Orchard Cake

I love when fun plans come together on a whim. For example, a text message from my sister saying “I think my friend and I are going pumpkin picking near you, want to come?”

Well, “near me” meant less than 10 minutes from our house and on a beautiful fall day, there’s nothing quite like the pumpkin patch! We enjoyed looking at the fun gourds, exploring the exotic petting zoo (giraffes! baby tigers! emu!) and of course, shopping in the market.

I bought some cheese curds, apple butter, and apple cider and had no grand plans for any of it. It hit me while rifling through my cabinets that apple butter and some powdered sugar would make a glorious glaze for a cake, or a muffin, or something spiced and baked and apple-y.

I tried to use alternative flours, but much to my chagrin, we were out of whole wheat flour. We also only had one egg. I really should plan, then shop, then cook, but I made it work.

Orchard Apple Cake

Makes 1 rather flat loaf or 6 muffins

Ingredients

For the cake

• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup apple butter
• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 3/4 cup oat flour
• 3/4 cup white or whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 egg
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

For the icing

• 1/8 cup apple butter
• 1/8 cup apple cider
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350*F
• Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add the egg and apple butter and mix well
• Add the apple cider and spices and mix until smooth.
• Gradually add the flour and baking powder and mix until a batter forms, about 2 minutes. Don’t over mix!
• Pour into a loaf pan or prepared muffin cups
• Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
• While the cake bakes, whisk together the three ingredients of the icing and set aside
• Slice the loaf or halve the muffins when cool and pour the icing over

The tartness of the apple cider and apple butter were mellowed by the sugar in the icing. And the cake itself? It was one of the more dense desserts I’ve made in a while, and one (ok, two) bites were more than enough for me for dessert.

Tagged as: apples, Baking, cake, dessert, fun, simple recipe, vegetarian