FRESH APPLE CAKE WITH CARAMEL GLAZE RECIPES

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Mix together the softened butter with 2 tablespoons of the flour to make a paste. In a 10-inch Bundt pan, paint on the flour and butter paste with a pastry brush until the pan is well coated.
• Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, oil and eggs until smooth. Add the orange juice and vanilla extract and mix well. In another bowl, sift together the baking soda, cinnamon, salt and remaining 3 cups flour. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and continue to beat well. Stir in the apples and walnuts.
• Pour the batter into the pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Turn the cake out onto a cake plate.
• For the glaze: Combine the sugar, butter, buttermilk and baking soda in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil the mixture until it thickens slightly and begins to turn a light brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Using a toothpick, punch 15 to 20 holes in the top of the cake and pour the glaze over the cake. Let the cake set and cool before serving. Store the cake in an airtight cake carrier in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Steps:

• Make the cake: Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 325 degrees. Carefully butter and flour a 16-cup Bundt pan, making sure to get in all of the cracks and crevices.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar until combined. Add lemon zest, and then cream the mixture until light and fluffy on medium-high speed, about 5 minutes.
• With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is completely incorporated before adding the next. Add the yogurt, lemon juice and vanilla, and stir on medium speed to combine, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary to incorporate all the ingredients. The mixture may curdle a bit, but don’t worry too much about it.
• Add the flour mixture all at once and mix on low until almost completely combined.
• Remove the bowl from the mixer, scrape and fold any excess flour into the batter, and scoop out roughly 1/2 cup/100 grams of batter. Drop tablespoons of batter into the bottom of the prepared pan, and smooth into the bottom of the pan. (This batter will prevent the strawberries from sinking to the bottom of the pan and sticking.) Add the chopped strawberries to the remaining batter in the bowl and gently fold in until the strawberries are evenly distributed. The batter will be thick.
• Spoon the batter evenly into the pan, smooth the top and tap the pan firmly on the counter a few times to release any large air bubbles. Bake the cake until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean (a few small crumbs are O.K.), about 70 minutes. Cool the pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then turn the cake out onto the rack to cool completely.
• When the cake is cool, make the glaze: In a medium bowl, use a fork to mash the reserved 1/4 cup/40 grams of strawberries. Whisk in the confectioners' sugar and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. The glaze should be thick but just pourable. If it seems thin, add a bit more confectioners' sugar; if it is too thick to stir, add a bit more lemon juice. Pour the glaze evenly over the cake (you can glaze it over a rack if you prefer to let the excess glaze drip off), let it set for a few minutes and serve. Once the glaze has dried completely, refrigerate any leftover cake, loosely draped with plastic wrap.