Honey Apple Cake
Norene Gilletz
(from The Food Processor Bible)
This moist and delicious cake combines apples and honey, two traditional foods that represent good wishes for a sweet and healthy New Year! Use a large (14-cup) processor to make this cake or see note below.
Ingredients
3 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 medium apples, peeled and cut in chunks
3 eggs plus 2 egg whites (or 4 eggs)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup liquid honey
3/4 cup cold tea
1/4 cup brandy
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Steel Blade: Process flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and ginger for 10 seconds, until blended. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Process apples until finely minced, 8-10 seconds. Measure 1 cup firmly packed and set aside.
Process eggs and egg whites, sugar, oil and honey for 2-3 minutes, until light. Do not insert pusher in feed tube. Add dry ingredients to batter alternately with tea and brandy. Process with quick on/off pulses, just until blended. Do not over-process. Add apples and process with quick on/off pulses, just until mixed.
Pour batter into sprayed 12-cup fluted tube pan (Bundt pan). Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, until cake tests done. A wooden skewer inserted into the center should come out dry. If necessary, cover top of cake with foil to prevent over-browning.
Let cake cool in pan for 20 minutes. Carefully loosen with a flexible spatula; invert cake onto a serving plate and let cook completely.
Yield: 15 servings. Freezes well.
Note: If you don’t have a large processor, add beaten egg mixture to dry ingredients in mixing bowl alternately with tea and brandy. Mix with a wooden spoon or whisk until blended, about 45 seconds. Stir in apples.
Additional Comments: If you don’t have brandy on hand, you can substitute Grand Marnier, orange juice or peach brandy. Apple juice can replace half of the tea for a delicious taste.
Food Editor’s Notes: Ovens vary, so check the cake after 1 hour. Mine was ready to come out – no need to cover it with foil. Before serving, I sprinkled it with powdered sugar for a decorative look. It was delicious – lots of good comments from people lucky enough to get a piece!
Reprinted with permission from The Food Processor Bible (464 pages, soft cover, layflat binding, $24.95 U.S.) by Norene Gilletz. For cookbooks, cooking demonstrations and seminars, orders/fundraising information, call 1-888-811-9866 or 416-226-2466 or visit Norene's web site at http://www.gourmania.com.