Scented with vanilla and custardy in texture, this simple apple cake comes together in one bowl and emerges golden-crusted. It is one of the most delicious apple cakes I make and never fails to please adults and children alike.
The roots of Bolzano apple cake lie in the Alto Adige region of Italy, where Scott Carsberg of Seattle’s Lampreia trained as a young chef. There, Carsberg worked at the Michelin one-star restaurant, Villa Mozart, whose menu reflected the simple foods of the region, and whose chefs taught him how to make Bolzano apple cake, a classic northern Italian peasant dessert.
I adore this cake, and I want you to, too. Some of you, however, have had trouble with this recipe, mostly with the baking time, which some of you have noted has taken as long as 90 minutes. I know every oven is different and every pan conducts heat differently, so baking times will surely vary, but I worry that cooking this “cake” for over an hour will severely alter its delicate texture and flavor.
Why? Because Bolzano apple cake is more like a cross between a clafouti and a pancake. After the cake is removed from the oven, it falls, and the slices of vanilla-seed speckled apples meld together sinking into the tiniest of tiny layers of custardy cake. It is delectable.
If you fear your oven’s temperature and dial aren’t quite calibrated accurately — mine certainly are not — I recommend getting one of these little oven thermometers . Mine hangs from my top oven rack, and I refer to it every time I use my oven.
When testing the doneness of this cake, inserting a knife will offer little guidance. The paring knife I used emerged covered with little bits of batter. I still removed the cake from the oven after 55 minutes of cooking and let it cool in its pan on a rack for more than 30 minutes before tucking in.
I most enjoy eating this cake when it has cooled to room temperature. I’d wager, in fact, that it peaks at breakfast the next day. Good things come to those who wait? Or something like that.
Description
I’ve adjusted the recipe only every so slightly in that I make this in one bowl, whisking the salt and baking powder directly into the batter, and adding the milk and flour successively as opposed to alternately.
- 1 stick butter ( 4 ounces | 114 g ), plus more for greasing pan
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup ( 200 g ) sugar
- 1 vanilla bean (or 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract)
- 3 to 4 apples, such as Fuji or Honey Crisp (about 1¼ pound or about 3 cups once peeled and sliced)
- ½ cup ( 64 g ) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup ( 140 g ) milk at room temperature
- powdered sugar
- Heat oven to 375ºF. Grease a nine-inch-circle pan with butter. Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan and place inside pan. Grease sides of pan and parchment round with butter.
- Melt butter in small saucepan. Set aside. Beat together eggs and half of sugar in a bowl. Continue to beat while slowly adding remaining sugar until thick — it should form a ribbon when dropped from spoon.
- Split vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape seeds into the egg-sugar mixture and add pod to melted butter.
- Peel apples and cut straight down around the core into four big chunks. Discard the core then slice the apple pieces thinly.
- Remove vanilla pod from butter and discard. Whisk butter into the sugar-egg mixture. Add the salt and baking powder and whisk to combine. Whisk in the milk. Whisk in the flour.
- Add the apples, and use a spatula to incorporate them, coating every piece with batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the cake pulls away slightly from the pan and is brown on top. (Note: Start checking after 30 minutes, as the cooking time may vary depending on your oven and the material of your pan, and you may find it browns/cooks more quickly. If after 30 minutes it looks very brown, turn the temperature down to 325ºF.) Cool for at least 30 minutes, then cut into wedges sprinkling each with powdered sugar if desired.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: Italian, American
Scented with vanilla and custardy in texture, this simple apple cake comes together in one bowl and emerges golden-crusted. It is one of the most delicious apple cakes I make and never fails to please adults and children alike.
The roots of Bolzano apple cake lie in the Alto Adige region of Italy, where Scott Carsberg of Seattle’s Lampreia trained as a young chef. There, Carsberg worked at the Michelin one-star restaurant, Villa Mozart, whose menu reflected the simple foods of the region, and whose chefs taught him how to make Bolzano apple cake, a classic northern Italian peasant dessert.
