Apple Fritter Cake and UFOs

Dang, was this recipe was an evolution!  I just set out to adapt a recipe that used cake mix but make it without cake mix.  I did it, the cake part itself turned out great!  I was really proud of myself but overall I thought the cake was too sweet.  However, I loved the glaze on it!  It was just like a donut glaze, and since the overall effect of the cake was that of a coffee cake and I had just bought a butt load (yes, I said butt load) of apples, I thought I’d make an Apple Fritter Cake!  Also, because I wanted to cut down on the overall sugar content I changed my base recipe and decided to start my adaption from my all time fave Joy the Baker.  She has this awesome Strawberry Coffee Cake that is a big hit in this house.  It is one of my husband’s favorites, so I know it is good.

The tart apples cut the sweetness a bit.  Cinnamon just makes it better.  It really tastes like an apple fritter!

Before we get into anything else, is anyone else completely overwhelmed by the season yet?  Not just the holidays necessarily but for my kids the end of soccer season and the beginning of performance team is coming up.  The end of the year party and playoffs are stuck into the days that the girls don’t have practice or dance.  O yeah, dance.  My girls love to perform so I sign them up to be on performance team where they go to local festivities and dance.  We have those coming up.  There are two parades they are in starting today.  Plus Angela insisted on trying to make a classmates birthday party right after the parade…we’ll see.  Man o man, it is all coming up: Thanksgiving, a birthday party for three family members at once a few days later, three dance performances, two days of playoffs, dance Christmas show and party, soccer party, school parties, Christmas, Robert’s third birthday, then New Year’s, then vacation (which is never vacation for a mom, right?).  I just need to breathe and make lists and I should be OK but I need to keep remembering that!  Breathe and make lists!  Breathe and make lists!  Seriously, just listing everything coming up has made me feel better, thanks!

My GeekyLink for this week is something I discovered last week but had to wait because The Hunger Games trailer was released before I could share it with you. Army vs. UFO (1942; Los Angeles), I had never heard about this.  Now I don’t even remember how I came across it but I found it completely intriguing especially growing up in Southern California and being a longtime lover and follower of UFO lore.  Eyewitness to History is one of the links under the video and I really liked it because it sets the stage for the things that went on during that time.  Air raid drills and blackouts and anti-aircraft target practice late into the night set the stage during a World War II era UFO sighting that was either nothing that went way too far or something that just gave up after us firing at it for two hours.  Anyways, I thought it was pretty cool.

Apple Fritter Cake

inspired by Serve at Once and Joy the Baker

Ingredients

For Filling:

1 heaping cup of sliced apples (I cored and quartered and then sliced)

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

small pinch freshly grated nutmeg

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons water

Plus

1/2 cup brown sugar (I used a 1/4 cup each of dark and light)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

For Cake:

1/3 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup greek yogurt (you could use plain yogurt as well or sour cream)

For Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 tablespoons milk

Method

For filling:  Make your filling by combining apples, sugar, water, cinnamon and cornstarch in a small saucepan.  Cook on low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly until the sauce is thickend and the apples are a bit soft.  Set aside to cool.  In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together until well combined and set aside.

For Cake:  Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease and flour a 9×13 baking dish.  Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add applesauce and vanilla and mix till combined.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift the dry ingredients together.  Add the dry ingredients to the batter in three parts alternating with the yogurt in two parts, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Beat until just combined.

Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan.  Spoon the cooled apple mixture over the batter carefully and spread as evenly as possible.  Sprinkle 2/3 of brown sugar cinnamon mixture over apples and cover with the rest of the batter.  Sprinkle the rest of the brown sugar cinnamon mixture over the top.

Bake for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

For Glaze:  While the cake is baking, make the glaze.  In a bowl, mix the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk until the glaze is desired consistency.  When the cake comes out of the oven, immediately but carefully pour onto hot cake.  Try to pour as evenly as possible.  You might have to pick up the cake and tilt it to spread the glaze evenly.  I even poured some out that pooled at the corners and repoured that over the top.  Let the cake sit for awhile for the glaze to set.

Dig in!