-By Lisa
The fall season sends me directly to my kitchen. I'm not sure what it is, but I just want to be at home with something amazing cooking in the oven, while the football game plays the background and the windows are flung open wide.
But before I settle in, I want to collect the best local ingredients I can find. We are lucky here in Charlottesville to have the absolutely gorgeous Carter Mountain Orchard offering a wide variety of Pick Your Own apples. I can also buy their ready-picked apples if the game is about to start and I am not up for traipsing through the orchard -- either way it makes those travel-weary grocery store apples are look pretty pitiful. Throw in some of Carter's cider doughnuts, apple pies and tastings in the wine shop, and I've had a great day along with getting my local goodies. Then, I can get cooking.
A friend told me about Poor Girl Gourmet a while ago and I gotta tell you - that girl rocks. This apple cake is straightforward and freezes beautifully, so it is always available for a quick, appley fix. I made some changes to the recipe, so I'll give you mine, but you should totally check out the original version and Poor Girl's other yummy and thrifty offerings.
Ricotta Apple Cake with Cider-Maple Glaze (except with yogurt not ricotta and without the cider)
3 medium apples, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cups low fat vanilla yogurt
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Glaze: she has a wonderful recipe involving a cinnamon stick, so it feels fancy. I normally just drizzle with a little maple syrup. And we are not talking Mrs. Butterworths. Get the real stuff.
Combine the 1 tbs. cinnamon and 1 tbs. sugar in a large bowl and add the apples. Allow the apples to hang out in the cinnamon sugar for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9-inch springform pan.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together.
Add the yogurt and vanilla extract and mix.
Add the eggs.
In a second bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture.
Add the apple cubes and any accumulated juices to the batter. Combine everything together.
Bake the cake on the middle rack until the cake is golden brown on top and a toothpick comes out clean, 55 minutes to 1 hour.
Try to control yourself and allow the cake to cool before removing the outer ring of the pan.
Drizzle with maple syrup or the fancy glaze from the original recipe. A scoop of vanilla ice cream also does the trick.
Stuff your face and enjoy.
For more from Lisa, check out www.justherejustnow.com
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