Professor Butter Beard’s “Poplars, Three Pink Trees, Autumn”
It only takes a second to create an impression. First impressions. Last impressions. Fleeting impressions. We grab hold of them, obsess over them, attempt even to plan them. What if we just accepted them for what they are. A shimmering puff of a glance planted as a seed in our mind that takes root and grows as we allow it.
I believe that Claude Monet did just that in 1891. He found a way to capture those glances in oil paint exactly as he saw them for a fraction of a second. Using a shallow rowboat as a floating studio, he painted twenty-four pictures of the tall, thin poplar trees that lined the river near his home in Giverny, France. It is written that he worked on several canvas at a time, switching them as the light and the weather conditions shifted during his journeys on the water.
Tis the season of honey cakes. I had tastes dancing in my mind with regards to flavor combinations, but I went in search of various formulas that other bakers had crafted when it came to the perfect bake of honey, oil and flour. I read through them quickly, letting each baker speak to me, each creating an impression in my mind. I acknowledged and nurtured each seed and produced the cake you see before you.
Thank you, Claude. You taught me a valuable lesson.
Applesauce Honey Cake with Cranberries, Apricots and Toasted Almonds
One 10” Bundt
Applesauce:
3 large Honeycrisp apples, cored and chopped (I leave the skins on)
1/3 cup apple cider
½ tsp cinnamon
Pinch of Kosher salt
Cake:
2 Tbsp melted unsalted butter and dusting of flour to prepare your Bundt pan
2 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon (or ground ginger, if you prefer)
4 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup oil (canola or vegetable)
¼ cup apple cider
1 ¾ cup honey (try to find local at your farmer’s market)
½ cup of your homemade applesauce (save the rest for applesauce muffins or a topping for sourdough pancakes)
1 tsp vanilla paste
The zest of 1 lemon
¾ cup fresh cranberries, roughly chopped
½ cup dried apricots, soaked overnight in cider and roughly chopped
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted in a small non-stick sauté pan and set aside for garnish
Glaze:
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp honey
½ tsp vanilla paste
1) Soak the apricots overnight in just enough apple cider to cover.
2) Make your applesauce. Core and roughly chop the apples. In a small saucepan (with a lid), combine the apples, cider and cinnamon. Bring to a simmer, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the apples are soft. Take off the heat and with a potato masher, mash the apples into sauce. Add salt to taste – start with a small pinch!
3) Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and prepare your Bundt pan by brushing with 2 Tbsp melted unsalted butter and dusting with flour.
4) Roughly chop the cranberries and soaked apricots and toss together in a small bowl.
5) In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and soda, and cinnamon (or ginger). In a larger bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, cider and honey. Whisk in the applesauce, vanilla paste and lemon zest. Measure out 1 Tbsp of your dry mix and toss it with the cranberries and apricots. Add the remaining dry to the wet and whisk until just combined. Fold in the fruit and pour batter in the prepared Bundt pan.
6) Bake the cake roughly 50 minutes (until the top is set and a wooden skewer comes out clean). Remove the cake from the oven and let cool 30 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack.
7) While the cake is baking, lightly toast the almond slivers and set aside.
8) While the cake is cooling in its pan, prepare the glaze. Melt the butter, brown sugar and honey in a small sautépan until melted and combined. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Let this cool slightly for a few minutes.
9) Once the cake has been inverted and cooled again for at least 10 minutes, brush the glaze all over the cake. Move the cake to its presentation plate and sprinkle the toasted almonds over the cake as garnish.
