Apple Upside-Down Cake

I am honored to get the first look at my friend Kris Holechek Peters' recipes for her upcoming cookbook, The I Love Trader Joe's Vegetarian Cookbook.  I've been testing some recipes before they are published in her upcoming book.  You can't get your hands on the book just yet but you can pre-order the book, and I suggest you do.  This is only one of the very delicious recipes that will show up in the book. (I've pre-ordered mine already!)

I've been given permission to post this one recipe here for you all to enjoy.  I made this cake over the last weekend and it was gone in just one day.  We ate it for breakfast and happily ate it again for an afternoon snack.  If there were some left I would have served it up with ice cream for an late evening snack. 


Apple Upside-Down Cake

4 cups peeled, sliced tart apples (1/2 inch thick), about 3-4 apples
1 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup Trader Joe’s Organic Brown Sugar
1/2 teas. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups Trader Joe’s Unbleached All-purpose Flour
1 1/2 teas. baking powder
1 teas. Trader Joe’s Ground Cinnamon
1/2 teas. salt
1/3 cup mild vegetable oil
3/4 cup Trader Joe’s Organic Evaporated Cane Sugar
1/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup milk
1 teas. Trader Joe’s Bourbon Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease and flour an 8 inch cake round and line the bottom with parchment.
Because this cake is inverted, it works best with parchment on the bottom, to ensure a clean release.

Prepare the apples. Using a variety of apples will give a more complex flavor than just one variety. In a skillet, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar and lemon juice, then add the apples. Simmer until apples are coated with the sugar mixture and slightly softened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a large bowl, cream together the oil and sugar. Add the applesauce, milk and vanilla. In two batches, incorporate the dry mix into the wet.

Arrange the apple slices in the bottom of the pan and drizzle any additional juices from the pan over the apples. Spread the cake batter over the top of the apples. Bake from 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick from the center comes out clean of batter, but with a couple of moist crumbs on it. Remove pan from oven and let cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife along the edge of the pan and carefully invert cake onto serving dish. Let the cake sit for a minute or two before carefully lifting the pan off. Peel the parchment off of the cake and let it continue cooling for at least 20 additional minutes before serving.

Makes: 10-12 slices of cake

Tres Leches

My boy got a little Spanish lesson while shopping for this week's cake ingredients.  He knew three with ease but learned how to say milk in Spanish.  This ultra-moist, dense cake has been a favorite of mine for some time.  It was also the perfect fit for getting out of my chocolate, bundt or chocolate bundt rut.

Because this cake was very new to me I knew this would not be one to experiment with so I had someone else supply the recipe.  I went to the trusted Pioneer Woman for help.  Her recipe for Tres Leches cake can be found here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/09/tres-leches-cake/.

I didn't think my boys would be very excited about this cake, now if it were called Tres Chocolate, applause would be heard coming from my kitchen.  But surprisingly both the boys and not so surprisingly the girl, loved this weeks cake.  I myself thought the sweet milkiness of the cake was divine and topped with homemade whipped cream, this cake was out of this world delicious.

Dar's Rhubarb Bundt

I was lucky enough to spend 7 years working near a most lovable woman: Twyla.  She shared many words of wisdom and hilarious anecdotes with me over the years.  This woman has taught me so many things about life and love and now she taught me what to do with rhubarb, what a woman!

I have heard many wonderful and quirky stories about Twyla and her family over the years.  The stories she would tell would make anyone want to spend a holiday with this family in their small South Dakota town.  Twyla also shared with me, her sister Dar's Rhubarb Bundt.

This cake is a winner and now that rhubarb season is here, get in the kitchen!




Dar's Rhubarb Bundt

1. Cream together: 1/2 c shortening, 1 c white sugar, 1/2 c brown sugar and 1 egg

2. Sift together: 2 1/2 c flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda

3. Combine dry and wet ingredients while mixing in 1 c buttermilk

4. Add: 2 c rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces, 1/2 c chopped pecans, 1 tsp vanilla

5. Make Topping Mix: 1/2 c white sugar, 1tsp cinnamon

6. Grease Bundt Pan (preferably with Hope Butter) and sprinkle 1/2 of topping mix in bottom of pan.

7. Pour batter into Bundt Pan and sprinkle other 1/2 of topping mix on the top of the batter.

8. Bake 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees or until that good 'ol toothpick comes out clean.

***Serve with cinnamon ice cream and hot coffee for breakfast on a lazy Saturday morning***