I know that an apple pie is basically a must at any and all fall events, especially at Thanksgiving, but today, I am giving you an addition to an apple pie—a ginger apple bourbon cake. Those three ingredients go together better than a peanut butter & jelly fluffernutter.
Mmm mm mmm.
Come to think of it, I don’t know why all apple pies don’t have the ginger and bourbon in them as well. Although bourbon and I weren’t that great of friends until we met up in Louisville and became besties, now I have the urge to put it in every single thing that I bake with. Whether cookies, cakes, pies, in a glass, we are sort of attached at the hip.
Did I just say that I am best friends with bourbon? I guess it can’t be too far off, seeing as I am basically a cookie in human form—yes, I seem to eat at least a couple a day…
So, when I decided to bake this cake, I figured that I wanted as much flavor as possible, for this to taste more like an apple covered in bourbon and rolled in ginger, which, I believe, is what the final product truly tastes like. By soaking the apples in the alcohol, they really absorb all of the flavor, and then adding the saturated apples as well as remaining liquid into the cake batter, it’s like a delicious punch in the face!
Okay—let’s go for a big hug of flavor instead.
Fresh, minced ginger. Enough said. Covered in some caramel or dulche de leche. I know I have you salivating!
As I sit here and munch on a piece that is bigger than I care to admit, I feel like if I could just hand out a cake to each of my readers, you would be instantly sold and would be saying “this is the bomb”—like Roberto did. Sadly, I can’t see all of you fabulous KBBakers and give out cakes, so you’re going to have to trust my apple-ginger-bourbon trio, knowing that it is to die for, and bake a few cakes yourself!
ingredients
Granny Smith Apples—2 medium
Butter—6 oz, or 12 TBL
Brown Sugar—3.75 oz, or ½ C
Sugar—2 oz, or ¼ C
Eggs—2
Bourbon—0.75 oz, or 2 TBL
Flour—6.25 oz, or 1 ¼ C
Fresh Ginger, minced—0.35 oz, or 1 TBL
Cinnamon—0.2 oz, or 1 tsp
process
Dice the apples into small cubes.
Combine the diced apples along with the bourbon in a small saucepot.
Put on the heat, bring to a boil, and then turn off the heat, cover and allow to sit until ready to put in your cake batter.
Preheat your oven to 325˚ F.
In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter and sugars.
Add the eggs.
Once incorporated, add in the sifted flour, cinnamon and minced ginger.
Add in the apples/bourbon mixture.
Only mix until your batter has formed, overmixing will lead to air bubbles in your final product.
Spray a bundt pan with nonstick spray, and then coat with a light layer of flour so that the cake will come out easier after it has baked and cooled.
Pour your batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 45 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before taking it out of the cake pan.
to make dulche de leche
Fill up a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
Take a can of sweetened condensed milk and remove its label.
Once your pot is boiling, place the can (I like to make at least 2 cans at once, always a great sauce to have on hand!) on its side, making sure that the water is fully covering the can.
If you do not keep the cans covered with water the entire time, there's a chance that the cans will explode from uneven heat!
Allow the cans to simmer for anywhere between 2 hours 30 minutes and 3 hours.
After the time has passed, very carefully remove the cans from the simmering water (oven mitts and tongs!),
Allow them to cool completely before opening.
Once cool, open and use!
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Bon Appétit!