I Have A Confession To Make

Darn turkey was trying to eat my cake!

You ready for this? I’m hoping that none of you leave and never speak to me again because this is a big one.

*Takes a deep breath*

Ok, here goes.

I’m glad Halloween is over! Glad!! Glad I say!!

There!! I said it!!

*Sobs uncontrollably and hides under a blankie, peeking out to see how many of you left*

You’re still here!? To quote my three year old, “Awesome, dude!”

I really am though. Beyond the candy, as a holiday it really doesn’t do much for me. I get tired of trying to catch something decent on TV and only finding scary movies and things titled “The Exorcism of The Three Legged Emu That Ate Manhattan”. I find myself longing for Thanksgiving and Christmas movies and TV shows. I also get tired of every food product being based on the idea of how gross can we make this? Mind you, I get/got a kick out of seeing how creative my fellow bloggers can be with Halloween treats and some sounded amazingly good but I was aching for something that was homey and cozy and Autumnish.

Like I said though, the candy part? Yeah, I can deal with that. Especially the day after sales when you can snag 73 pound bags of assorted Hershey products for less than the national debt. I grab those bad boys and save them to put in Christmas stockings and pray that the kids don’t really notice the Halloween wrappers. Honest… I really do save them. Ok, most of them. There usually aren’t many any Kit Kats left. But who can blame me!? I mean… it’s KIT KATS!!!

With just two teens and a three year old at home, there wasn’t any trick or treating. I figure Joshie can start going when he starts school. I’m mean that way. Plus, he is pretty timid and I really didn’t want to carry him as he clutched me in traumatized fear and then had nightmares for a year or twelve.

So I’ve moved on. I’m back to loving the idea of cozy Autumn style dishes; things that can be served to the family or maybe put on the table when Thanksgiving comes around which is getting here quicker than I’m ready for. So today I made an awesome (awesome, dude!!) caramelized apple pound cake. This is an older recipe that I only slightly adapted from Food & Wine magazine and it’s a bit more time consuming than things I usually make but it’s well worth it. I added a cider & ginger apple compote to this and it works wonderfully to add that extra pizzazz to the cake. I also didn’t use their glaze because it just sounded too sweet and heavy.

Cider Caramelized Apple Pound Cake

With An Cider, Apple & Ginger Compote

  1. Cake-
  2. 2 cups apple cider
  3. 3 cups white sugar
  4. 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  5. 1 1/2 pounds granny smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced thin
  6. 3 cups cake flour
  7. 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  8. 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  9. 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  10. 1/2 teaspoon cloves
  11. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  12. 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (yes, you read that right)
  13. 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  14. 6 large eggs
  15. 3/4 cup sour cream
  16. Compote-
  17. 1 20 ounce package refrigerated glazed apples (the kind that is by the ready made meals)
  18. 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  19. 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  20. 1/2 cup apple cider
  21. 2 tablespoons crystallized ginger
  22. 1/3 cup heavy cream
  23. Glaze-
  24. 2 cups powdered sugar
  25. 1/4 to 1/3 cup apple cider (will vary depending on how thick or thin you want your glaze)
  • In a large saucepan, boil the 2 cups apple cider over high heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 1/2 cup. Add 1 cup of the white sugar to it and cook over moderately high heat until it is a dark amber color.
  • Take pan off the heat and add in the 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the peeled and sliced apples and cook over medium high heat until the apples are tender and translucent and most of the cider syrup is absorbed. Set the apples aside and let cool.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12 cup bundt pan (I used Bakers Joy spray- I love that stuff!).
  • Sift together the flour, spices and salt.
  • In a large bowl, beat the 1 1/2 cups butter until creamy. Add the remaining 2 cups of sugar and the vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.
  • Add the eggs one at a time. beat well after each one.
  • Add the dry ingredients a third at a time, alternating adding it with adding the sour cream.
  • Stir half a cup of the batter into the apples to lighten them up a bit, then stir the apples into the rest of the batter.
  • Pour the batter into your prepared pan and smooth it out. Bake for 70 minutes or until the top is dry and cracked or a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
  • Let cool in pan for about 20 minutes then turn it out onto a rack to cool completely.
  • When cool, whisk the glaze ingredients together and drizzle over the cake… or just eat it with a spoon. WHAT?! Quit looking funny at me!
  • To make the compote-
  • In a medium saucepan, mix all the ingredients except for the cream. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently and cook until the cider has been absorbed. make sure to stir this often or it WILL stick. Don’t ask me how I know this *cough cough*. When pretty much all of the cider is absorbed, stir in the cream. Heat JUST until the cream has warmed up; don’t boil it.
  • Serve the cake with a nice dollop of the compote on top.
  • Say yum.

