheel of a car anytime soon. If there was ever a month I wish could be endlessly repeated, it would be September.

Besides champagne grapes, prune plums and apples, September is the month where farmer's markets and gardens are overflowing with all sorts of intensely flavorful vine ripened tomatoes. If there are any regrets during this month, it's that I didn't plant any tomatoes. There are a litany of reasons (or rather I should say excuses) why my kitchen will not reap the benefits of backyard home-grown tomatoes. Suffice to say tomato eating squirrels are one of my least favorite creatures on the planet and there seems to be a disproportionate number of them living in my neighborhood. Thankfully there are more than enough farms and gardens offering up their tomato bounties to those of us who need to overdose ourselves on those juicy, deeply flavorful summer tomatoes in order to get through the tomato famine months ahead. A tomato in September is not the same 'fruit' as the ones sold or served in January. They just aren't. At least for those of us who live in the midwest or northeast. And anyone who orders a Caprese Salad in a restaurant from late October to June, well I would seriously question whether their taste buds are in good working order.

The last time I made a Tomato Jam it was as the condiment for a Savory Bread Pudding. That one was made with heirloom tomatoes, a lemon, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and some water. While browsing through one of my cookbooks, I came across a recipe for a Cherry Tomato Jam for Cheese. This one being made with cherry (or grape) tomatoes, granulated sugar, lemon zest, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and finely chopped fresh rosemary. My culinary knowledge must be slipping as I had never thought to serve a Tomato Jam with cheese before. Clearly, as I have now discovered, I had been missing out.

If you have never made jam before, nothing is easier than making a Tomato Jam, especially this one. This particular Tomato Jam can be made with cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, or a combination of the both. You could even make it with baby heirloom tomatoes. 

The tomatoes are first roasted on a baking sheet in a preheated 350 degree (F) oven before they are cooked in heavy bottomed saucepan on the stove. While the inspiration recipe called for roasting them to remove their skins, I choose to keep the skins on to give a little more texture to the finished jam.

Initially the roasted tomatoes and granulated sugar are cooked in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat (to allow the sugar to melt). Once the sugar melts the heat is increased to medium-high causing the mixture to come to a rapid boil. Stirring frequently, the tomato sugar mixture is boiled for 5 to 7 minutes or until it becomes thick and syrupy. My cooking time was closer to 7 minutes.

As soon as the tomato sugar mixture reaches the desired consistency it is removed from the heat. The lemon zest, fresh squeezed lemon juice and chopped rosemary are then stirred in. The original recipe called for 3 Tablespoons of lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon of finely chopped fresh rosemary, both of which I used. While the lemon flavor from the zest and juice is not 'too' much, I would recommend you begin by adding 2 Tablespoons and tasting before adding the third tablespoon. Once the jam began to cool slightly, I decided there wasn't enough of a rosemary presence so I added a tad more (thus my recommendation below to use a generous 1/2 teaspoon). You won't be sorry about being generous with the rosemary as it is the perfect counterbalance to the sweetness of the tomatoes and tartness of the lemon flavor.

I decided to use two mini (5.2 ounce capacity) Weck canning jars instead of putting all of the Tomato Jam into a single jar. This gave me the option of giving one away as a gift (although after tasting it, I am selfishly holding onto to both jars).

The slightly cooled jars are stored in the refrigerator. 

There are any number of cheeses you could serve the Tomato Jam with. Some of the options include a creamy goat cheese, a double creme gouda, a fresh Robiola, and/or an aged Pecorino. 

I am not exaggerating when I say your next cocktail party, the one where you put together a small cheese platter as an appetizer (or for dessert), needs to have this Tomato Jam. Yes, I know Fig Jam is really popular these days (and yes, it really is good), but this savory/sweet tomato jam will set your cheese platter apart from all of the others your friends and family have been noshing on for years. However, while having a stellar cheese tray has a number of merits, the experience of eating this jam with cheese will be nothing short of a 'in the best of ways a' life-changing, rock your world one'. 

If by chance you have a garden full of cherry or grape tomatoes, well you are luckier than the rest of us who either have to rely on tomato handouts from our friends or have to schlep over to a farm stand or farmer's market (because sometimes the ones at grocery stores aren't as flavorful) to buy them.

Recipe
Cherry Tomato Jam for Cheese (a slightly revised version of the Cherry Tomato Jam for Cheese recipe as shared in the cookbook: The Cheesemonger's Kitchen: Celebrating Cheese in 90 recipes).

Ingredients
2 cups (340 g) cherry or grape tomatoes (or a mix of the two), cut in half
3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
2 -3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
generous 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
Serving: Along with thin cheese crackers serve with a creamy goat cheese, a double creme gouda, a fresh Robiola, and/or an aged Pecorino.

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Place the cut tomatoes halves on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes to loosen the skins.
3. Remove tomatoes from oven and place in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Add sugar.
4. Over medium heat gently melt sugar, then bring to a boil and cook (boiling rapidly) for 5 to 7 minutes, or until thick and syrupy. Notes: Stir frequently. My cooking time was 7 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and add lemon zest, freshly squeezed lemon juice and chopped rosemary.
6. Transfer tomato jam to clean, sterilized jars. Seal well. When cool, place jam in the refrigerator.
7. The tomato jam can be kept refrigerated for up to 2 weeks, if it lasts that long!