I adore this cake, and I want you to, too. Some of you, however, have had trouble with this recipe, mostly with the baking time, which some of you have noted has taken as long as 90 minutes. I know every oven is different and every pan conducts heat differently, so baking times will surely vary, but I worry that cooking this “cake” for over an hour will severely alter its delicate texture and flavor.
Why? Because Bolzano apple cake is more like a cross between a clafouti and a pancake. After the cake is removed from the oven, it falls, and the slices of vanilla-seed speckled apples meld together sinking into the tiniest of tiny layers of custardy cake. It is delectable.
If you fear your oven’s temperature and dial aren’t quite calibrated accurately — mine certainly are not — I recommend getting one of these little oven thermometers . Mine hangs from my top oven rack, and I refer to it every time I use my oven.
When testing the doneness of this cake, inserting a knife will offer little guidance. The paring knife I used emerged covered with little bits of batter. I still removed the cake from the oven after 55 minutes of cooking and let it cool in its pan on a rack for more than 30 minutes before tucking in.
I most enjoy eating this cake when it has cooled to room temperature. I’d wager, in fact, that it peaks at breakfast the next day. Good things come to those who wait? Or something like that.
Description
I’ve adjusted the recipe only every so slightly in that I make this in one bowl, whisking the salt and baking powder directly into the batter, and adding the milk and flour successively as opposed to alternately.
- 1 stick butter ( 4 ounces | 114 g ), plus more for greasing pan
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup ( 200 g ) sugar
- 1 vanilla bean (or 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract)
- 3 to 4 apples, such as Fuji or Honey Crisp (about 1¼ pound or about 3 cups once peeled and sliced)
- ½ cup ( 64 g ) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup ( 140 g ) milk at room temperature
- powdered sugar
- Heat oven to 375ºF. Grease a nine-inch-circle pan with butter. Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan and place inside pan. Grease sides of pan and parchment round with butter.
- Melt butter in small saucepan. Set aside. Beat together eggs and half of sugar in a bowl. Continue to beat while slowly adding remaining sugar until thick — it should form a ribbon when dropped from spoon.
- Split vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape seeds into the egg-sugar mixture and add pod to melted butter.
- Peel apples and cut straight down around the core into four big chunks. Discard the core then slice the apple pieces thinly.
- Remove vanilla pod from butter and discard. Whisk butter into the sugar-egg mixture. Add the salt and baking powder and whisk to combine. Whisk in the milk. Whisk in the flour.
- Add the apples, and use a spatula to incorporate them, coating every piece with batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the cake pulls away slightly from the pan and is brown on top. (Note: Start checking after 30 minutes, as the cooking time may vary depending on your oven and the material of your pan, and you may find it browns/cooks more quickly. If after 30 minutes it looks very brown, turn the temperature down to 325ºF.) Cool for at least 30 minutes, then cut into wedges sprinkling each with powdered sugar if desired.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: Italian, American
Scented with vanilla and custardy in texture, this simple apple cake comes together in one bowl and emerges golden-crusted. It is one of the most delicious apple cakes I make and never fails to please adults and children alike.
The roots of Bolzano apple cake lie in the Alto Adige region of Italy, where Scott Carsberg of Seattle’s Lampreia trained as a young chef. There, Carsberg worked at the Michelin one-star restaurant, Villa Mozart, whose menu reflected the simple foods of the region, and whose chefs taught him how to make Bolzano apple cake, a classic northern Italian peasant dessert.
I adore this cake, and I want you to, too. Some of you, however, have had trouble with this recipe, mostly with the baking time, which some of you have noted has taken as long as 90 minutes. I know every oven is different and every pan conducts heat differently, so baking times will surely vary, but I worry that cooking this “cake” for over an hour will severely alter its delicate texture and flavor.
Why? Because Bolzano apple cake is more like a cross between a clafouti and a pancake. After the cake is removed from the oven, it falls, and the slices of vanilla-seed speckled apples meld together sinking into the tiniest of tiny layers of custardy cake. It is delectable.
If you fear your oven’s temperature and dial aren’t quite calibrated accurately — mine certainly are not — I recommend getting one of these little oven thermometers . Mine hangs from my top oven rack, and I refer to it every time I use my oven.
