Adjusting the leaven

I'm going to bake an Irish Apple Cake. The cake's basic ingredients are 1 stick butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1.25 cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/8 tsp salt, 3 tbsp milk, plus seasoning (vanilla, cinnamon, allspice). I think it's meant to be like a coffee cake so a bit firm, a bit dry, to support a layer of apples and streusel on top.

I'd like to add more apples than called-for (3 granny smith) but I don't want to crush the batter. Is it fair to add a bit more leavening? Or am I proposing a simple answer to a complex question?

Hi Jeff, I am not much of a baker and know nothing about all the science. However, just for fun, I will offer this recipe that I make. I follow this lady, she is a trained chef, cooks simply, and her recipes are always spot on. It is for French Apple Cake and comes out just as pretty as her photo, very yummy too. I usually add more apples, depending on the size of them. You might be interested in the reviews as they have some tweaks that sound fun.
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/f ... -cake.html

[Jenise]

Not much of a baker either; however that doesn't stop me from being opinionated. A standard apple pie would be 6-7 apples, so more than three for a cake base seems like, well, why would you want to do that? I am not sure adding more leavening would make it sturdier, and something else to consider is that baking powder has a bitter flavor so adding more could have an unintended consequence.

Hi Jeff, I am not much of a baker and know nothing about all the science. However, just for fun, I will offer this recipe that I make. I follow this lady, she is a trained chef, cooks simply, and her recipes are always spot on. It is for French Apple Cake and comes out just as pretty as her photo, very yummy too. I usually add more apples, depending on the size of them. You might be interested in the reviews as they have some tweaks that sound fun.
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/f ... -cake.html

Thank you, Karen. That does look good. I will consider switching over.

I was working from this one:
https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/irish-apple-cake/
...which seems fairly similar. I like the idea of the streusel topping.

Both of these cakes seem a little lacking in the spice department so I plan to add a bit of lemon zest and cinnamon (and maybe allspice, too) to the batter, and use a bit of almond flour in the streusel.

Not much of a baker either; however that doesn't stop me from being opinionated.

Motto for the whole roster around here.

A standard apple pie would be 6-7 apples, so more than three for a cake base seems like, well, why would you want to do that?

Because my apple tree just dumped 80# of apples in my lap and I'm trying to use up some of them.

I am not sure adding more leavening would make it sturdier, and something else to consider is that baking powder has a bitter flavor so adding more could have an unintended consequence.

Noted. I started reading through the comments more carefully and I see others have asked the same question and the author says no need to boost the batter. It's not a high-rise recipe, anyway.

But I kinda like the one Karen sent because the apples are mixed-in, rather than on top. Maybe I can make the French cake and put the Irish streusel on it? (There's got to be an Irish-German joke in here somewhere.)

[Jenise]

Hey, I'm making Karen's recipe tonight too. Hadn't decided on a dessert which is an exercise in procrastination as in general I tried not to even think about it, but the rum element was intriguing even for me who doesn't like boozy food.

I decided I'm going the hybrid path: streusel on French cake.

Streusel is made, springform is buttered, just eating some coq au vin before sitting down to peel apples....

And another thing: I can't find my pastry cutter. Put that on the list with the sock, the flour, and the slicer.

And another thing: I can't find my pastry cutter. Put that on the list with the sock, the flour, and the slicer.

So funny and familiar

Cake is cooling. Took a little longer than listed. House smells good.

[Jenise]

Hmmm...took longer? I set the timer for 35 minutes of the 40 prescribed, and it was done, maybe three-five minutes over. Delicious, though, seriously loved it and can't wait to share the leftovers with Bob over coffee this morning.

Haven't cut into it yet. Feels firm. We'll see.

[Jenise]

The texture is a true sponge. More so this morning than last night when freshly baked. Went superbly with an XO cognac.

Note to self: Bring a couple ounces of calvados to serve on the cake.

Tonight, I made an apple pie. No leavening involved.

I'm giving up trying to make pie. My latest fiasco - all butter crust with the highest butterfat content butter I could find thinking that the lower the butterfat, the higher the milk solids = gluten development. Following The Cooks Illustrated Cookbook with " the best all butter crust recipe" that calls for some sour cream with water to minimize gluten development produced a crust so tough I thought I was going to lose a tooth. The only handling was to lightly compress the dough into balls. I used a beautiful mix of apples from our trees- Cox's Orange Pippin, Tolman Sweet and Winesap. The apples held their shape and were delicious but the cooled pie was full of runny juice despite cooking an hour resulting in a beautiful browned top crust and bubbling juices over the sides.
Ugh ! My absolute worst pie ever and I've had some bad crusts. I'd given up before but this time for good.
That apple cake recipe looks very very good.

[quote="Jenise"]The texture is a true sponge. More so this morning than last night when freshly baked. Went superbly with an XO cognac.[/quoteI
I don't recall if it was Jen, the website chef, or in a posted review that the cake was better left to sit for a day as the texture was perfect then. We like it for its simplicity and I always use Honey Crisp apples, they are my favorites, and are so huge.

[Jenise]

Christine, I'm no baker but I can nail an apple pie though I generally make them rustic tart style, open top, with a crumb topping (flour+sugar+butter). Is it possible that two-crust pies steam all the juice out? Can apples be too fresh, contain too much juice? I don't know, I don't know! Did you include some flour so that the filling could thicken as it bakes?

My favorite apple for pies is Macintosh, which were nonexistent where I shopped this week so I used Golden Delicious. Discussing this with my guests the other night, when I mentioned the Macintosh one knew enough about them to exclaim, "But they'd turn into mush!" and my answer was "Yes that's precisely why I like them!" I do not like apple pies full of apples that hold their shape vs. one that all or partially dissolves. The goldens were a little firmer than I would like. At the same store I also bought some new crop Jonagolds that were a perfect blend of streaky green and red vs. solid red which I consider overripe. Divine for eating, probably would have been great in the cake too.

Christina,

So great that you have Cox' Orange Pippins available! I cannot get them in NYC so I'm envious.

I think I can shed a little light on two of your pie problems.

Regarding the excessive wetness, I learned a trick to prevent that: after you've got the apples peeled/sliced, put them in a bowl and season them up (sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, whatever add'l dry flavoring you use), and let them sit for an hour. Stir them up occasionally. They will weep like crazy. Toss that liquid and then continue with the pie.

Regarding the impenetrable crust: am I allowed to say that sour cream + water is a kooky liquid to use? That's just milk under another name. My baking friend swears by vodka as the liquid of choice: it's wet for a while, then it goes away and it doesn't activate gluten. I think this article is the clearest about what matters and what doesn't: https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-perfectly-flaky-pie-crust-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-191896

To put a bow on it: ate from both cake and pie over the weekend. Cake was moist and delicious, with the sweet-oaty-crunch adding a nice counterpoint. Pie was also good, though best when the crust was still crisp, will need a few minutes in the toaster oven now. One eater suggested a slice of cheddar cheese; I went for Capt. Morgan's Spiced Rum, but may switch to vanilla ice cream henceforth.