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Apple Loaf Cake
Each slice of this loaf cake has an irresistible quality that comes from a combination of baked apples and cider. Studded throughout the batter, the chopped pieces add fresh-from-the-orchard flavor while the reduced cider and warm spices give it depth. Buttermilk makes it tender and far from dry. Bake this at night then enjoy it for breakfast – or bake it when the sun comes up and enjoy it throughout the day. As morning fare, a snack, or dessert, it’s the ideal way to celebrate apple season If you’ve enjoyed my apple cider vinaigrette recipe, you already are familiar with the process of making a cider reduction. Concentrated apple flavor…
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Apple Cider Vinaigrette
With concentrated apple flavor, this dressing is one of my household staples. Whether I serve greens with a crunchy nut and seed topping or a grain salad with roasted vegetables, it enhances the ingredients while offering a delicious flavor all its own. Unlike an apple cider vinaigrette recipe made with mainly oil and vinegar, this version includes a cider reduction for the most satisfying apple goodness. Homemade dressings make any salad tastier and come together so quickly they are worth the extra step. In the farro version pictured below, apple cider is a natural pairing as it enhances the sweetness of pear and butternut squash while balancing the bitterness of…
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Mulled Apple Cider Mocktail
Cider intensifies after a simmer on the stove with cinnamon, all-spice berries, and cloves – plus a touch of orange. Chilled and paired with white tea, it becomes a refreshing mocktail that can be enjoyed any time of day. Garnishes of crystallized ginger, rosemary, and orange peel accent the flavors and keep the festivity going once all the holiday decorations are packed away. I use sprigs of rosemary as cocktails picks because they are so fragrant and cozy. White tea is light, bright, and a little bit floral depending on the variety, which makes it a great mocktail component that doesn’t tend to overwhelm fellow ingredients. Both the tea and…
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Baked Apples
With apples in peak season from autumn until the beginning of winter, now is the time for warm apple desserts made with brown sugar and cinnamon, ones that make you want to cozy up at home today and pick more from the orchard tomorrow. For these baked apples, I top halves generously like a crisp and bake until the middles become tender. Before they make it to the oven, the cut sides briefly soak up a bit of rum, then the apples are flipped onto their wobbly edges and generously packed with oats, brown sugar, flake coconut, and cinnamon. The topping stays crunchy, but those rounded edges melt into a…
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Vanilla Cider Punch
The first crush of grapes is the sign that wine making is about to begin. Whether done by modern techniques or the ancient method of grape stomping, which a few wineries still use, the skin of the grape often is broken in the midst of rituals and blessings. Cider may have humbler beginnings, but I look forward to the first crush of apples with the same excitement. Since the cider has been flowing for a while, enjoy this punch as an alternative to the hot, cinnamon-infused variety you may have been enjoying since the season began. Serve it chilled and enjoy the warmth that comes from aromatic vanilla, molasses, and…
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