orange cranberry bundt cake | apt 2b baking co

We have done a lot of leaf-peeping this fall. More than any year I can remember, and I am so thankful that we have been able to get out of the city so much. This time leading up to the holidays is always hectic with seasonal work and preparing to take some time off at the end of the year - so that, combined with the fact that our entire neighborhood has turned into a dirty and dusty construction zone has really inspired us to get the heck out of town. Being able to spend lots of time in the cool, clean air and fall colors has been totally revitalizing, and being able to let Arlo run around in the grass and teaching him how to fetch has been so, so fun!

Despite all that good fresh air, and good fall produce - I have been in a bit of a cooking and baking rut. I think it's because I have been doing a lot of recipe development for work and when I am cooking non-dinner food all day (and doing dishes) the last thing I want to do is cook more... This means that I have been buying a lot of produce with good intentions to cook it, but the truth is a lot of it ends up in the compost. BUT the good news is that fall cookbooks have been arriving in my mailbox on the the reg and flipping through them is giving me some major inspiration just in time for Thanksgiving.

This gorgeous seasonal bundt is from Sarah Keiffer's brand new Vanilla Bean Baking Book that comes out tomorrow!! Sarah has always been a source of baking inspiration for me, and her new book is an incredible resource totally packed-full of baking basics and treats with fun twists. Like many of you, my cookbook shelf is groaning under the weight of many, many baking books but this book is truly special. I had the good fortune to test a handful of recipes from this book and they are all stellar. Especially the chocolate chip cookies with crispy edges and yellow cake with chocolate and burnt-honey buttercream.

Bundt cakes are my fave and I'll use any excuse to break out my favorite Nordic ware pan. This one is a classic, dense and covered in gorgeous glaze, but not too sweet thanks to a generous amount of tart fresh cranberries. Its the kind of thing you can make for dessert, but end up eating for breakfast or lunch or every meal until it is gone or you beg one of your friends to take it out of your house. I sung the praises of cranberries for fall and winter baking in my book and I am so glad to see that Sarah loves them too, but I can also see myself swapping in blueberries or raspberries in the summer. I can also see myself baking all the way through this book. Congrats, Sarah!!

And one more thing, US Friends - You all better be voting tomorrow. If you don't know where your polling place is, just head on over to Google and they will direct you to the right spot. VOTE!

ORANGE-CRANBERRY BUNDT CAKE

FROM THE VANILLA BEAN BAKING BOOK by sarah KNIFER

Everyone needs a recipe for a good, all-purpose Bundt cake. I’ve made it here with orange and cranberries, but there is much room for your own interpretation. You can substitute any other small berry for the cranberries, and lemon for the orange. It’s perfect for a casual morning get-together, an elegant brunch, or afternoon snacking all by your lonesome. I make the cake the evening before serving to let the flavors fully develop. makes 8 to 12 servings

3 cups (426 g) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 pound (3 sticks, 226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/4 cups (446 g) sugar

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

5 large eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur

1/4 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 heaping cups (227 g) cranberries, fresh or frozen

Confectioners’ Sugar Glaze (see below)

Adjust the oven rack to the lower middle position. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 10-inch tube pan or Bundt pan.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugar and orange zest, and beat together on medium until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and Grand Marnier and mix on low to combine. Add one-third of the flour mixture and mix on low to combine. Add the orange juice and lemon juice and mix on low to combine. Add half the remaining flour and then the heavy cream, beating on low after each addition to incorporate. Add the remaining flour and mix on low until just combined. Add the cranberries and stir with a spatula to combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 60 to 75 minutes, until a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the center comes out with the slightest bit of crumb.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 25 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack. Top the cooled cake with the Confectioners’ Sugar Glaze (recipe below) and let set before slicing.

CONFECTIONERS’ SUGAR GLAZE

1 1/2 cups (170 g) confectioners’ sugar

2 to 4 tablespoons whole milk

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Pinch salt

In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, vanilla, and salt. Add more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, to thin the icing to a preferred consistency. For a pure white icing, omit the vanilla.

scallion pancake challah | apt 2b baking co

We are having another quiet weekend around these parts, complete with lots of lounging on the couch, and cozy eats. We also just got back from a SUPER fun road trip to Virginia that I can't wait to tell you about, spoiler alert - we ate a lot of good food and saw a lot of beautiful things, and Arlo is an excellent road trip companion - but after almost a week on the road, I was ready to get back to my own kitchen. This weekend's dreary weather really kicked me into action. I made baked pasta with bolognese for dinner last night, and then not so accidentally fell asleep on the couch at about 9:30. This is my 30s guys, what can I do? I love an early bedtime.