English Garden Views at the Chicago Botanic Garden

Italian Plum Torte

Looks can be deceiving. And if you look at the list of ingredients for this Italian Plum Torte you might easily think 'doesn't look like anything special to me'. That reaction would be, as they say 'a fatal mistake'. Okay that may sound a bit overdramatic, maybe only a teensy-tiny bit. Because this rather ordinary list of ingredients torte is anything but. Given the number of textures (a little bit crunchy, a little bit custardy-like, a little bit cake like) and flavors in this Italian Plum Torte, it is almost impossible to believe it isn't one of those highly technical cakes. The kind requiring hours and hours of preparation, having a lengthy list of ingredients, and directions so complex it would be easier to put together a piece of furniture from IKEA without the instructions rather than bake the cake. While this Plum Torte has only been around for the past 33 years, it has all the makings of a classic, timeless dessert.

So why did I gussy it up with flowers and fruit? In the absence of a virtual taste test or access to scratch and sniff software, I was hoping this Italian Plum Torte would grab your undivided attention. No, that's not entirely true. I wanted you feel almost compelled to immediately run out to the market to pick up some Italian Prune Plums so you could make it. More than likely you have all of the other ingredients in your refrigerator and pantry. Shamelessly I wanted to draw your attention away from all of the other recipes posted to foodblogs, appearing in new issues of cooking magazines, or tabbed in any recently purchased cookbooks. At least temporarily until you had a chance to bake and eat this torte.

Other than telling you how easy and inexpensive it is to make or how the yellow flesh Italian prune plums turn into brilliant fuchsia colored pools of sweetness, I resorted to appealing to your visual sense in an effort to influence you and potentially set off a shortage of Italian prune plums.

Italian prune plums (sometimes called Empress Plums) are a petite, egg-shaped fruit characterized by a deep purple, often powdered blueberry colored smooth thin skin, and yellow flesh. Unlike other clingstone plums (meaning the pit is difficult to separate from the flesh), these plums are free-stone (meaning very easy to pit). Italian prune plums are firmer and less juicy than other plums. Which means they hold their shape better in baked goods and yield a more intense flavor. Having a relatively short season, they arrive in late summer and all but disappear by the end of September, early October. This means you only have the next couple of months to make this Italian Plum Torte. Once you taste it, you are more than likely to want to make it again. If for whatever reason you decide to put off making it until the Italian prune plum season is almost over, the year long wait will seem excruciatingly longer.

Unlike other stone fruits, the cutting and pit removal of these prune plums is almost effortless. Thanks to these plums, my stone fruit cutting confidence has been restored.

The base of the torte is a nothing more than a simple butter cake made with only five ingredients. When butter, sugar, eggs, salt, flour and baking powder combine to create incredible scrumptiousness, why mess with perfection. Before making this cake I considered adding some vanilla to the cake batter. However, my instincts said that wasn't such a good idea, at least not with this cake. Trusting my instincts served me and this cake well.

At the risk of leaving just one plum half out, forget trying to make a pattern with the plums. In other words do as I say (I really mean suggest) not as I did. Not just because there is no such thing as a torte with too much fruit. As this cake rises beautifully around the shrinking, flavor intensified plums (think 'plum puddles') any well intentioned design gets a little lost in the baking.

Allegedly an early version of the recipe called for one tablespoon of cinnamon. Apparently this was an error as the intended amount was one teaspoon. Over the years the recipe was published by the New York Times and other foodbloggers, the amount of cinnamon seemed to switch back and forth between one tablespoon and one teaspoon. Deb Perelman (SmittenKitchen) thought one tablespoon worked. And if you are a lover of cinnamon, I think she may have been right. I took the midway approach and used two teaspoons. The next time I might use a generous two teaspoons or go all in with one tablespoon. Use whatever works for your cinnamon loving palate. Squeezing a little lemon juice (about 2 teaspoons) over the top of the cake gives it a sprinkle of pixie dust before the torte goes into a preheated 350 degree (F) oven.

It takes slightly less than an hour (my baking time was 58 minutes) for the Italian Plum Torte to bake. And you only have to wait about 45 minutes before you can cut your first slice.

Some cakes/tortes are best on the day they are made, others are best the next day. It's almost impossible to have to decide which camp this Italian Plum Torte falls in. So I won't. If you are lucky enough to have any leftovers the next day, let me know what you think.

If you take the eggs and butter out the night before and get up a little earlier than usual, you can make the Italian Plum Torte for breakfast. Regardless of the time of day or day of the week you decide to make it, your life needs a slice (or two). Really it does.

Recipe
Italian Plum Torte (an ever so slight adaptation to Marian Burros's Plum Torte recipe published in the New York Times)

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder (recommend Rumford Baking Powder)
Generous pinch of kosher salt
1 cup granulated sugar
8 Tablespoons (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
12 small purple Italian Prune Plums, cut in half, pits and stems removed
2 teaspoons or up to 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
2 - 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1-2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Set aside.
4. In a medium sized bowl, cream together one cup of sugar and butter until light and fluffly (approximately 3-4 minutes).
5. Beat in eggs, one at a time until blended.
6. Mix in dry ingredients until combined. Do not over beat.
7. Scrape batter into a 9" springform pan. Using an offset spatula, smooth the top.
8. Press cut plums into the cake batter (skin side up).
9. Sprinkle top of cake with cinnamon-sugar mixture.
10. Squeeze 1-2 teaspoons from a 1/2 lemon over the top of the cake.
11. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until top is golden and/or a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Note: My baking time was 58 minutes.
12. Remove from oven, place on rack and allow to cool.
13. Cut into slices. 
14. Store torte at room temperature. Be sure to cover any leftovers.

Serving suggestions: Serve as is, sprinkle top with confectionary sugar, and/or serve with some cinnamon ice cream.

Notes: (1) Use a 9" springform pan, it's the perfect size. If your pan is non-stick, even better. (2) Some say you can replace the prune plums with regular plums. I am not so sure. (3) This torte would be perfect for breakfast, brunch, as a lunch dessert, or served as an afternoon indulgence.