When testing the doneness of this cake, inserting a knife will offer little guidance. The paring knife I used emerged covered with little bits of batter. I still removed the cake from the oven after 55 minutes of cooking and let it cool in its pan on a rack for more than 30 minutes before tucking in.
I most enjoy eating this cake when it has cooled to room temperature. I’d wager, in fact, that it peaks at breakfast the next day. Good things come to those who wait? Or something like that.
Description
I’ve adjusted the recipe only every so slightly in that I make this in one bowl, whisking the salt and baking powder directly into the batter, and adding the milk and flour successively as opposed to alternately.
- 1 stick butter ( 4 ounces | 114 g ), plus more for greasing pan
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup ( 200 g ) sugar
- 1 vanilla bean (or 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract)
- 3 to 4 apples, such as Fuji or Honey Crisp (about 1¼ pound or about 3 cups once peeled and sliced)
- ½ cup ( 64 g ) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup ( 140 g ) milk at room temperature
- powdered sugar
- Heat oven to 375ºF. Grease a nine-inch-circle pan with butter. Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan and place inside pan. Grease sides of pan and parchment round with butter.
- Melt butter in small saucepan. Set aside. Beat together eggs and half of sugar in a bowl. Continue to beat while slowly adding remaining sugar until thick — it should form a ribbon when dropped from spoon.
- Split vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape seeds into the egg-sugar mixture and add pod to melted butter.
- Peel apples and cut straight down around the core into four big chunks. Discard the core then slice the apple pieces thinly.
- Remove vanilla pod from butter and discard. Whisk butter into the sugar-egg mixture. Add the salt and baking powder and whisk to combine. Whisk in the milk. Whisk in the flour.
- Add the apples, and use a spatula to incorporate them, coating every piece with batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the cake pulls away slightly from the pan and is brown on top. (Note: Start checking after 30 minutes, as the cooking time may vary depending on your oven and the material of your pan, and you may find it browns/cooks more quickly. If after 30 minutes it looks very brown, turn the temperature down to 325ºF.) Cool for at least 30 minutes, then cut into wedges sprinkling each with powdered sugar if desired.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: Italian, American
Scented with vanilla and custardy in texture, this simple apple cake comes together in one bowl and emerges golden-crusted. It is one of the most delicious apple cakes I make and never fails to please adults and children alike.
The roots of Bolzano apple cake lie in the Alto Adige region of Italy, where Scott Carsberg of Seattle’s Lampreia trained as a young chef. There, Carsberg worked at the Michelin one-star restaurant, Villa Mozart, whose menu reflected the simple foods of the region, and whose chefs taught him how to make Bolzano apple cake, a classic northern Italian peasant dessert.
I adore this cake, and I want you to, too. Some of you, however, have had trouble with this recipe, mostly with the baking time, which some of you have noted has taken as long as 90 minutes. I know every oven is different and every pan conducts heat differently, so baking times will surely vary, but I worry that cooking this “cake” for over an hour will severely alter its delicate texture and flavor.
Why? Because Bolzano apple cake is more like a cross between a clafouti and a pancake. After the cake is removed from the oven, it falls, and the slices of vanilla-seed speckled apples meld together sinking into the tiniest of tiny layers of custardy cake. It is delectable.
If you fear your oven’s temperature and dial aren’t quite calibrated accurately — mine certainly are not — I recommend getting one of these little oven thermometers . Mine hangs from my top oven rack, and I refer to it every time I use my oven.
When testing the doneness of this cake, inserting a knife will offer little guidance. The paring knife I used emerged covered with little bits of batter. I still removed the cake from the oven after 55 minutes of cooking and let it cool in its pan on a rack for more than 30 minutes before tucking in.
I most enjoy eating this cake when it has cooled to room temperature. I’d wager, in fact, that it peaks at breakfast the next day. Good things come to those who wait? Or something like that.
Description
I’ve adjusted the recipe only every so slightly in that I make this in one bowl, whisking the salt and baking powder directly into the batter, and adding the milk and flour successively as opposed to alternately.
