I love Bundt cakes but for some reason I rarely make them. What’s not to love about the Bundt? They serve a lot of people, like a layer cake, but without all of the splitting of layers and messy frosting. I was inspired to make a Bundt earlier this week by Mary of The Food Librarian. She is the Bundt queen and is currently in the midst of posting 30 straight days of Bundt cakes! I had already decided on the apple-cinnamon Bundt from Everyday Food before I realized that Mary had also tried this recipe a while ago. She’d given it a thumbs-up so I felt even more hopeful as I pressed forward.
I adapted this recipe just a bit in an effort to make it healthier. It called for 2 sticks of butter, which seemed like a lot to me, so instead I used 1 stick of butter and substituted unsweetened applesauce for the remaining butter. I thought the substitution worked well. The cake was extremely moist and flavorful – I didn’t miss the butter a bit! There are a lot of apples in this cake, perhaps too many, though I think I’d have to make it again to decide for sure. I enjoyed the prominent apple flavor but just found myself wishing for a higher ratio of cake to apples. I might try dicing the apples next time instead of slicing them. I used milk instead of water in the glaze and needed almost the entire 2 tablespoons to make the glaze thick and pourable. This cake gets even better as it ages and the flavors develop. Give it a shot this weekend and if there’s any left you can bring it to work Monday.
By Tracey
Apple-Cinnamon Bundt Cake
adapted from Everyday Food
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup natural (unsweetened) applesauce
- 1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
In a large bowl, combine butter, applesauce, brown sugar, and eggs. Whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in dry ingredients just until combined (do not overmix). Using a rubber spatula, fold in apples. Spoon batter into prepared Bundt pan, and smooth top. Bake until a tester inserted in cake comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 15 minutes; invert onto rack to cool completely.
To make the glaze: Whisk together confectioners’ sugar and enough milk to form a thick yet pourable glaze. Set rack with cake over a piece of wax paper (for easy cleanup); drizzle cake with glaze, and let set before serving.
