Thursday, October 28, 2010

Marie-Helene's apple cake

This was the first thing I baked in the oven in my new place. I thought and thought about what I wanted to make first. The more I thought, the harder it was to choose just the right thing. In the end, I had a huge bag of apples and an apple cake recipe on the list for French Fridays with Dorie. This is only my second recipe with the group, as there is no requirement to cook along every week. I am the slacker sort, so I have been picking and choosing to make only what I can eat/have time for. I am so glad I made this recipe, though, as it was delicious. So delicious that I made it twice. This is the second one above, for which I browned the butter and replaced the rum with Amaretto. It was a much nicer colour than the first one, but also significantly sweeter. I used the same apples for both--a mix of Empire and Cortland, so not sure why it was so much sweeter--more than a few tablespoons of Amaretto would account for. Anyway, it was fantastic, and luckily I sent lots of it home with a friend, or I would have eaten the entire thing. Here's a picture of the first one, made before I realized my oven runs 50℉ lower than the temperature gauge indicates:
Check out the 'Leave your Link' feature on the spiffy French Fridays with Dorie site to see how the other bakers fared. Oh, and if you're looking for the recipe, it's in the book. We've been asked not to publish recipes from this book, and you can hardly blame Dorie, with her recipes burning up the blogosphere.

22 comments:

yummychunklet said...

I love the look of both your cakes! I've made this cake about three times since I first made it earlier this month. I'll have to try Empire and Cortland apples next time!

Beth said...

Your cake looks so pretty. I bet it made the house smell amazing. I love the idea of browning the butter. Great post..B

Kris Ngoei said...

I would have eaten the entire cake by myself, it is such a delicious-looking and irresistable cake!

Sawadee from Bangkok,
Kris

♥Sugar♥Plum♥Fairy♥ said...

Im so glad i madde this recipe too!
Ahh , am sure browned butter in there was gorgeous!
I am glad too i didn miss this one!

cocoa and coconut said...

A fabulous recipe to commence baking with.

Audrey said...

Wasn't this good? Amaretto sounds wonderful...I wasn't sure about the rum, but it was good. (By the way, I sympathize about your oven...mine have always been off ...but even verifying things with a thermometer, I had to bake my cake for an extra 10 or 15 minutes to get it brown).

Thanksfor visiting, too, Mary! It's nice to meet new people (and blogs) through French Fridays. I love, love, love, your banner!

Elaine said...

Brown butter and Amaretto - what a great combination. I bet it tasted glorious!

Cher Rockwell said...

The browned butter was a smashing idea - I definitely will "steal with pride" on that idea next time I make the cake. Very nice.

Valerie Gamine said...

What a lovely cake to break in the oven (temperature accuracy or not.) I would love to try the brown butter and Amaretto version.

Trevor Sis Boom said...

I think this will be the first thing I make twice from FFWD as well. And I will ALSO brown the butter! Great idea!
Trevor Sis. Boom.

Anonymous said...

That would taste so well with coffee! :)

Flourchild said...

What a great recipe to break in a new oven! What kind of oven do you have..is it fancy?! I love this recipe too. It's so dang easy to make and tastes like a million bucks(what ever that tastes like) ha ha!

Evelyne@CheapEthnicEatz said...

Oh I like the first one best for sure but they both look excellent. Wow 50 F off, that is a lot.

Jessica of My Baking Heart said...

Both look lovely! :)

Mary said...

Congrats on your new place. That cake is the perfect first thing to bake in an oven!

PattiCake said...

Hey! Glad you enjoyed these so much. Now I know what to make the next time you visit! I took your suggestion and browned my butter. I loved the smell! I can't place what it reminds me of..peanut butter cookies a bit?? Hmmm, you will have to tell me more uses for brown butter, just so I can smell it again. LOL

Judy said...

I used Amaretto in my cake, too. But I like your idea of browning the butter. Next time.

A Canadian Foodie said...

I have to dig out my cookbook. Mardi at Eat Live Travel Write posted hers and raved on about how good it is, too. Yours also looks lovely... and the fact that you made it twice coupled with other rave reviews has me completely convinced.
Thanks!
:)
Valerie

A Canadian Foodie said...

PS - it was also lovely to not miss this post because of the subscribe by mail you kindly added. THANK YOU.
:)
Valerie

Valérie said...

Beautiful seasonal cakes, a worthy way to "baptize" your new oven! I love the fact that you browned the butter for the second one!

Laura said...

I loved this cake, too. I made this twice. The first time, I used part lemon juice and part orange/almond liquor and the second time just lemon juice for the rum.

Laura said...

oh, I forgot to say that I love your idea of browning the butter. Very smart idea.