Apple and Olive Oil Cake #Bundt a Month

   I read that November 15 is National Bundt Day. It's like the birthday for the bundt cake! I am a few days late for the bundt day but hey, better late than never! Life has been a little crazy around here but I had to find the time to bake this bundt cake. It's getting close to Thanksgiving, less than a week to go, so might as well think of it as a make-ahead Thanksgiving dessert. The seemingly energetic bakers Lora of Cake Duchess and Anuradha of Baker Street are hosting Bundt-a-Month. I am always happy to be able to use my beautiful bundt pan and this month's Bundt a Month theme is spice.  I like spices because I grew up with spices in all kinds of dishes, from savory to sweet. 

   When I saw that the theme is spices, I knew that I wanted to have cardamon in the cake. Not only do I have ground cardamon left from a canning project a couple months back, but I also that cardamon gives everything a clean taste.  I also wanted to use apples or pears because it is that time of year! I searched and found the Molly O'Neill recipe on the New York Times website for Olive Oil and Apple Cider Cake. It has the right proportions for my pan. I get lazy and don't want to re-calculate measurement so that it'll be right for my big bundt pan. This one sounded right for my needs but I made my own modifications. 

   I stopped by the farmer's market and got some fujis and suncrisps. I may have added in an empire as well. I added in cardamon and cinnamon while cooking down the apples. I also left many pieces of apples in the apple sauce. 

As the batter baked into a beautiful bundt, my house smelled of baked apples with a touch of cinnamon and cardamon.

   The original recipe can be found on the New York Times website: Olive Oil and Apple Cider Cake.  It's a wonderful recipe - easy with few ingredients. I wanted the apple to shine so I am calling mine Apple and Olive Oil cake.  I added in a teaspoon and half of ground cardamon and a teaspoon of cinnamon while the apples were cooking down into applesauce. I sprinkled it with confectioner sugar after it cooled a bit. This cake would be great with some whipped cream or more of the applesauce over a slice of bundt. The beauty of the bundt pan is that it makes simple delicious cakes look so pretty.  

Can It Up: 2nd Round of Apples

     Hima's post at All Four Burners about her vanilla rum Apple Butter sounded so delectable that I had to do it too.  I've had great success using my Crockpot/slow cooker for blueberry lime butter. I must thank Marisa at Food In Jars for her wonderful instructions and encouraging voice. When I read Hima's apple butter, I was intrigued.  The flavor profile just sounds so good.  

     I already participated in October's Can It Up with my Candied-pickled Apples but what the heck, I've got more apples at home.  I had to make some modifications but for the most part followed Hima's recipe so I won't rewrite the recipe here.  You can click on the link above at All Four Burners for the full recipe.  Here are my modifications in case any of this may help anyone else making it.  

     I had five pounds of apples (granny smith and Fuji, and a couple of Liberty) but a couple of them went bad. I ended up with four pounds of apples so I cut the recipe by 2/3.  I used 1 1/3 cups apple cider instead of 2 cups. Also 1 1/2 cup sugar. I had vanilla beans and put those in my coffee grinder (after cleaning it of course) and ground it up.  Unfortunately, it was not as ground up as I'd like. As for the rum, toward the last 2 hours (it's hard to predict the exact amount of time due to apples) I added 1/4 cup then at the last hour, added more for a total of about 1/3 cup rum. My yield was five 8 oz. jars.

     Just a note about canning if you are new to this.  The amount of liquid in the fruit varies so the cooking time in recipes will be an estimate.  You may have to cook your fruit for a longer period of time because your apples are juicier or vice versa, less cooking time because your apples are less juicy.  Check it often.  I originally used my little slow cooker (1 1/2 quart), which was a gift I got one year.  It was filled to the top with my four pounds of apples.  After cooking the apples in it overnight, I realized that I had to switch to my bigger slow cooker, the 4 quart.  That was just perfect.  Overall, it took almost 12 hours for me on low in the slow cooker.  It may have taken a longer time because my first pot was too small so that the liquid did not evaporate as well.  At the end of the day, I got five jars of delicious apples. 

