Apple Pie Cake

As many cookbooks as I have and love, there is always room for another one on my shelf. A while ago I added the Momofuku Milk Bar bookbook to my collection, and I love the way Christina Tossi takes an innovative approach to desserts. There are so many variations on the same desserts in different cookbooks, but her recipes really take classic flavors and bring them to a whole new level. Because I love to spend time in the kitchen, I enjoy that her recipes are multi-step and more involved than most. However, despite the steps, the recipes are not difficult and can definitely be spread out over a few days before assembling the final product. 
To get into the fall spirit, this Apple Pie Cake recently graced our table after dinner with friends. It combines layers of brown butter cake with cream cheese and apple pie filling, with a bit of pie crust topping. It has all the familiar flavors of the fall favorite, apple pie, but presented in a new way. 

As much as her concepts are different, so are her methods. Tossi bakes her cakes in a sheet pan, then they are cut into layers. The bottom layer is put together from partial pieces, eliminating some waste. The cake layers are then assembled in a cake ring with the fillings in between. What you need to make this cake is a 6 inch ring mold and 2 3x20 inch strips of acetate. The acetate strips are use to line the inside of the cake ring, similar to the collar on a souffle dish. This make a 6 inch 3 layer cake that easily served 6.  I used a 6 inch spring form pan to assemble the layers and it made unmolding the finished cake fairly easy. I know that I will be flipping through this book any time I want some inspiration and a delicious, but fun to make, dessert!

Barely Brown Butter Cake

4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown butter
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
3 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup grapeseed oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Heat oven to 350 F.
2.Combine the butters and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream together on medium high for 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and mix on medium high 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Stream in the buttermilk, oil and vanilla on low speed. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for an additional 5 to 6 minutes. The mixture will be practically white, twice the size of your original mixture. DO NOT Under beat.
4. On low speed add the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Mix for 45 to 60 seconds, just until your batter comes together and all dry ingredients have been incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix on low speed for another 45 seconds.
5. Line a quarter sheet pan with parchment or use a silpat. Using a spatula spread the cake batter in an even layer in the pan, bake for 30-35 minutes.  the cake will rise and puff, doubling in size, but will remain buttery and dense.  At 30 minutes, gently poke the edge of the cake with your finger, the cake should bounce back slightly and the center should be set. if not leave in oven 3 to 5 minutes.
6. Take cake out of the oven and cool on a wire rack until cooled. The cooled cake can be stored in the fridge, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 5 days.

Liquid Cheesecake
8 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 egg.

1. Heat oven to 300F
2. Put the cream cheese In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix on low speed for 2 minutes. scrape down the sides and add the sugar mix for 2 minutes, until the sugar has been completely incorporated.
3. Whisk together the cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in the milk, then whisk in the egg until completely incorporate.
4. With the mix on medium-low speed, stream in the egg slurry. Mix for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and loose, scrape down the  bowl as necessary.
5. line the bottom and sides of a 6x6 baking pan with plastic wrap.  Pour the cheesecake batter into the pan, put the pan in the oven, and bake for 15 minutes. Gently shake the pan.  the cheesecake should be firmer and more set towards the edges of the pan, but still be jiggly and loose in the center. If jiggly all over bake an additional 5 minutes and check again.
6.Cool the cheesecake completely, to finish the baking process and allow the cheesecake to set. Once cool, the cheesecake can be stored in the fridge for 1 week.

Apple Cider Soak
1/4  cup apple cider
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
pinch cinnamon
Whisk together in a small bowl until sugar completely dissolves.

 Apple Pie Filling
1 lemon
2 medium granny smith apples
1 tablespoon butter
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Fill a medium bowl halfway with cold water. Juice the lemon into it.
2. Peel apples, then half and quarter them. Put each apple quarter on its side and cut a small slice down the length to remove the seeds and core. Cut each quarter length wise into thirds  and crosswise into fourths, transfer the 12 pieces to the lemon water.
3. Drain lemon water from apples, and combine them  in a small sauce pan  with the butter, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Over medium heat bring to a boil, stiring gently so as not to break up the apples. Cook for 3- 5 minutes until soft, but not applesauce.  Remove from heat and cool. Once cooled the filling can be refrigerated in an air tight container for 1 week.

