Since I’ve been feeling more like myself these days, I’ve been in the mood to bake a cake. I wanted to try something new this week, and I also wanted to try a new-to-me butter product. I picked up a package of Earth Balance’s “Buttery Sticks” to test in some baking this weekend. I’ve been trying to reduce our dairy intake a little bit (a future post subject, I’m certain) and butter was an easy one to replace. But the thought of using un-heart healthy margarine bothered me, so I thought I’d give this vegan butter product a try.
I turned to the only person I knew who wouldn’t fail me in a cake, and that would be Dorie Greenspan. I knew that any cake I made of hers would be excellent, and I also knew that it would be a fantastic place to give these Buttery Sticks a try. I settled on a Double Apple Bundt Cake, which sounded homey and delicious, and exactly what I was looking for. I started my batter, and I was very pleased that the Buttery Sticks behaved exactly like butter. They whipped up with sugar beautifully, and I certainly couldn’t tell that I hadn’t used butter. I only made one change to the recipe, and that was to use some homemade pear butter instead of the store bought apple called for. I figured that the pear butter was close enough, and since I had some on hand, that would be one less item to purchase. I baked the cake Saturday, and then followed Dorie’s sage advice and wrapped in in plastic wrap overnight.
Sunday I went with the optional glaze made from orange juice and I will say that this cake worked beautifully. It was moist and delicious, and even better, the Buttery Sticks worked beautifully in this application. There is only one thing I would change about this cake in the future, and that would be to eliminate the raisins. Normally I’m a huge fan of raisins- I love them in carrot cake and pies and pretty much anything, but I thought they took away from the apple and spice flavors in the cake, which were simply delicious.
Double Apple Bundt Cake
from Baking, From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup store-bought apple butter- spiced or plain
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and grated
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup plump, moist raisins (dark or golden)
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)
For the Icing (optional):
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
About 2 tablespoons fresh orange or lemon juice
Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350ºF. Butter a 12 inch Bundt pan. If your pan is not nonstick, dist the interior of the pan with flour and tap out the excess. Don’t place the pan on a baking sheet- you want the oven’s heat to circulate through the inner tube.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed, scraping the bowl as needed, for 3 minutes, or until the mixture is smooth, thick and pale. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition; you’ll have a light, fluffy batter. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the apple butter- don’t worry if it curdles the batter. Still on low, add the grated apple and mix completely to blend. Add the dry ingredients, mixing only until the disappear into the batter. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the nuts and raisins. Turn the batter into the bundt pan and smooth the top of the batter with the rubber spatula.
Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 5 minutes before unmolding and cooling the cake to room temperature. If possible, once the cake is completely cool, wrap well in plastic and let it stand overnight at room temperature to ripen the flavors.
If you’re not going to ice the cake, you can dust it with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.
To make the optional icing: Put the confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl and stir in a squirt or two of either orange or lemon juice. Keep adding the juice a little at a time until you have an icing that falls easily from the tip of a spoon. Drizzle the icing over the top of the cake, letting it slide down the curves of the cake in whatever pattern it makes. Let the cake stand until the icing dries, a matter of minutes, before slicing.