apple cider donut cake

hi friends, lovers & people probably related to me —

112 — life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall

peak fall experience

the first time i tested this recipe it exploded. it tasted pretty good — but it was rather structurally unsound (not enough fat/ too much liquid). what i wanted was basically an apple cider donut that had apples inside it and a pound cake like crumb. something that i could eat for both dessert and breakfast and everything in between. this little loaf cake is that & more. make it for yourself as a nice little treat. i won’t tell if you don’t share with anybody else.

ingredients
apple cider (1 cup)
apple (1-2, pending size, i like honeycrisp)
eggs (2 eggs)
salted butter (1 and a half sticks)
sour cream (1/2 cup)
flour (1 cup white & 1/4 cup whole wheat)
cornstarch (2 tbsp)
baking soda (1/2 tsp)
baking powder (1 tsp)
brown sugar (3/4 cup + a bit more)
white sugar (a generous shake)
cinnamon (a couple generous shakes)
cloves (a generous shake)
nutmeg (a generous shake)
vanilla (2 tsp)
crunchy sugar (a generous shake)
salt (a couple cracks of sea salt)
non-stick spray

steps

1st omg, guys we’re baking, how exciting for us! in a small saucepan reduce 1 cup of apple cider, till it is slightly thicker and about a half cup, should take like 10ish minutes. let cool. chop your apple(s) into small lil cubes — toss with some brown sugar & cinnamon then leave them alone. melt 1 stick of butter and let cool a bit. pre-heat your oven to 325 & spray your loaf pan generously with non-stick spray.

2nd in a mixing bowl (either for your stand or hand mixer) combine the cooled apple cider with sour cream, vanilla, then add the eggs & brown sugar. next drizzle in the butter and mix with the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, along with a few cracks of salt, healthy shakes of cinnamon, nutmeg & cloves. make sure this is all combined (have a small taste if you want/ are me (not enough to get salmonella, just enough to see if it needs anything). the batter should be rather lush and thick and speckl(y)

3rd pour about half the batter into the loaf pan, add in the brown sugary cinnamon apple cubes sprinkling them all over. then cover with the rest of the batter. give it a nice lil swoosh on top or not and push into the oven for 50-55 minutes. once done let cool (v. hard i know)

4th gently extricate the cake from the pan and place on your favorite cutting board. combine crunchy sugar, regular sugar & a generous amount of cinnamon. melt a couple of tables of butter and pour over or spoon ontop of the cake. sprinkle and then press in the cinnamon sugar mixture. slice a piece and then another and another and another.

bob (my dad) asked if i got this at costco

particularly good things i consumed recently

indoor volleyball is back — faster paced and 100% less sandy than beach — though playing in a elementary school gym is giving me flashbacks to 5th grade when i didn’t know how to serve

middlebrow x diversey — a lovely way to spend a couple hours on a sunny fall sunday

i want to buy everything & it’s quite literally a problem — so i’m buying nothing for the month of november instead.

a saturday night dinner party — tart, strong margs, natural wine, chips & guac & tacos & corn salad & apple crisp & a v. good time

farmers mkt w/ megan where we had deliciously messy breakfast sandwiches & got all the produce & saw all the dogs

perfect lil runs — it feels kind of nice to not be training for anything & just going for these short easy miles

vintage pop-up x all together now for a nice lil afternoon w/ janel — did you know that all together now secretly not so secretly has the best cheese curds

currently consuming

a leisurely start to the morning & a giant coffee

as always,
mk