Warmth and Comfort in a Cake: Rose Levy Beranbaum's Apple Walnut Bundt Cake

While I wasn't thrilled with the Honey Walnut Cake I made for Rosh Hashanah this year, I hedged my bets by making a second apple dessert at the same time: Rose Levy Beranbaum's Apple Walnut Bundt Cake. I'm happy to report that it was fantastic.

Looking at Beranbaum's recipe and the accompanying photo reminded me of Teddie's Apple Cake from The New York Times (a classic recipe from 1973). Both cakes have oil-based batters with apples, walnuts, and cinnamon, and are baked in tube pans.

The batter for this cake is a snap to make. You beat room temperature eggs, oil, sugar, and light brown sugar; mix in the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon); and stir in diced apples and chopped, toasted walnuts. I used Calville Blanc apples, and since Beranbaum helpfully provides the weight of the fruit you're supposed to use, I didn't have to worry about whether my apples were the correct size or not. I poured the batter into a well-greased Bundt pan to bake.
The warm cake came out of the pan without a problem and I let the cake cool completely before slicing it. The recipe includes an optional caramel sauce and glaze, but I skipped it (it's too messy to deal with sauces when I take baked goods to the office). And the cake didn't need it. I loved this cake. It was chock full of juicy apples and crunchy walnuts and the the cinnamon batter was delicious. The cake embodied warmth and comfort. It was just lovely.

Recipe: "Apple Walnut Bundt Cake" from Rose's Baking Basics by Rose Levy Beranbaum, recipe available here at epicurious.com.

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