Another great thing about getting back from the road was that I have been cooking from the killer new fall cookbooks that have been stacking up on my coffee table. If you've been on the internet lately, I'm sure you've heard of the gorgeous book, Molly on the Range, by my my pal Molly Yeh, creator of the award-winning blog My Name is Yeh. It is so delightful, and so very Molly. From the fun recipes that reflect her Chinese-Jewish heritage to the adorable illustrations, thoughtful writing, and beautiful minimal photography, this book is a perfect extension of the work that Molly does on her blog and such a delight to flip through!

Molly said this recipe is basically her in bread form - Chinese, Jewish and a pretty doughy. We attacked the warm loaf with our hands and ate about half of it in one go, then enjoyed the rest with eggs for breakfast which I think would be very Molly approved. The recipe only calls for a 1/2 recipe of dough, but I figured I could find a home for a second loaf of challah so I went for it and made the whole recipe - half plain and half scallion. You should too! Molly also gives lots of other fun suggestions of what you can do with challah dough in the book. It also calls for sprinkling the dough with sesame seeds, but I was out when I went to make this...it is much cuter with sesame seeds on top :)

SCALLION PANCAKE CHALLAH FROM MOLLY ON THE RANGE

makes one loaf

from Molly on the Range

1/2 recipe dough from Basic Challah (recipe follows), made through the first rising

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

3 scallions, minced

Kosher salt and black pepper

Crushed red pepper

Egg wash: 1 large egg yolk, beaten with

1 tablespoon water

Toasted sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Divide the dough into 3 equal parts and roll each part into a 12-inch log. Gently flatten each log so that it is about 3 inches wide. Brush each with sesame oil and sprinkle with scallions, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper. Roll the logs up lengthwise like a jelly roll and pinch the seams to seal. Lay the logs seam side down next to one another and pinch them together at one end. Then braid the logs and pinch them at the other end. Place the loaf on the lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

Brush the loaf with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds and black pepper.

Bake until the loaf is golden brown and has an internal temperature of 190ºF. Begin checking for doneness at 28 minutes. Let cool slightly and enjoy.

MOLLY'S BASIC CHALLAH

from Molly on the Range

Makes 2 loaves

4 ½ teaspoons (2 envelopes)

active dry yeast

1 ½ cups warm water

1 teaspoon plus ¼ cup sugar

6 ½ cups flour, plus more for dusting (or sub in up to 2½ cups whole wheat flour)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

4 large eggs

⅔ cup flavorless oil

¼ cup additional sweetener: sugar, brown sugar, honey, or molasses

Egg wash: 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water

In a medium bowl, combine the yeast, warm water, and 1 teaspoon of the sugar and give it a little stir. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, until it becomes foamy on top.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl or in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix together the flour, salt, and remaining ¼ cup sugar. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, and additional sweetener.

When the yeast is foamy, add it to the dry mixture immediately followed by the egg mixture and stir to combine. Knead, either by hand on a floured surface or with the dough hook until you have a smooth and slightly sticky dough, 7 to 10 minutes, adding more white flour as necessary (but resist any urge to add too much!).

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover it with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel, and let it sit at room temperature until it has doubled in size, about 2 hours. (It will take slightly longer if you’re using whole wheat flour.) Alternatively, you can stick it in the refrigerator overnight and then let it sit at room temperature for about 1 hour before shaping.

Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the dough in half and, working with half of the dough at a time (keeping the other half covered), pat the dough out into a long rectangle, roughly 3 inches by 12 inches (this doesn’t need to be exact). From this, cut 3 long and skinny rectangles and roll them out a bit to get 3 long snakes. Pinch them together at one end and then braid the snakes and pinch them at the other end. Transfer the loaf to a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining half of the dough. Let them rise, covered, at room temperature for 30 minutes.Preheat the oven to 375º F.

Brush the loaves with a thin even layer of egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake until the loaves are golden brown and have an internal temperature of 190ºF. Begin checking for doneness at 28 minutes.

Let the loaves cool until they’re jusssst cool enough that they won’t burn your mouth, and then enjoy with lots of butter.