Apple Dump Cake

One of the things I love about cooking is taking an in-season ingredient and transforming it into something amazing. Last fall a friend gave me apples from his yard. I made apple pies and bread and still had some left over, so I peeled, sliced and froze the rest. I recently came across them and decided I would throw them in with some sugar and cinnamon for a quick dessert. Based upon what I had on hand, this is what I came up with, and it was wonderful! My apples were very tender and moist after being frozen, perfect for short cooking time.

5-6 cups of peeled, sliced apples
Hand full of raisins
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1 stick butter, divided
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 yellow cake mix

Preheat oven to 350 with 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) of butter in a glass 9x13 pan. Mix sugars and spices in a large bowl, toss apples and raisins to coat. Once butter is melted, tilt dish so that it coats the whole pan. Dump apple mixture in. Sprinkle cake mix evenly over the top. Add pecans evenly. Melt remaining 1/2 stick of butter and drizzle over the top. Bake for 30 min or so on the lower middle of the oven. (don't want to burn the pecans!) If the top starts to brown before you think the apples are done, cover with foil and cook another 10 min.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

The iron skillet. It's a staple in the Southern kitchen. I learned to make cornbread, country ham, and fried okra in this skillet. It's even heat conducting makes it a perfect way to caramelize the pineapple and pecans before popping the cake in the oven. This thick batter creates a nice pound cake like texture. The pecans get caramelized, adding a pleasant surprise to each bite. 

Start with 4 tablespoons of butter, melted slowly over medium heat. As soon as it's melted, add 3/4 cup brown sugar, and stir until dissolved. Increase the temp to med high and cook until it begins to bubble, about 2 min. Meanwhile, drain 1 can of pineapple tidbits, reserving the juice. Add pineapple to sugar and cook until it is a nice caramel color, about 2 more min. Remove from heat, gently stir once, and add 1/2 cup halved pecans. 

Heat oven to 350. Stir together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/4 tsp salt.
In a separate bowl, whip 1 cup of sugar and 1 stick of butter,  room temp,  until light and fluffy. Add 2 eggs, and beat until just incorporated. (Over beating eggs makes for a tough cake.)
Gradually add flour mixture and 1 cup of buttermilk alternately, mixing on low. Add 1 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1 tbl dark rum.
Gently spoon on top of pineapple.
Bake for 25-35 min, or until golden brown on top and a toothpick comes out clean in the middle (don't insert all the way down). Cool for 4-5 min (no more!) , loosen with a knife, place a cake plate on top, use oven mitts and flip over quickly. May be messy, but it's delicious! Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Yum!

Tips: substitute 1/4 cup buttermilk with pineapple juice, or save for a steak marinade!
Put aluminum foil under your skillet in the over to catch spills

Southern Molasses Cake

Molasses. What a sweet word. Since I can remember, we've had a jar of Sorghum Molasses on our table right next to the honey and butter. I grew up in a small town just outside of Nashville, TN and this is something we take seriously in our family! My second cousins will drive 2 hours just to get an authentic jar of this thick, black stuff. It's hard to find in grocery stores, they'll try to sell you corn syrup or Black Strap molasses. While good in its own rights, this is not what we aim for, what we cook with, and what we slather our biscuits in five nights out of the week. 

Molasses can be put to use to make grits edible, to substitute sugar in oatmeal, to give meaning to a biscuit, or to bake with. My all-time favorite molasses recipe is the famous Molasses cookie, but we'll save that for another day. 

I came across this in a cookbook for Armour's Hotel in Red Boiling Springs, TN. It's one of the first recipes I found myself when I started to bake as a teenager. I'm hooked, it's in my collection forever. 

1 stick butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup molasses

1 cup water

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp cloves

1 1/2 tsp soda

2 1/2 cups flour

2 eggs, beaten separately

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cream butter and sugar together, add molasses and water. In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients thoroughly. Add flour mixture slowly while folding in. Add eggs, don't over beat. 
• Pour into well greased bundt pan. 
• Bake 30-40 min or until toothpick comes out almost clean. 
• Start sauce recipe 10 min before cake is done.
• Cool for 5 min, then turn onto serving platter. 
• Pour sauce over hot cake and serve! 

Sauce:

1 stick butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup half and half

1/4 tsp each: Cinnamon, ginger, allspice. 

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. (Did you hear me? turn that burner down. ) Add sugar, stir until dissolved. Turn off heat, add spices and cream, mix well. 

Enjoy!

Cooking Tips:

• grease your measuring cup before putting the molasses in, or use Pampered Chef's Measure All Cup, great for sticky and thick things like Crisco or peanut butter. 
• If the cake is stuck and won't come out of the pan, freeze it then pop it out with a flexible spatula knife. (If this happens, reheat it before pouring sauce over it since it won't absorb it cold)