Can It Up: Candied-Pickled Apples with Star Anise

Canning? What's that? It was like a magical process.  Some people have that Can It touch and I was afraid that I just don't have that touch.  I used to be afraid, horrified that I may kill one of my friends or family members with botulism. My friend E has her own hens and cows, preserves her own jams, zucchini relish and all kinds of produce from her or her family's gardens. And did I mention that she is a full time doctor? One taste of her relish sent me and my other friend into that magical world. We thought maybe she was just born with that magical touch. She even gave me her grandmother's recipe and I was still hesitating because again, I had fear of that "canning" process.  

Then another friend, Hima, started telling me about her love for preserving and somehow with two of my friends doing it, I got less intimidated.  I then took a class at Whole Foods Market and learned about pectin and that it's not that scary to put the jars into the boiling water.  If you preheat the jars, they will not shatter and the heat will kill bacteria.  (We are, of course, talking about the high acid fruits and pickling of vegetables.)  I then tried it at home and my family ate the jam I made and no one got sick. Yay! In fact, I got rave reviews for the simple peach jam I made.  Last year I took a class with Marisa McClellan of the delicious Food In Jars and she was so nice and encouraging. Marisa's Honey Lemon Apple Jam looks gorgeous and tastes good, lemony and apple sweet. (Recipe found at Honey Lemon Apple Jam)  

Well, this summer I often got a little carried away at the farmer's market or even at the produce aisle of the supermarket.  So I started trying various recipes for preserving all kinds of fruits.  I practically ran out of shelves to put my jars. When Hima of All Four Burners told me that she is hosting Can It Up, I had to join!  In fact, it has a lot to do with me starting this blog.  So Hima, here's my contribution: Candied-Pickled Apples with Star Anise. 

I love apple picking with my friends and family but I really did not have time the last two weeks to go apple picking.  But the apples are from a local farm, already picked.  There's got to be some compromise.  I really love Liana Krissoff's Canning for a New Generation. Every recipe I've tried in this book has turned out great.  I will report back later how I and my reviewers (friends) like this Candied-Pickled Apple.  I have to post this as I am too excited after I finished my preserve, and knowing that I have a busy week ahead.

Candied-pickled Apples with Star Anise

Recipe from Liana Krissoff’s Canning for a New Generation

3 pieces star anise, broken up

2 cinnamon sticks, broken up

½ ts whole black peppercorns

2 lbs crisp red apples, cored and diced (no need to peel)

2 cups cider vinegar (5% acidity)

1 ¼ cup sugar

Prepare for water bath canning. Wash jars and put them into canning pot to keep warm.

Put the spices in a cheesecloth or muslin bag and tie it shut.  Put the bag and all the remaining ingredients in a wide, 6- to 8- quart preserving pan.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally very gently to keep from breaking apart the apples too much, until the apples are translucent and the syrup is thick, about 45 minutes.  Discard the spices.

Ladle boiling water from the canning pot into the bowl with the lids.  Using a jar lifter, remove the hot jar from the canning pot, carefully pouring the water from each one back into the pot, and place them upright on a folded towel.  Drain the water off the jar lids.

Ladle the hot apples into the jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace at the top.  Use a chopstick to remove air bubbles around the inside of each jar.  Use a damp paper towel to wipe the rims of the jars, then put a flat lid and ring on each jar, adjusting the ring so that it’s just finger-tight.  Return the jars to the water in the canning pot, making sure the water covers the jars by at least 1 inch.  Bring to a boil, and boil for 10 minutes to process.  Remove the jars to a towel and do not disturb for 12 hours.  After 1 hour, check that the lids have sealed by pressing down on the center of each; if it can be pushed down, it hasn’t sealed and should be refrigerated.  Label the sealed jars and store.

Note: For me, this yielded four half-pint jars plus four ounces, which is close to the yield in the recipe.