Apple Crisp baked in a Dutch Oven

My sister Sarah is in this thing called a venture crew, it’s kind of like boy scouts for both girls and boys. They do all kind of outdoorsy things like hike and camp, and they also have dutch oven cook offs. Awesome, right? My sister is participating in one for this first time this weekend, and she enlisted my help to find her a winning recipe. She’s feeling particularly competitive because she’s up against the boy scouts, one of them being our brother. Total sibling rivalry. Fun!



Of course I said I’d help her, you know, girl power and all that. The only problem was, I had never actually worked with a dutch oven, outside, with coals doing all the heating. Thankfully, our dad has done it quite a bit and he helped me convert a regular recipe into a dutch oven one.



When I was thinking about what would be best to bake in a dutch oven, the first thing that popped into my head was apple crisp. It’s rustic, easy, and totally delicious. Sarah loves apple crisp, so she loved the idea.



This recipe is one I’ve used many times. It’s about as simple as they come. It’s perfect for a dutch oven cook off, or a fall afternoon. I’ve included directions in the recipe for both dutch ovens and regular ovens so you can make it even if you feel like staying inside. ;) I’ll let y’all know if she wins this weekend! Good luck, Sarah!



Apple Crisp
Adpated from Rustic Fruit Desserts

Topping:
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 stick butter, melted

Filling:
8 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced into to thin slices
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons apple pie spice

Preheat oven to 375. Butter a 9x13 baking dish.
Make the topping; mix the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt together in a bowl. Stir in the butter, then press topping together in your hands to form small clumps. Set aside.

Make the filling; toss the apples, sugar and apple pie spice together in a large bowl. Transfer the filling to the baking dish. Press the topping evenly over the fruit, then bake for 55-60 minutes, until top is golden brown and the corners are bubbling.

For dutch oven cooking, spread filling into the bottom of a 12 inch dutch oven, press topping evenly over the fruit. Place 12 hot coals below the oven and 10 on top. Cook for 45 minutes, turning every 7 minutes or so.


PS, thank you all so much for your kind comments on my last post. They were all so sweet! You guys are awesome.

Pumpkin Bread with Cinnamon Pecan Filling

So, October is almost over, can you believe that? It’s been quite the month for me.

You’ve probably noticed that I haven’t been around this place much lately. That’s because October 8th, my mom was admitted to the ICU with a massive blood clot, a saddle pulmonary embolism. It was there the doctor looked me in the eye and told me that the mortality rate for this condition was incredibly high, he compared it to a heart attack and stroke, and that I should prepare myself for the worst.

My mom spent over a week in the hospital, and I stayed with her the entire time. It was incredibly hard, the worst thing I’ve ever been through, but also a really joyful time. I watched my amazing, strong mother laugh and smile in the midst of facing her mortality, I watched her pull through, I heard the doctor tell her that she was so blessed, a miracle, that most people don’t make it. I experienced the worst day of my life and the best day of my life, when the doctor walked in and told her she was being discharged.



Needless to say, it’s been a tough month. I didn’t think I was going to watch the leaves change color through a hospital window. I think that this experience has me leaving the month of October a more grateful person though, grateful for family, for modern medicine, for my heavenly father. I’m going to spend these last days of the month soaking it all in, celebrating life.

I’m starting the best way I know, with food! This pumpkin loaf is the essence of the season. It’s gooey, pumpkiny and cinnamony. What more could you ask for?



Pumpkin Bread with Cinnamon Pecan Filling
Adapted from Martha Stewart, makes 2 loaves

3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups canned pumpkin purée
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
4 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup milk

Filling:
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 chopped pecans
1/2 stick butter, melted

To make filling: Combine sugar, cinnamon, pecans and butter in small bowl, mix to combine.


For bread: Preheat the oven to 350ºF and coat your pans with butter. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, spices, and salt, set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle, combine the pumpkin and sugars. Mix until well combined, and then add the eggs and oil. Mix until incorporated, scraping down the sides as needed. With the mixer on low, add the flour in two batches, alternating with the milk, and mix until just combined.

Fill loaf pans half way, add filling, top with remaining batter.

Bake for 55-60 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. A cake tester should come out clean. Cool the pans on a rack for ten minutes, remove the loaves from the pans, and cool completely.

Caramel Cake with Apple Filling

Fall snuck up on me this year. One day it was hot and humid, the next it was all golden leaves and cooler temperatures. The last few days have been down right chilly. I’m not complaining, I’m celebrating. Fall is my very favorite season!



The cake is quintessential fall. The richness of the caramel icing and the sweetness of the apple filling are things that just cant be fully appreciated in the heat of the summer. They need a cool breeze to feel at home.

It’s inspired a recipe in the September issue of Food and Wine, a cake called the Revelatory Cake. It’s from the cookbook The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook, which I cannot wait to get my hands on. It’s co-written by John T. Edge, whose work I have admired since I first heard about him on The Splendid Table.

Mine is quite different from the original though. I used Dorie Greenspan’s Perfect Party Cake and filled mine with an apple filling. The icing is the only thing I used from the original recipe, and it is delicious.

Enjoy!



Perfect Party Cake
from Baking: From My Home To Yours

For the Cake:

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups whole milk or buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Center a rack in the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9-x-2-inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and, working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.

Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the tough – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up. (The cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.)

For the Filling:

2 large apples, grated
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in saucepan and cook until apples are tender.

For the Icing:
From The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook

3 cups sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream

In a saucepan, stir 2 1/2 cups of the sugar with the corn syrup and milk. Cook over moderate heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Keep warm.
Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar in a deep, heavy saucepan. Cook the sugar over moderate heat, swirling occasionally, until an amber caramel forms. Carefully pour the warm milk mixture over the caramel. Cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until the caramel dissolves. Stop stirring and cook until the caramel registers 235° on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat. Stir in the butter, vanilla and 1/4 cup of the heavy cream. Strain the caramel into the bowl of a standing mixer. Let cool for 15 minutes.

Beat the caramel at medium speed, gradually adding the remaining 1/4 cup of cream, until creamy, about 15 minutes.


Set 1 cake layer on a plate. Top with apple mixture. Add the top layer and pour icing over the top of the cake, letting it run down the sides. Working quickly, use an offset spatula to spread the icing gently around the cake. Let the cake stand for 2 hours to set the icing before serving.