Yesterday was a big cooking day. Thanksgiving will do that to a person. I wasn’t even making a big meal, just breakfast for us and a side dish and dessert to take to a potluck later in the afternoon.
The day started off great! I made a double batch of Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal–one without nuts for the girls and one with nuts for us. It was delicious! I cleaned up the kitchen, and packed Izzy up for a trip to the neighborhood park and we headed out for an hour or so.
Izzy had a great time playing on the slides and swing. We had a snack of cheese sticks and I noticed she was getting a little sleepy. I popped her into the stroller and we headed home. We’d only gotten as far as one block before she fell asleep. I texted Mitch and asked him to prep her from for transition. It went seamlessly. (Thank you for a two hour nap!)
Off to the kitchen to make side dish and dessert.
I decided to make Creamy Pumpkin Pasta for my side dish to take to the Thanksgiving potluck at Cafe Royale. I was feeling ambitious, so I also decided to make an Apple Gingerbread Upside Down Cake since I happened to have all the ingredients on hand. In fact, I made a double batch so I could take another one over to Chuck and Mo’s when I stopped by their place for a second round of dessert. Herein, lies where everything goes slightly awry.
I started with the Apple Gingerbread Upside Down Cake. Everything was going well, but I was a little worried about the timing for baking. Despite living in this apartment for over a year, I’m still discovering the nuances of cooking with my beautiful vintage Wedgewood stove. The heat is really inconsistent, so baking is always a crap shoot. The recipe calls for 45-50 minutes at 325 degrees. Yeah, that didn’t work out so well. I had to put it in 30 minutes longer. In the meantime, I’ve started the Creamy Pumpkin Pasta recipe.
All at once, Izzy wakes up from her nap and is screaming bloody murder, the phone is ringing, Mitch is hollering about something, the timer went off for the cakes and I’m about to burn the turkey sausage. I’m on the verge of losing my cool at this point. Oh, wait, I think I did lose my cool. I’m pretty sure I started hollering back at Mitch over the cacophony of our screaming child. Oh yeah, and we’re already 25 minutes late to dinner.
Suddenly, there was peace. Mitch hung up the phone, Izzy stopped screaming, I stopped cursing the interruptions. I didn’t burn the turkey sausage, but momentarily forgot that the timer went off for the cakes. And then I smelled them. GAH! I pulled them out right away and noticed that one of the cakes (on the bottom shelf) came out perfect and the other cake (on the top shelf) came out burnt. Bummer.
We got packed up and headed out to the Cafe, and then I realized I forgot to make the whipped cream. Double bummer. Now what am I going to do with all that heavy cream? Make ice cream of course!
We got to the party in one piece (luckily we only had to travel as far as across the street) and in good spirits. The pasta and cake were the hit of the party, if I don’t say so myself. Those recipes will definitely make repeat appearances.
Oh, and the burnt cake? We started nibbling on it last night. It’s that good.
The party was a lot of fun. It was a great evening surrounded by wonderful friends. I’m truly blessed to have this life.
Topping
4 tablespoons butter, plus extra for greasing pan
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
Pinch of salt
4 apples (about 1 3/4 pounds), peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch wedges
Batter
1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup honey
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Very softly whipped cream
Make the topping: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 10-inch cake pan. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, four minutes, then swirl in salt. Remove from heat and pour into the bottom of your cake pan. Make circles of overlapping apple slices on top of the caramel. Chop any remaining slices and place them in the gaps.
Make the batter: Using a mixer, blend 1/2 cup butter and the sugar on medium-low speed. Increase the speed to high and cream until light and fluffy.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, molasses, honey and buttermilk. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon. Alternate mixing the flour and molasses mixtures into the butter mixture, adding the next once the last has been incorporated.
Pour the batter into the pan. Bake at least 45 to 50 minutes (thanks to commenter klp for reminding me this took a bit longer) or until a wooden tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn out onto a platter (one that will catch spills, unlike what you see in the pictures above).
Serve warm or cool with very softly whipped cream.
Adapted from Karen Bates at the Philo Apple Farm via the New York Times
Serves 12
Source: smitten kitchen