Taking a decent picture at 2am with no natural light (obviously) & a point & shoot camera is pretty impossible. Sigh.

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36 thoughts on “I Have A Confession To Make

  1. Not much went on here in the way of Halloween, but based on some people’s blogs-it was the event of the year! Like you though, I am ready to move on. I have had Christmas on the brain for awhile anyway.
    That picture of the cake is so inviting-I love bundt/pound cakes! The pairing with the compote is perfect. I want a slice-yum!

    • Tina, same here. I am so ready for Christmas and Thanksgiving foods and snow (yep, I like it) and all the cozy Winter activities. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Thanks Liz! And yeah, the apple compote was pretty good!

  2. You are too funny! But I’m so glad you’ve moved on from Halloween and shared this magnificent cake with us! And double yum with the apple compote ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Thanks Kiri!! And yeah, the apples alone were pretty darn awesome. I am probably going to make them by themselves at some point just to eat alone ๐Ÿ™‚

      Thanks Carolyn! Let me know what you think if you make it yourself ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. Don’t worry, I’m with you on Halloween. Don’t understand the hype or people who don’t have kids decorating the INSIDE of their homes to the 9’s. I put out a trick or treat welcome mat. That was the extent of it. Which reminds me, I need to bring it in again (tearing down decorations is such a chore!). ๐Ÿ™‚

    This recipe is way bookmarked. Being the non-chocolate person, I get as excited over the word caramel as you guys do the other. Caramels, apple and cake. What’s not to love! I’m loving your autumn stuff!

  4. This cake looks delish! And I too am glad Halloween is over, I always look forward to the holidays as well. Brings back great memories and is a chance to make new ones. Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed reading the post, made me laugh about hiding the candy from the kids. My dad is a pastor so we weren’t allowed to celebrate Halloween growing up so to make us feel better my dad would take us the day after to get tons of candy at bargain prices too lol. Have a good one!

    • Jessica, you’re braver than I. I’ve never been able to get into the costume party thing; too shy in real life I think. Lol. Thank you for the compliments on the cake and the writing. I aim to please ๐Ÿ˜›

  5. Thanks Mom Chef! As for the decorations, you went about as far as I did lol. We have three pumpkins, ostensibly as decoration but in reality it’s just cause I want the seeds hehe

    Erin, I loved seeing all the treats you made! You were so creative! I think that may be part of my problem food wise on Halloween; I just don’t possess that sort of creativity.

  6. Thanks FreeSpirit!
    My husband was that way about Halloween with his older kids but has kind of mellowed out since being with me. He knows that while I don’t go all out for Halloween, I have no issues with trick or treating and that sort of thing.
    I love that your dad let you have your own celebration with candy afterward! Cool!!

  7. I personally love Halloween, but I do know what you mean about the autumn and cozy recipes. I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving now! And this cake, oh, this cake! It looks amazing and would definitely satisfy anyone’s craving for a fall treat!

    • Stephanie, same here. I am more than ready for nice fall and Winter foods…. ready to hibernate lol

      Sandra, you’re welcome to stash your candy at my house. I’ll watch it for you. Honest; it’ll be safe.

  8. It looks delicious and VERY autumn-ish! I understand about Halloween. We have a Halloween tradition at my house. Since there aren’t a bunch of kids in the neighborhood, we go out with a BUNCH of friends to a steakhouse…had a GREAT time! Good food, great conversation and after five hours of fun we headed home!

  9. Yum! Janet this cake sounds delicious! I made something with cider tonight too! I guess it is the time of year when we are all craving it. I don’t like the scary part of Halloween either, and am not much for the candy I just like dressing up ;)! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

  10. I’m with you sister on being glad Halloween is over! I consider myself a Halloween scrooge, and am really hoping I can overcome that by the time my daughter is old enough to notice. ๐Ÿ™‚
    Anyhoo, this cake looks amazing, and any recipe with the word “carmelized” in it, is a recipe that I’ll be making. Thanks for sharing!

  11. This sounds so good! I don’t even know where to begin…you took something totally delicious (cake) and added something to make it even more delicious (compote)! As always, I love your story ๐Ÿ™‚

  12. Iรขโ‚ฌโ„ขm totally with you on the Halloween thing- and completely ready to settle into a nice, quiet, cozy November- especially if it involves this gorgeous cake!

  13. Gorgeous cake Janet! And I am with you. Halloween is my least favorite holiday of the year. I made the best of it when my boys were young. But now…the day cannot pass fast enough for me! I DO love fall baking, though. And this cake is just packed with all the good flavors of fall. Looks nice and moist too!

  14. Amy, I think so. Cider is just one of those quintessential Fall flavors ๐Ÿ™‚

    Maggie, you may not overcome it but you’ll learn to fake it hehe

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