Monthly Archives: February 2022

Dorie Greenspan’s Apple Cake ala’ Marie-Hélène

I found the recipe for this delicious Apple Cake on Food52, which features an adorable and informative video of Samantha Seneviratne and her little boy making a modified version of the original recipe, which Dorie Greenspan originally shared on Epicurious. Dorie credits her friend Marie-Hélène Brunet-Lhoste for the recipe, but truth be told, Dorie created this recipe herself, having been given only a few vague instructions from Marie-Hélène.

This cake is mostly apples with a little sweet batter (and a little rum…) holding them together. It’s easy to make, bakes up beautifully, and, reports Dorie, tastes “more comforting with each passing day”, making it a wonderful make-ahead dessert for a dinner party or pot luck.

Dorie’s recipe calls for an 8-inch springform pan, so if you have an 8-inch springform pan, work from her recipe and not mine. Since I only had a 9 inch springform, I adjusted Dorie’s recipe, increasing it 25%, which I learned is the increase in surface area when you move from an 8 to a 9 inch cake pan, and increased the baking time by about 10 minutes. (Thank you, Epicurious! ) I made my cake using gala apples, which tend to hold their shape while baking. Next time, I’ll take Dorie’s advice and mix up apple types, so that some melt into the cake while others hold their form

I used about 1/4 home milled whole wheat flour in this iteration, and plan to try it again with 50% whole wheat, which I read can be done without making any other adjustments to a recipe. I’ll let you know how that turns out.

Marie Helene’s Apple Cake From Dorie Greenspan

Via Epicurious and Food 52 and adapted to a 9inch springform pan.

Ingredients

  • 120 g all purpose flour (I used 100 g all purpose and 20g home milled red spring wheat)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • Large pinch salt (Somewhere between 1/16 and 1/8 tsp)
  • 5 large apples (if you can, choose different kinds)
  • 2 1/2 large eggs (62.5 g beaten eggs)
  • 187 grams sugar
  • 4 tablespoons dark rum
  • 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a 9-inch springform pan and put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in small bowl.

Peel the apples, cut them off the cores and into 1- to 2-inch chunks.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk till foamy. Pour in the sugar and whisk for a minute or so to blend. Whisk in the rum and vanilla. Whisk in half the flour and when it is incorporated, add half the melted butter, followed by the rest of the flour and the remaining butter, mixing gently after each addition so that you have a smooth, rather thick batter. Fold in the apples so they are evenly coated with batter. Scrape the mix into the pan and make sure it’s even.

Bake on the parchment lined baking sheet in the center of the oven for 60-65 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean; the cake may pull away from the sides of the pan. Transfer to a cooling rack and let rest for 5 minutes.

Carefully run a blunt knife around the edges of the cake and remove the sides of the pan. If you want to remove the cake from the bottom of the spring-form pan, wait until the cake is almost cooled, then carefully run a spatula under and either slide it onto your serving plate, or invert onto parchment paper lined plate and then invert again onto the serving plate. (Mine just slid easily without needing to invert it twice.)

The cake can be served warm or at room temperature, with or without a little softly whipped, barely sweetened heavy cream or a spoonful of ice cream. (We served ice cream)

The cake will keep for about 2 days at room temperature. Dorie advises not to wrap the cake, as it it too moist. Just leave the cake on its plate and press a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper against the cut surfaces. I store mine in a vintage covered cake saver.

Coffee Marinated Braised Short Ribs – update

Sometimes a recipe is just so damned good it becomes a family standard. This is one of those recipes. We made it (and I posted it) for the first time over 10 years ago for Christmas Eve dinner, and about once a year since then. My mother-in-law Irene adopted the recipe to replace turkey at Thanksgiving, though I’m sure she’s tweaked it someway, as she always does.

Last night I tweaked it by adding two large carrots, diced, at the same time as the onion and garlic. Should have done that years ago, it’s the perfect addition. Next time I’m changing from chicken to beef broth. I never understood why the recipe uses chicken broth anyway.

So go yourself a favor and make these short ribs. Serve over unadulterated mashed potatoes with a side of roasted green beans (Blanch green beans in boiling water, then drain well, toss w olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 400 degrees F for 10-15 mins).

You’re welcome.

COFFEE-BRAISED SHORT RIBS

This recipe is modified from a bison-rib recipe on Epicurious. Serves 4-6.

Marinade

  • 4 cups water
  • 3 cups strong brewed coffee
  • 1/2 cup coarse kosher salt
  • 3 tbsp + 2 tsp packed  brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
  • 2 tablespoons + 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 cups ice cubes
  • 4 lbs short ribs

Short Ribs

  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 tbsp instant espresso
  • 4 strips bacon, chopped (Optional, and just as delicious without the bacon)
  • 2 cups chopped onions
  • 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into large dice
  • 6 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 cup low salt chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup Mr TBTAM’s barbecue sauce (you can use tomato paste or chili sauce)
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Marinade
Stir  water, coffee,  salt and sugar in large bowl until salt and sugar dissolve. Add syrup and remaining marinade ingredients. Stir until ice melts. Add ribs. Place plate atop ribs to keep submerged. Cover and chill 4 to 6 hours. Drain ribs; discard marinade.

Short ribs
Preheat oven to 325°F. In a pyrex measuring cup, stir instant espresso into boiling water and set aside to cool.(Alternatively, use another cup of strong brewed coffee.)

Sauté bacon in heavy heavy ovenproof pot over medium heat until fat starts to render and it begins to brown (be careful – don’t burn it!) Remove bacon to a plate. Increase heat to medium-high.

Working in batches, cook ribs until browned on all sides and transfer to a plate. Add onions, garlic, carrots and red pepper flakes to the pot and cook over medium heat till veggies are soft, about 10 minutes. Add coffee and broth; stir, scraping up browned bits. Add remaining ingredients; bring to boil. Add bacon and ribs, cover, and transfer to oven. Braise until meat is tender, about 2 – 2 1/2 hours.

Transfer ribs to plate; tent with foil to keep warm. Remove fat from surface of sauce. Boil sauce until thickened and reduced to your satisfaction (about 2 cups). Pour sauce over ribs.

Serve over homemade mashed potatoes.