Pie crumb
1 1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 tablespoons water

1. Heat oven to  350F
2. Combine the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix on low speed.  Add the butter and water and paddle on low speed until the mixture starts to come together in small clusters.
4. Spread the clusters on a parchment or silpat lined sheet pan. Bake for 25 minutes, breaking them up occasionally. the crumbs should be golden brown and still slightly moist to the touch.
5. .Let the crumbs cool completely before using in a recipe. Crumbs can be stored in an air tight container for 1 week or a month in the fridge or freezer

Pie crumb frosting
1/2 recipe pie crumbs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1. Combine pie crumbs, milk and salt in a blender, puree on medium high until smooth and homogeneous.
2. Combine butter and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a sand mixer with paddle attachment and cream on medium high for 2-3 minutes, until fluffy and pale yellow. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. On low speed and the contents of the blender. Beat for 1 minute. Increase speed to medium high and beat for 2 minutes. Mixture should be uniform, very pale,barely tan color, if not beat another minute or 2. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 week.

1  six inch cake ring
2-  3 inch wide and 20 inches long strips of acetate

Assembly:
1. Invert cooled cake on parchment line counter and peel off the parchment from he bottom of the cake.  Use the cake ring to cut out 2 circles from the cake,  these will be your top 2 layers.  The remaining cake scrap will come together to make the bottom layer of the cake.

Layer 1
place cake ring on parchment lined sheet pan, line the inside of the ring with one strip of the acetate.  Put the cake scrapes inside the ring and use the backs of your hand to tamp the scraps together into a flat even layer.
Dunk a pastry brush in the apple cider soak and give the layer of cake a good healthy soak with half the cider soak mix. Spread 1/2 of liquid cheesecake over the cake in an even layer. Sprinkle 1/3 of the pie crumbs evenly over the cheesecake layer. Pat in place. spread 1/2 of the apple pie filling evenly over the pie crumbs.

Layer 2
Tuck the second acetate strip between the cake ring and the top 1/4 inch of the first acetate strip, so now you have a clear ring of acetate that is 5-6 inches tall, it will support your cake.
Set a second layer of cake on top of the filing and repeat the process for layer one.

Layer 3
Top filling with remaining cake layer. Cover the top of the cake with 1/2 of the frosting and garnish with remaining pie crumbs.
Transfer the sheet pan to the freezer and freeze for 12 hours to set the cake and filling.
Three hour before serving remove the cake from the freezer. Pop the cake out of the cake ring and gently peel off the acetate. At this point I used the remaining frosting to frost the sides of the cake. Transfer cake to cake plate and defrost in the fridge until serving time.

Foodie Friday

Baileys Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Food is a fun way to celebrate pretty much every holiday, from bountiful Thanksgiving feasts to smoky ribs and juicy burgers on the 4th of July, and St. Patrick's Day is no exception in our house. We have made the classic corned beef dinner, roasted salmon, colcannon, Guinness braised meats, and multiple loaves of Irish soda bread, all in the spirit of creating a fun St. Patty's Day meal. As we are not a family to leave out dessert, many years ago I tried this Bailey's Chocolate Chip Cheesecake to complete our holiday meal and it was an instant hit. It is smooth and creamy with nice chocolaty chunks and just a hint of coffee and Bailey's. It is the perfect way to finish your culinary salute to the Irish.

Baileys Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
Bon Appetit March 1989

Crust
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons melted butter

Filling
2 1/4 lbs cream cheese, at room temperature
1 2/3 cups sugar 
5 eggs 
1 cup Bailey's Irish Cream 
1 tablespoon vanilla 
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Coffee Cream
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons suagr
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

Crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat a 9 inch spring form pan with non stick spray. Combine crumbs and sugar in the pan, stir in the butter. Press mixture into bottom and 1 inch up sides of pan. Bake until lightly brown, about 7 minutes.

