With Thanksgiving looming just ahead, it's time to start thinking about dessert. Well, at least that's what I'm thinking about. I like options, meaning at least one other choice besides pumpkin pie. Or pecan pie.
With Thanksgiving dinner consisting of nearly the same foods each year, why not think out of the pie box for dessert?
You'll love the many options Apple Baby Cakes with Sweet Apple-Cranberry Sauce and Cinnamon-Sugar Whipped Cream give you.
These sweet little baby cakes, baked like monster muffins, are as comfortable on the breakfast table served as muffins as they are at the Thanksgiving dinner table, where they become an impressive dessert when turned upside down and adorned with sweetened whipped cream and a fruit sauce of apples and cranberries. At lunch, sprinkled with some powdered sugar, they become delightful cupcakes.
I like to seal individual cooled Baby Cakes in plastic wrap and then store them in a heavy-strength zip-top bag in the freezer. Because of their versatility, they are great to have on hand during the busy holiday season.
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Sweet Apple-Cranberry Sauce is a delicious complement to the Baby Cakes. You may decide to have a jar of it on hand to stir into yogurt or granola for breakfast. Remember the Bit of Honey Baked Oatmeal recipe I shared a few weeks ago? Spoon some of this sauce that has just enough cranberries for a little tartness, over a hot chunk of that oatmeal with a lashing of Cinnamon-Sugar Whipped Cream and you won't believe it's breakfast.
If you just want some moist, delicious muffins, you can bake the Apple Baby Cakes batter in traditional-sized muffin tins. The baking time will be a little less than those baked in the monster-sized pans.
Today's recipes give you lots of options. Make Apple Baby Cakes with all the adornments a dessert option at your Thanksgiving celebration. Eat them now. Eat them any day and any time of day.
Oh, I love these options.
Apple Baby Cakes with Sweet Apple-Cranberry Sauce and Cinnamon-Sugar Whipped Cream
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon minced crystallized ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup plain yogurt, 2 percent or whole fat
2 tart baking apples, peeled, cored and diced, (2 cups)
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar, for dusting
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 12 large (6-ounce or ¾ cup capacity) muffin cups.
Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl with electric hand mixer, and beat on high speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, until very light and fluffy, about 8 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl and mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla, orange zest, cinnamon and crystallized ginger and blend. Add the baking powder and baking soda and mix well. Add the yogurt and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the apples and mix until well dispersed into the batter. Add the flour and salt and mix at low speed until smooth. Using a large spoon, drop the batter into the prepared muffin cups, dividing evenly into the 12 cups.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the cakes comes out covered with moist crumbs. The tops will spring back when lightly touched and the cakes will be golden brown. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes in the pan. Gently run a table knife around the edge of each cake. Remove the cakes from pan and let cool completely. To serve, place each cake on a dessert plate. Spoon some Sweet Apple-Cranberry Sauce beside the cake. Sift powdered sugar lightly over the cake and sauce. Add a dollop of Cinnamon-Sugar Whipped Cream. Makes 12 servings.
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Sweet Apple-Cranberry Sauce
3 tablespoons butter
5 sweet apples, peeled, cored, cut into ½-inch pieces
½ cup sugar
1 cup fresh cranberries
1/3 cup whipping cream
Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apples. Sauté for 5 minutes. Sprinkle sugar over the apples. Add cranberries. Sauté until cranberries pop, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer fruit to a bowl, leaving any liquid behind in the skillet. Add whipping cream to juices in skillet. Boil until liquid is reduced to 1/3 cup. The mixture will be thick and syrupy. Return fruit to skillet. Stir to coat.
Cinnamon-Sugar Whipped Cream
1-2/3 cups whipping cream
1 tablespoon plus 1½ teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
In a glass mixing bowl (a 4-cup glass measure works well), beat whipping cream, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla extract until soft peaks form.
Tips from the cook
--The zest of citrus fruit is the colored part of the peeling. Avoid the white bitter pith right beneath the colored layer of skin.
--Chill the bowl and the beaters for a few minutes in the freezer before using them for whipping cream. It will make quick work of the job.
