FROM THE DARK HOLLOW KITCHEN
Apple Spicebush Cake
This is a simple, tender apple cake made fragrant with spicebush berry powder. Spicebush brings its own warm, citrusy character to the apples, giving the cake something of cinnamon, allspice, and the woodland without tasting quite like any of them.
Makes: one 9-inch square cake, about 9 servings Allow: about 15 minutes to prepare and 40–45 minutes to bake.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp fine salt
- 1½ tsp Dark Hollow spicebush berry powder
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup neutral oil or melted butter
- ½ cup plain yogurt or sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and cut into small pieces, about 2 cups
- Powdered sugar for serving, optional
Make the cake
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan and line the bottom with parchment if you have it.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spicebush berry powder.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the oil, yogurt, and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients and stir just until no dry streaks remain. Fold in the apples. The batter will be thick.
- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 40–45 minutes, until the top is golden and a tester inserted near the center comes out without wet batter.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, plain or with a light dusting of powdered sugar.
About spicebush berry
Spicebush is a native woodland shrub whose red berries carry a bright, warm flavor with notes that can suggest citrus, pepper, and allspice. In this cake, the powder does not simply replace cinnamon. It gives the apples a flavor rooted in the eastern woodland itself.