Filling: Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually mix in sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in Bailey's and vanilla.
Sprinkle half of the chocolate chips over crust. Spoon in filling and sprinkle remaining chocolate chips over top of the filling. Bake cake until puffed in center and golden brown, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Cool cake completely.

Coffee Cream : Beat cream, sugar and coffee powder until peak form. Spread over cooled cake or dollop over individual slices. Garnish with chocolate curls.

To serve a group, I made mini cheese cakes using a 12-well tin with removable bottom pieces. I ran the tip of a knife around the top of the baked cakes and using the hole in the bottom of the pan pushed up on the bottom piece to remove the cake from the tin. I also used mini chocolate chips in the mini version. I baked the minis for about 20 minutes.
printable recipe

link:Foodie Friday

Lime Cheese Cake

We all love cheesecake at our house. In fact, cheesecake was our wedding cake when Mr. Mimi and I tied the knot more than 25 years ago. Back in the day, bakeries were not making wedding cheesecake, so I made the layers and my talented sister decorated the cake. Even now, after all those years, our love (for cheesecake) has not diminished. If you looking for a bit o' green for your St. Patrick's Day menu, this would be the perfect way to end the meal. 

This cheesecake has three components- the crust, the cake itself, and the lime curd. It is light, sweet and creamy, and the lime curd on top gives a nice, citrusy tang. The basic recipe for this cheesecake is from Cook's Illustrated, but I made a few changes and my version appears below. We liked that it was a smooth and creamy filling, but it was still light, instead of being heavy and dense. I started with a shortbread crust but you could easily use graham crackers, vanilla wafers or your favorite butter cookie for the crust.

Lime Cheese Cake
Crust:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 cup flour

pinch of salt


Mix together, in a food processor until crumbly and press into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. When cool, wrap the outside of the pan in aluminum foil.  It needs to be water tight so make sure the foil comes up over the top edge of the pan. If you have to use more than one piece of foil, duck tape works great to seal the over lap.I simply wrap a piece of duck tape around the entire outside of the pan that way water can not seep in between the pieces of foil.

Filling:

1 1/2 lb (24oz) cream cheese

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 tablespoon lime zest

1/4 cup lime juice

4 eggs

2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup heavy cream

Rub the lime zest in to the sugar until well incorporated. In the bowl of a mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese to smooth out.  With mixer running, gradually add sugar and beat until completely smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add lime juice, vanilla, and salt, mix to incorporate.  Add the cream and mix until incorporated. Pour into prepared crust. Place a larger pan (like a roasting pan) that will hold your cheesecake pan on the middle rack of the oven. Place cheesecake pan in the larger pan and fill larger pan with  hot water, coming half way up the sides of the cheesecake pan. Bake in 325 degree oven for about 1 hour.  Temperature in the center of the cake should be  150 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Turn oven off and let cheesecake remain in the oven, with the door ajar for 1 hour. Remove pan from water bath and foil covering and allow to cool on a wire rack, at room temperature for about 2 hours.  While cheesecake is baking make lime curd.

Lime Curd:

1/3 cup lime juice*

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 tablespoon unsalted butter, cold

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

a pinch of salt

Heat lime juice in the microwave or in a small pan over medium heat until hot. In a non reactive sauce pan whisk eggs and sugar until light and lemon colored.  Whisking constantly, slowly add the hot lime juice to the eggs. Place pan over medium heat and cook stirring continuously until the mixture is thick and coats the back of a spoon (170 degrees). Remove from heat and stir in cold butter, mix until incorporated; stir in cream, vanilla and salt. Pour curd through a fine mesh strainer into a small bowl. Cover surface directly with plastic wrap refrigerate until needed.

*You can easily change this to another flavor, like lemon or orange, by using that type of juice.

Assembly:

When cheesecake is cooled and still in the pan, spread lime curd evenly on the top of the cake. Cover pan tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Run a butter knife around the inside of the pan to loosen the cake, remove sides of the pan and serve.

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