The Sweetest Thing

I’ve been feeling like nesting lately and the coming of fall always drives me to bake.  There’s something wonderful about the smell of flour and sugar and some other delicious ingredient baking away in the oven.  It makes nesting all that much more enjoyable. Generally, when I bake, I turn to breads and cakes because they’re just such a satisfying sweet – one that’s easy to make and nearly always turns out well.

I found this recipe when looking on food52 one day and thought it would be the most perfect way to use my excess apples from the weekend before.  If I made it again, I think I would cut the sugar dramatically and try a crumble with walnuts on top.  But I offer it here because it passed a very important test – not one piece of it was left after I brought it into the office. 

Sunday Morning Apple Coffee Cake ( adapted from SavorySweetLife)

Serves 12

3 cups All-Purpose Flour (I substituted one c. of whole wheat flour)

2 cups Granulated Sugar

3 teaspoons Baking Powder

2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

4 Eggs

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1/2 cup Orange Juice

1/2 cup Apple Sauce

1/2 cup Butter, melted

5 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and sliced

1/3 cup Granulated Sugar (I would use only 1 tbsp.)

1 tablespoon Cinnamon

Preheat oven at 350°F and grease a 9”×13” baking dish. In a medium bowl, toss sliced apples, 1/3 cup of sugar (I would use only 1 tbsp.), and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside. In a mixing bowl combine flour, 2 cups sugar, baking powder, vanilla, eggs, salt, orange juice, apple sauce, and melted butter until well mixed (Approx. 5 minutes in a mixer). Pour half the batter into baking dish and arrange apple slices on top. Pour and spread the rest of the batter on top of the apples. Bake for 50 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cut coffee cake into squares and serve warm (or cooled in a Tupperware at work!) Enjoy!