- 1 stick butter ( 4 ounces | 114 g ), plus more for greasing pan
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup ( 200 g ) sugar
- 1 vanilla bean (or 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract)
- 3 to 4 apples, such as Fuji or Honey Crisp (about 1¼ pound or about 3 cups once peeled and sliced)
- ½ cup ( 64 g ) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup ( 140 g ) milk at room temperature
- powdered sugar
- Heat oven to 375ºF. Grease a nine-inch-circle pan with butter. Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan and place inside pan. Grease sides of pan and parchment round with butter.
- Melt butter in small saucepan. Set aside. Beat together eggs and half of sugar in a bowl. Continue to beat while slowly adding remaining sugar until thick — it should form a ribbon when dropped from spoon.
- Split vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape seeds into the egg-sugar mixture and add pod to melted butter.
- Peel apples and cut straight down around the core into four big chunks. Discard the core then slice the apple pieces thinly.
- Remove vanilla pod from butter and discard. Whisk butter into the sugar-egg mixture. Add the salt and baking powder and whisk to combine. Whisk in the milk. Whisk in the flour.
- Add the apples, and use a spatula to incorporate them, coating every piece with batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the cake pulls away slightly from the pan and is brown on top. (Note: Start checking after 30 minutes, as the cooking time may vary depending on your oven and the material of your pan, and you may find it browns/cooks more quickly. If after 30 minutes it looks very brown, turn the temperature down to 325ºF.) Cool for at least 30 minutes, then cut into wedges sprinkling each with powdered sugar if desired.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: Italian, American
Description
I’ve adjusted the recipe only every so slightly in that I make this in one bowl, whisking the salt and baking powder directly into the batter, and adding the milk and flour successively as opposed to alternately.
- 1 stick butter ( 4 ounces | 114 g ), plus more for greasing pan
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup ( 200 g ) sugar
- 1 vanilla bean (or 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract)
- 3 to 4 apples, such as Fuji or Honey Crisp (about 1¼ pound or about 3 cups once peeled and sliced)
- ½ cup ( 64 g ) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup ( 140 g ) milk at room temperature
- powdered sugar
- Heat oven to 375ºF. Grease a nine-inch-circle pan with butter. Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan and place inside pan. Grease sides of pan and parchment round with butter.
- Melt butter in small saucepan. Set aside. Beat together eggs and half of sugar in a bowl. Continue to beat while slowly adding remaining sugar until thick — it should form a ribbon when dropped from spoon.
- Split vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape seeds into the egg-sugar mixture and add pod to melted butter.
- Peel apples and cut straight down around the core into four big chunks. Discard the core then slice the apple pieces thinly.
- Remove vanilla pod from butter and discard. Whisk butter into the sugar-egg mixture. Add the salt and baking powder and whisk to combine. Whisk in the milk. Whisk in the flour.
- Add the apples, and use a spatula to incorporate them, coating every piece with batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the cake pulls away slightly from the pan and is brown on top. (Note: Start checking after 30 minutes, as the cooking time may vary depending on your oven and the material of your pan, and you may find it browns/cooks more quickly. If after 30 minutes it looks very brown, turn the temperature down to 325ºF.) Cool for at least 30 minutes, then cut into wedges sprinkling each with powdered sugar if desired.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: Italian, American
Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2009/11/06/balzano-apple-cake-revisited/
About a month ago, a hankering for homemade hamburger buns led me to a wonderful discovery: Belles Hamburger Buns, which happened to be the first recipe to turn up on my google search. I have made the recipe three times now and have had success with every batch. The dough is simple to make and forgiving, too — you can mix the dough before work, let it rise in the fridge during the day, punch it down when you return, and proceeded with the recipe as if you had never stepped out of the kitchen. You can freeze the portioned dough, too, let it thaw in the fridge overnight and proceed with the recipe the following evening. ( UPDATE: THESE ARE MY FAVORITE BUNS )
These buns are the perfect vehicle for these roasted green pepper burgers, which my mother turned me onto recently. It’s simple: roast green peppers, chop them up, and mix them into hamburger meat with a little kosher salt and pepper. Then, form patties and cook them in a cast iron pan for about four minutes a side for delectable medium-rare burgers. Incredibly, the roasted peppers keep the burgers juicy and tender but not so much as to mask the flavor of the meat.
