Tag: Apple Baking

Apple Crisp Cheesecake

So, are you savoring these last days of Fall while getting ready for Thanksgiving still embracing the pumpkins, leaves and colors of the season? Or have you just gone full blown into Christmas and all around you is red and green and your Thanksgiving meal will be celebrated with Christmas décor?  People have very strong feelings about this and prefer each holiday to have its own time. Me personally I put up my Christmas Tree on November 1st. I used to wait until after Thanksgiving, but I would always feel rushed then to get all my decorating done in one day. The tree up, décor around the house and the lights outside. It was just too much. So, a few years ago I decided that I would set up my tree right after Halloween. I will wait until Thanksgiving week though to turn it on and enjoy it all lit up. I must say though that this year I found that people really had some strong feelings about people jumping into Christmas right after Halloween. Is it really that big of a deal? Just do you own thing and don’t fault others for wanting to spread some holiday cheer a little early. Regardless, today’s dessert might just be the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving dessert table. It combines quite a few desserts into one, an Apple Crisp Cheesecake. You get your apples, a crisp topping and a cheesecake all tied together into one yummy dessert.

I started off by making the crisp topping since it needed to be chilled, then the apples and finally the cheesecake part. To assemble, I started off by filling a 9-inch graham cracker crust with the cheesecake filling. I added in some apple pie spices – cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ginger – to the cheesecake to help tie all the flavors together since I did add cinnamon to both the apples and crisp topping.

I then arranged the apples over the filling. First in an even layer and then placed the remaining apples over them. I tossed the apples with lemon juice, cinnamon and brown sugar. I used Granny Smith apples, so they weren’t very sweet or mushy after baking.

And finally, I sprinkled the chilled crisp topping over the apples. Initially I wasn’t planning on baking the cheesecake on a baking sheet, but, as I started to sprinkle the topping on it, I thought it best to bake it on the sheet just in case any of the topping fell off. The reason I chilled the crisp topping was to minimize the chances of it over-browning or burning too quickly while in the oven.

I baked the cheesecake for just shy of an hour and then let it cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before placing it on a wire rack to cool completely. It’s best to let cool it for a few minutes on the pan before transferring it so the cheesecake can firm up a bit. The apples will release some juices while baking and while the cheesecake will be done it will feel soft due to these extra juices.

Once the cheesecake had cooled completely, I refrigerated it overnight. And the next day it was time to slice it and enjoy a piece. And I must say, this came out just as I had hoped and envisioned in my head. As with the Apple Tiramisu from the other day it wasn’t overly sweet and all the components worked well together.  

Apple Crisp Cheesecake

Ingredients:

9-inch graham cracker crust

For the Cheesecake:

2 8oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon ginger

2 large eggs, at room temperature

For the Apple Topping:

2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored & sliced thin

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

For the Crisp Topping:

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

4 tablespoons butter, softened

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 F.

For the Crisp Topping: In a medium bowl mix together the oats, flour, sugar and cinnamon until well combined. Add in the butter and mix until the mixture is crumbly. It might be best to use your hands. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

For the Apple Topping: In a medium bowl toss together the apples, lemon juice, cinnamon and sugar until the apples are well coated. Set aside.

For the Cheesecake: In a large bowl beat together the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ginger with a hand mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add the eggs and continue beating until the eggs are incorporated into the batter.

Assemble: Place the graham cracker crust on a baking sheet then pour the cheesecake batter into the crust. Arrange the apples evenly over the batter and then sprinkle the crisp topping over the apples.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50-55 minutes, until the center is set. To prevent the crisp topping from over-browning or burning, tent the cheesecake with aluminum foil for the last 15-20 minutes.

Cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 8 hours (or overnight) before serving.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula.

Apple Fritter Bread

Are you tired of apple recipes? I hope not, I have one more that’s just as good as the previous two I posted recently – Apple Pie Spice Cake & Apple Butterscotch Cookies. Today I am bringing you an Apple Fritter Bread. All the deliciousness of an Apple Fritter without the guilt of it being fried. And just for a quick recap, an Apple Fritter is a deep-fried donut filled with apples and cinnamon.

With this bread, cinnamon coated apple pieces are layered between the batter and then swirled in before baking.

The result, each slice is filled with apple cinnamon goodness. For that final apple fritter touch, the bread is drizzled with a sour cream icing. If you are not a fan of icing though this bread would be just as delicious without it.

Apple Fritter Bread

Ingredients:

For the Bread:

1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk*

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Sour Cream Icing:

3 tablespoons sour cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Milk, if necessary

*I used whole milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 9.25 x 5.25 loaf pan with baking spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the apples, light brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

In another medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium speed, beat together the sugar and butter until combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the milk and vanilla until the mixture in smooth. With the mixer on low, beat in the flour mixture until just combined.

Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan and spread half of the apple mixture on top. Top the apples with the remaining batter and then top with the remaining apple mixture. Gently pat the apples in the batter and use a knife to swirl the apples into the batter.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan and let cool completely on the wire rack.

Once cooled, make and drizzle with the sour cream icing. In a medium bowl whisk together the sour cream, vanilla extract and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. If you find that the mixture is too thick whisk in 1 teaspoon of milk at a time until it’s a consistency easy to drizzle.

Place the wire rack with the cake over a baking sheet or a piece of wax paper and drizzle with the icing. Let sit for a few minutes to let the icing set before slicing.

Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens

Apple Crumb Pie

I’m wrapping up my mini apple week today with a pie that would be a perfect addition to your Thanksgiving dessert table… An Apple Crumb Pie. I make my fair share of desserts for Thanksgiving and this year I decided to make things a little easier on myself and forgo making any pies with a decorative pie crust. My baking list for Thanksgiving usually includes about 6 or 7 different desserts so taking that small thing off of my list is definitely going to help me get everything done in a timely fashion. And since I normally head to the city to see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons get inflated the night before Thanksgiving I have limited time on that day to bake so I normally end up baking one last thing on Thanksgiving morning and I am trying to avoid that this year. Coupled with no decorative pie crusts I am also thinking of baking one or two things ahead of time which should definitely free up some time for me.

To begin this pie I started by making the crumb topping. Once I mixed all of the ingredients together I placed it in the freezer so it could firm up. Next, I covered a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and placed it on the bottom rack of my oven and preheated it to 400 F. And finally I made the filling. I added all of the ingredients for the filling to a large bowl and using a rubber spatula gently folded them together.

Now, I’ve never had much success in making pie crust from scratch so I always opt to either use refrigerated pie crust or my real favorite frozen pie crust. I apologize to those of you who are cringing right now. I just find it fool-proof, especially the frozen one, and since I am usually more concerned with how the filling is going to come out and perfecting a decorative crust it’s just easier for me. To be honest, when I do make a decorative pie crust I use a frozen crust for the filling and a refrigerated pie crust to decorate it. It’s so much easier to make cut outs or cut long strips with pie crust that is already the perfect thickness. If you’re thinking of following my trick here’s another one. If you want to decorate your pie with cut-outs make sure you refrigerate them after cutting them out before placing them on your pie. Same thing goes for the strips you would use for braiding or a lattice design. Handling the pie crust softens it quickly and then when you go to place it on your pie it won’t place as well or may start to break (especially if you are making a lattice design), firming it up again makes it easier to work with and it will bake better. Okay, so back to the pie at hand. I used a frozen 9-inch deep dish pie crust. I kept the pie crust in the freezer until I was ready to fill it. I spooned the filling into the pie crust and then gently topped it with the crumb topping, breaking any pieces of crumb that were too large. I carefully removed the hot pan from the oven and placed the pie on it and then returned it to the oven.

Look at those nice pieces of crumb topping… YUM!!!

I baked it at 400 F for about 25 minutes and then reduced the oven temperature to 350 F and baked it for about another 50 minutes. My apples were a tad soft to begin with (I got them a few weeks ago from apple picking) so my pie was ready rather quickly. About 25 minutes after reducing the heat I covered the top of the pie with a piece of aluminum foil so the crumb topping wouldn’t burn. Once I removed it from the oven the crumb topping was a perfect golden color and the filling had bubbled out just a bit.

After letting it cool completely I placed it in the refrigerator covered with aluminum foil for a few days before cutting into it -I baked it on a Thursday night and sliced it on Sunday. Final verdict… It was the best apple pie I’ve ever made. I would say pie in general, but that distinction belongs to Key Lime Pie. Per requests, I am planning on making two of these for Thanksgiving!

 

Apple Crumb Pie

Ingredients:

1 Frozen 9-inch deep dish pie crust*

Crumb Topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces at room temperature

Filling:

3 pounds mixed apples, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

*You could also use a homemade pie crust or a refrigerated pie crust. If using either, once you have prepped your pie plate with the crust place the dish in the refrigerator until the crust is firm, at least 1 hour or overnight. If using a frozen pie crust, you can fill the crust right out of the freezer.

 

Directions:

Make the crumb topping: Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Add the butter to the mixture and use your hands to mix it until crumbs form. Place in the freezer until ready to use.

Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and place it in the bottom rack of your oven and then preheat the oven to 400 F.

Make the filling: Mix the apples, melted butter, both sugars, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Spoon the filling into the pie crust. Sprinkle the filling with the frozen crumbs. Breaking any large crumbs into smaller pieces and making sure to spread them evenly over the pie and patting them down while doing so.

Place the pie on the baking sheet in the oven and bake until the crumbs lightly brown, about 25-30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 F and continue baking until the apples are completely soft when pierced with a knife, about an additional 60 to 80 minutes. If you find the crumb topping is getting too dark cover it loosely with a piece of aluminum foil. Transfer the pie to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Food Network

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