Apple Bread

This is a great recipe, I was able to make it with ingredients I have around my house (it's just standard baking stuff and some applesauce, which I always have around, exclusively for baking because applesauce is gross awesome for baking.)

Considering that fall is still in full swing, I am loving baking with spices!  This is the time of year when I plan on making apple bread and realize that I'm out of nutmeg (and then wonder if "normal" people have this issue as often as I do.)  It has such a warm feel to it and it just makes my heart smile!

I always try to keep cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice in my pantry.  They are great together when baking with pumpkin or apple, or you can use just ginger and cinnamon when baking with molasses, they are all around spices!

So let's get going on this bread, we gotta get it in the oven! (PS don't start making this at 10 pm when you have to be at work at 8:30, you will be made at yourself.)

Apple Bread 
Adapted from My Baking Addiction
makes 1 loaf

1 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/2 of a granny smith apple

Preheat oven to 350.

In the bowl of your mixer add the applesauce, eggs, vegetable oil, water, vanilla and sugar.  Mix these  on medium-high until just starting to thicken.

In a small bowl mix together your flour, baking soda, salt and spices.  Turn the mixer to low and add in about half of the dry ingredients.  Allow to incorporate and add the remaining flour mixture.  Mix until just incorporated.

Scrape down your sides.

Spray a loaf pan with pan spray, I use a spray that contains flour, but if you don't have that then you should also flour the pan.

Pour the batter into the pan.

Cut the granny smith apple into wedges, making them as thin as possible.  Then toss these with about a tablespoon of sugar, a tablespoon of flour, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg.  

Lay the slices on top of the batter, making whatever design you would like.

Put into the preheat oven and allow to bake for 60-70 minutes.

Cupcake Tuesday-Apple Spice and Blackberry

Oh I am so excited about this recipe!  This has been dubbed my several as their favorite cupcake I've ever made (wow, that's a HUGE thing to say seeing as how I've made most of my friends so many!).

It's really very simple, but it's a perfect blend of flavors that just wake up your mouth and say "hey, don't I taste DELICIOUS?!?" Get ready, cause we're doing it!



(also isn't that little banner so fun?  I used an app called Labelbox, once you add the banner you export it straight to Instagram!)

Apple Spice Cupcakes

makes 24 cupcakes

2 sticks butter room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

vanilla

salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup applesauce

Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 cupcake pans.

Ok, don't let the long list of ingredients scare you (it's just a lot of spices is all, but it is called an apple SPICE cake, it'll be delicious I promise.

Beat the butter in a medium bowl with the sugar.  Beat until smooth and a bit fluffy.  Add in the eggs, one at a time and beat until well incorporated.

At this point you need to add vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and all spice.  Blend all of that in a bit, see that was painless.  I bet it already smells amazing in your house!

Now add the baking soda and powder to your flour, this makes things easier (especially if you're using a stand mixer).

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, when that is just incorporated add in 1/2 of your applesauce, followed by 1/3 of the flour, then 1/2 of the apple sauce and the last 1/3 of the flour.  Wow, that looks way more complicated than it is!

Scoop mixture into cupcake pan (about two ounces per cup or 2/3 of the way full).

Bake for 15-18 minutes and then let cool.

Blackberry Curd

this is just yum!

1 stick butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups blackberries

5 egg yolks (put those whites in a freezer and make some meringue)

This is super easy, you just can't leave it, but what else are you planning on doing while those cupcakes are in the oven.

Start by separating your eggs (this just makes things easier later).

In a large pan melt the stick of butter.

Drop the temperature to medium-high once the butter is melted, add in the sugar and stir.  Once the sugar is incorporated, drop in all of those delicious blackberries (if there aren't fresh around you can use frozen).

Stir those in and mash them a bit, the goal is the juice, nothing else really matters.

Now that all of that is ready to go and nice and hot we're going to take the leap and add in those egg yolks.  Whisk, whisk like nobody's business, you do not want those yolks to curdle!

Ok, we made it!  Bring to a boil and cook over medium-high heat for about 10 mintues stirring frequently (I use a nice wooden spoon for this part).  You'll know that the curd is done when it passes the spoon test (it should coat the back of your wooden spoon and when you run your finger through it, it should stay in place.)

Take it off of the heat and pour through a sieve into another bowl.  Make sure to really mash at those blackberries and get every drop of deliciousness out of them.

After this stage I usually pour my curd into a squeeze bottle and pop it in the fridge, but you can keep in in a bowl just make sure to lay some plastic wrap right on it.

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 sticks cream cheese

1 stick butter (room temperature)

3ish cups powdered sugar

Cream the cream cheese and butter together until fluffy.

Slowly add the powdered sugar in until you reach a consistency you like and a taste that isn't too sweet.

That's it, it's really that simple.

Ok, so now grab those cooled cupcakes and cut out a little hole in the middle of them.

Put about a half teaspoon of curd in each cupcake (this is where a squeeze bottle will come in handy but you can totes use a ziploc bag).

Using a piping bag, frosting the cupcakes (it's ok if some of the filling squeezes out under the frosting, it looks gorgeous so just don't fret).

Then drizzle the top with some more curd (because that stuff is just too good, oh and you might have leftover, just put it on toast, or a biscuit).

If you have some more berries on hand plop one of those on top.

Done!

Enjoy!

Love,

Keely