Chapter Five: Muffins, Scones, and Cakes
Apple Custard Cake Makes 8 to 10 servings
H
idden among my stacks of cookbooks was an old spiral-bound Jewish community cookbook. What a treasure. Its typewritten pages contained family recipes from generations of cooks. I was especially intrigued by a cake that called for baking a layer of apple custard over a butter cake batter. I’ve adapted the original to create a unique, irresistible breakfast cake. The top layer of thin apple slices set in a classic custard fuses into the sturdy yet tender cake. I like to bake this in a special Italian cake pan, which has a large tube in the center. It lets the batter stay moist as it sets; a pan without a center tube will overcook the edges before the middle bakes through. My pan is 9 inches in diameter and 4 inches high, with a 2 ½-inch center tube. I doubt you’ll be able to find the same pan, though—I’m not even sure where I got mine. Use a shallow 8- or 9-inch tube pan instead. Softened unsalted butter and flour, for the pan 1½ cups (213 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour 1½ teaspoons baking powder
� teaspoon fine sea salt 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup (112 grams) whole milk 2 tablespoons heavy cream 4 tablespoons (57 grams) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into ½-inch cubes 1 large egg, at room temperature, beaten
¾ cup (147 grams) superfine sugar
Custard 1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large Honeycrisp apple (8 ounces; 232 grams), peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch slices
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch shallow tube pan 1andPosition tap out the excess flour. baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. In a small bowl, rub the vanilla into the super2fineSiftsugar.theInflour, another small bowl, mix the milk and cream. In the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Gradually add the sugar
22
© 2015 Rizzoli International Publications. All Rights Reserved