Preheat oven to 180°C (160ºC fan) and line a 23 x 12cm (9×5″) loaf pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, stir together chopped apples, lemon juice, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
In another large bowl using a hand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add flour, baking powder, and orange juice and mix until just combined.
Add half batter to prepared loaf pan, then press in half the apple mixture. Top with remaining batter, then press remaining apples on top. Bake until loaf is golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 5 minutes. Let cool completely.
Preheat oven to 180°C (160ºC fan) and grease a 23cm springform pan with cooking spray.
Peel and quarter apples, then squeeze lemon juice over them to prevent browning. Cut core out of each quarter, then place core side down on cutting board. Place one chopstick on either side of apple quarter, then cut thin slices, being careful not to cut all the way through. Repeat until all apple quarters are sliced.
In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, until fully combined, then beat in sour cream and vanilla.
In a medium bowl, whisk to combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and fold in with a spatula until just combined.
Transfer batter to prepared springform and smooth top. Add apples sliced side up in desired pattern. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour.
Transfer cake to cooking rack and remove springform ring. Let cool to room temperature before dusting with icing sugar.
3 large granny smith apples, thinly sliced into pieces
3 tbsp. demerara sugar, for topping
FOR THE CUSTARD SAUCE:
80 g caster sugar
4 large egg yolks
300 ml double cream
1 vanilla bean, halved (or 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract)
DIRECTIONS
MAKE THE CAKE:
Preheat oven to 180°C (160ºC fan). Butter a 22-cm (9”) spring form pan and line the sides and bottom with parchment.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 375 grams flour, baking powder, salt, spices, and sugar. Add cubed butter and incorporate with your hands until you have no large pieces left and mixture resembles sand. Whisk in eggs, cream, and vanilla.
Toss sliced apples with remaining 3 tablespoons flour until evenly coated, then fold into batter. Transfer cake batter to prepared pan and sprinkle evenly all over with demerara sugar. Bake until apples are very tender and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan before removing.
MAKE THE CUSTARD SAUCE:
In a heatproof bowl, whisk sugar and yolks until lightened in colour, about 6 minutes. In a medium, heavy-bottomed sauce pan over medium-low heat, add vanilla bean seeds and pod and cream. (If using vanilla extract, add once custard is removed from heat.) Cook mixture, watching carefully, until just boiling. Remove from heat, and whisk a few tablespoons of hot cream into sugar-yolk mixture. Gradually add in remaining cream, whisking constantly.
Return custard to pot and continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until just thickened (do not boil!) — check consistency by dipping a wooden spoon in, then running a finger along back; the streak should stay intact.
Immediately remove from heat and pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Let cool.
3 medium sweet-tart apples (such as Granny Smith or Honeycrisp), peeled, cored, and chopped
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C Fan) with a rack in the middle position; lightly coat an 8” round cake tin with butter. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk eggs until foamy. Add melted butter, 150g of the sugar, rum, and vanilla and whisk to combine. Add dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until evenly incorporated. Fold in apples. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Sprinkle top with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Preheat oven to 180°C (160ºC fan) and grease a 23cm springform pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl toss together apples, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons brown sugar.
In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
In another large bowl using hand mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer), beat together butter, caster sugar, and remaining brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and mix until combined.
Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, beating until just combined. Pour in milk and mix until fully incorporated. Add remaining dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Pour batter into prepared pan and arrange apples on top in a spiral, overlapping layers slightly. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool 20 minutes before removing sides of springform pan.
Julia Child likes to include a bit of starter (also known as a sponge, poulish orbiga) in her white sandwich bread dough since she thinks it gives a superior flavor and texture and improves the loaf’s keeping qualities. This is a simple batter of flour, water and yeast that has been allowed to rise and bubble for several hours. To make it, whisk 1/2 cup of tepid water (105° to 110°) with 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast and 1 cup all-purpose flour or bread flour in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave it at a cool room temperature for several hours or overnight. It will rise and form big bubbles and then sink down, at which time it is ready to use. You can also cover and refrigerate it for several days.