Grass-Fed Beef
I’ve shared my thoughts on grass-fed beef a number of times before, so I’ve rounded up a few links to past posts and articles if you are interested in reading up on this matter:
Grass-fed Beef Anxious to Purchase a Steer Hearst Ranch Grass-fed Beef
Making these buns couldn’t be simpler: Combine yeast and flour in a stand mixer. Heat milk, water, sugar, salt and butter together until warm to the touch. Add the warmed milk mixture to flour and let the stand mixer do its thing for 8 minutes. Ta-da! The dough is ready to go.
Cooking these burgers couldn’t be simpler either. Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a cast-iron pan over high heat. When the oil begins swirling in the pan, add the patties and reduce the heat to medium-high. Cook for about 4 minutes. Flip. Add cheese, if desired, and cook for about 4 minutes longer for medium rare. Yum.
The wonderful J&J grass-fed beef:
Are these not the cutest little buns you have ever seen? You can make them, too! Promise. It’s easy and fun and delicious.
Description
Original recipe at Allrecipes
UPDATE: This is my favorite burger bun recipe: Light Brioche Buns, Even Better
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 5 1/2 cups (about 23.5 ounces ) all-purpose flour
- 1 (.25 ounce) envelope active dry yeast
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
- sesame seeds (optional)
- Combine the milk, 1 cup of water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Heat until warm to the touch and until the butter has melted — this only takes a minute or two. Remove from the heat. If you have heated the mixture longer than you had intended, let it stand till room temperature. Warning: if the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast.
- In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), stir together the flour and yeast. Pour in wet ingredients and stir until the dough starts to pull together. If you have a stand mixer, use the dough hook to mix for about 8 minutes. If not, knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let stand until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Punch down the dough and divide into 12 portions. Make tight balls out of the dough by pulling the dough tightly around and pinching it at the bottom. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Note: I would only bake 6 buns at a time on one sheet and place only one pan in the oven at a time to ensure even baking. Set rolls aside until they double in size, about 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Mix together the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of water in a cup or small bowl. Brush onto the tops of the rolls. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if using.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until nicely browned on the top and bottom. Let cool before slicing and serving.
Notes
I have served these warm, which I love, and also sliced and toasted, which I think is even better for burgers — the toasted buns don’t get soggy.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
Description
Note: This is more of a method than a recipe.
- hamburger meat (I usually use about a pound)
- green peppers (I usually roast about 2 peppers per pound of beef, but don’t end up needing all of them for the patties.)
- Parchment paper , for easy cleaning
- olive oil
- kosher salt
- freshly cracked pepper
- Homemade buns (optional): Light Brioche Buns, Even Better
- Burger accoutrements : cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, Dijon, ketchup, mayo, etc.
- Roast the peppers: Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Line a sheetpan with parchment paper. Cut the peppers in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and stem. Place peppers cut-side down on the prepared pan and place in the oven. Roast until the skins are browned and blistery, about 20 minutes. This may take longer or shorter, depending on your oven. Just keep an eye on them towards the end — you don’t want them to be totally charred. Remove the peppers from the oven. Place in a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside. When peppers are cool enough to handle, remove skins and discard. Chop peppers into small pieces. Set aside.Note: This can be done days in advance. Also, you might not need all of the peppers. Save any remaining to add to an omelet. Yum.
- Prepare the patties: Spread the meat into a large bowl. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and pepper. Sprinkle as many of the diced peppers over the meat as you like. Gently begin forming your patties. I portion mine into either 5- or 6-ounce patties depending on the day. Season each side of the burgers with salt and pepper to taste.
- Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a cast iron pan over high heat. When the oil begins to gently swirl, add the patties and turn the heat down to medium or medium-high. Cook for 4 minutes. Flip. Top with a thin slice of cheese, if desired, and cook for about four minutes longer for medium-rare. Serve on a toasted bun with all the fixins.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
