Roasted Apple Pound Cake

A couple months ago my mother came to visit. I love it when she comes because not only does she help me take care of the kids, she almost always introduces me to some new recipe. She’s been doing this ever since I was a kid and I just can’t get enough. Mom’s actually the reason I started cooking. She loved it and now, so do I.  Anyway, her last visit, she made the most amazing cake. When I asked her for the recipe she happily sent it over. It was an apple cake. But this wasn’t just any apple cake. The apples were roasted.

I’ve had apple cakes before, I’ve even made a few. But usually the apples are peeled, sliced and thrown into the batter just before it’s dumped into the pan. This time I didn’t have to peel the apples. Yay!  But I did have to roast them before hand which may have added an extra step, but made it oh, so worth the wait.

See, roasting the apples not only made them sweeter, it gave them a delicious… well, roasted taste that permeated through the whole cake. But what’s really wonderful about this cake is it’s not just perfect for this time of year, it’s not too sweet so it can be enjoyed as a light dessert after dinner or even served for brunch with a nice cup of tea or coffee.

Roasted Apple Pound Cake

Ingredients:

• 4 large apples of your choice
• 1-1/4 cups of sugar, divided
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and place a cookie sheet inside.
2. Core and chop the apples and place in a bowl. Toss with a quarter cup of sugar until apples are coated with sugar. Spread the apples on the cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Stir the apples and then bake for another 10 minutes. Let the apples cool.
3. Reduce oven to 350°F and grease a 9×5 loaf pan.
4. While the apples cool, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and set aside.
5. Beat the butter and remaining sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each.
6. Alternately add the milk and dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing well after each addition,  until the ingredients are well combined.
7. Stir in 1-1/2 cups of the roasted apples. Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining apples over the top of the batter. Bake for 65-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
8. Remove the cake from the oven, run a knife around the edge, invert the cake and pan onto a cutting board or cooling rack. Remove the pan and let cake cool for at least 10 minutes. Slice and serve.