Apple Cider Cake

This is a good cake. I'm glad I tried it. The apple cider reduction is absolutely delicious. Especially when used as a glaze. (And in the icing.) I'm happy with how it came out.

All that being said... I think I actually prefer the apple cake recipe Deb posted on her Smitten Kitchen blog. Both recipes avoid mixing chunks of apple into the cake batter itself; that way disaster (or at least soggy cake) lies. But I think I prefer the layers of cinnamon-y apple chunks used in Deb's recipe over the grated apples mixed into the batter of the Cook's Illustrated recipe. They're both good. My preference just lies with the other method.

One thing that I would like to try with this recipe is converting it to whole wheat. It's good as is, but I think the flavour and texture of whole wheat would actually complement the apple and hints of cinnamon and allspice quite well. Because of the nature of the recipe and the fact that it gets mixed very little, I think any whole wheat flour would be acceptable. My preference, however, would be for a flour milled from soft white wheat. White wheat has a paler colour and milder flavour than red wheat. I think either red or white, hard or soft could be used here though.

Apple Bundt Cake

Slightly adapted from Cook's Illustrated September/October 2017

Ingredients

• 4 c. apple cider
• 530g all-purpose flour¹
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 1/2 baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
• 85g icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar
• 1 c. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 680g Granny Smith apples, peeled and shredded

Directions

1. Bring the cider to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until reduced to exactly 1 c. (~20 minutes).
2. Grease and flour a bundt pan and preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
3. Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and allspice and mix well.
4. Sift icing sugar into a small bowl and set aside.
5. Once cider has finished reducing, add 2 Tbsp. of cider reduction to icing sugar and whisk to form a smooth icing. Cover and set aside.
6. Combine 1/2 c. of cider reduction with melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla and whisk until smooth and homogeneous. Reserve the remaining 6 Tbsp. of cider reduction.
7. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well.
8. Stir in shredded apples.
9. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top.
10. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 55-65 minutes.
11. Remove from oven and brush top with ~1 Tbsp. of reserved cider reduction. Let rest for 10 minutes.
12. Place a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet and invert cake onto rack. Remove bundt pan.
13. Brush remaining 5 Tbsp. of cider reduction onto cake. Let rest for 20 minutes.
14. Uncover icing, whisk, and drizzle over cake.
15. Let rest for at least 20 minutes before slicing.

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¹ I think pretty much any flour could be used here. I actually ended up using a mix of all-purpose (medium-hard) and pastry (soft) flour because I ran out of AP. ^Back