Torta con le Mele e Dolce de Leche

Apple Cake with Dulce de Leche

Bonus "mood cake" picture inside!

Wow! I really don't know where to begin. This cake turned out far far better than I expected. I'm actually really proud of myself. I had this idea, and an inkling of how to go about executing the idea but it all really fell into place once I began working in the kitchen. I trusted my instincts, I don't often feel that confident...in anything I do for that matter but when things come together like this, and its right... that's a great feeling. I don't know what made today different but I really enjoyed making this cake, by far the best part for me at least...was making it and sharing it with people I care about.

Awww that's so sweet...(now get on with it!).

Right, so, uh... this cake was quite unusual in a few ways-it was a marriage of somewhat unique flavors... Muscat wine, pepper and Nutmeg Syrup (scroll down a bit), and with the distinct textures of apples cooked until soft but still just a bit firm, breadcrumb for added texture- and pancake for lightness and sponge but not quite heavy or overly sweet cake, then finishing off with some pretty freaking yummy cream.

I started by making some pancake batter and letting it mellow in the fridge overnight. I omitted the salt and used more sugar to make the batter a little sweeter since I was going to be making a "cake" with it. I doubled the recipe (simply because it's this weird thing I do) but for one normal batch you would need 1/2 cup sourdough starter, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 scant teaspoons baking soda, 2 cups of buttermilk (plus extra if needed), 2 cups of flour-sifted, 1/4 cup cooking oil, and 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. Using the "Scoop and Tap" method of measuring flour-scoop 2 cups of flour into a dry ingredients measuring cup-tapping to let it settle then topping it off- using a knife, scrape off any extra by moving the knife blade over the top of the measurering cup and leveling off. Sift the flour together with the sugar, and baking soda and set aside. In a large bowl combine the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, oil and starter- mix gently, so as not to agitate the starter too much but mix it well so everything is fully incorporated. Gradually add the dry ingredients until blended. If the batter appears lumpy or sort of dough like in texture add more buttermilk until the consistency is smooth and well...batter-like. Let rest overnight in the fridge.

I had been worried about the negative effects of having missed a feeding with the starter but it was all for naught. I woke up this morning to find the babies...I mean yeasties all happy and singing! There was much activity going on in the little clay pot, and that was a good thing it made mama... er, me happy.

Grabbing my mug of coffee I set to work making the Dulce de Leche. Way back many years ago, my friends mother showed me how she makes dulce de leche and it's a method I've used since. I'll warn you now, it's not conventional by gourmet standards but it's pretty cool in my book. You take a can of sweetened condensed milk, peel off the label, place the can in a pot if simmering water (even though the label says not to) insert something inside to keep the can off the bottom of the pot and from rusting your nice pot. Cover entirely with water and simmer at very low heat for a long long time. For a thick dark caramel dulce de leche you would simmer for more than 5 hours but for todays version I let it simmer for only 2 hours. I wanted the carmelization of the milk sugar but not the thick candy like quality that a longer simmer would give it-my intended use today was a light colored sauce.

With the can simmering happily away, I diced many different types of apples. I used a combination of apples that I thought would provide both tart and sweet flavor but keep it's firm flesh when sauteed. I chose Gala, Jona gold, Granny Smith, Fuji, Braeburn, Macoun and Pink Lady. Umm...ok, I got a little carried away by the names but the combo was fabulous.

I apologize from here on in because measurements were "eyeballed" approximations since I was making things up as I was going. The apples were peeled, cored and diced then tossed with the juice of 2 lemons, about a 1/4 cup of Muscat wine, 2 healthy squirts of nutmeg syrup, a tablespoon of caster sugar (cause it's superfine), 2 capfuls of pure Anise extract, 1 capful of pure vanilla extract, (always use pure extracts) a healthy grating of fresh nutmeg, (only ever use fresh) a good dash of cinnamon, a conservative dash of ground cloves, and a pretty bold grind of black peppercorns. The peppercorns were a last minute inspiration from some vague recollection of a recipe I either recently read or read a long time ago, but noted as an interesting thing to do. I let that marinate for about an hour, and went off to butter 2 cake pans, (remember I doubled the recipe).

My original intention was to make cake-tarts? ( maybe mini cakes is a better term?) but as the time to go to work was getting closer I realized I was setting myself up for more work than necessary. So, I settled for using a bundt and a springform pan- mainly because I only have one of each. With the pans buttered and ready for non-stick action, I pre-heated the oven to 350 degrees. Pouring the batter carefully into the pans I then put them into the 350 degree oven for 1 hour-I kept a close watch on the cakes through the oven door because I had no idea how long they needed to bake, after an hour a knife inserted came out clean and they looked pretty golden so I took them out. I set them aside on a rack to cool.

The first cake gave me a little trouble and I had to resort to turning the thing upside down and slide/scraping it out with a knife. The second one slipped out much easier. While the cakes were cooling, I melted one stick of butter until just starting to brown in a pan, added the apples and sauteed, adjusting the spices and adding more to taste. As a thickener I used two large pinches of flour, and some plain breadcrumbs, then off the heat, to cool. The breadcrumbs were a bit of a gamble, I wasn't sure what they would do, but thought it would be neat to try it out, they kind of got gloppy although they did add a little courseness to the apple mix and that was kind of ok. I'll probably omit them next time. Having taken the condensed milk out of the pot and letting it get cool enough to handle, I dumped the contents into a pan and stirred in 1/2 cup of warm heavy cream in which I had dissolved 1 teaspoon of instant expresso powder, whisking until just blended then off the heat.

Slicing the now cooled cake in half with a serrated knife- and using a pastry brush I brushed each half with some sauce then added a layer of apples, drizzled more sauce over the apples and covered with the top layer. More sauce drizzled over the top and then finished off with generous amounts of powdered sugar. The first cake I made came out a little awkward and sloppy but being that it was the bigger cake it was the one I took to work. The one I made for home came out pretty nice if I do say so myself. I would have liked to have had some flowers in the shot too but it was not to be.

Final thoughts: The cake was quite delicious, the tart and sweet played off each other really well, the pepper and cloves were a good choice and added a real nice distinct quality to the flavor. I'd use less Muscat next time, it was a bit overpowering but the flavor and fragrance I was going after were present. The verdict about using pancake batter-it was interesting, I think it held up rather well, although in all honesty a real cake batter would be better, not anything fancy just a standard yellow or white cake will do. All that said, this was an excellent cake, everyone loved it and I'd make it again.

Ok folks, you've earned that never before peek at the "mood cake" picture. The intent was artsy dramatic lighting...the camera had other ideas. Oh well.

Written by Deb on January 30, 2003 04:25 AM