Tuna Toast

Glazed Apple Lattice Coffee Cake



I just realized that I've just posted about two sweet, baked breakfast goodies in a row. If I had some sort of serious sweet tooth, it wouldn't be surprising, but I much prefer savory food, so for me, this is a surprise! I guess I don't really bake for myself- I bake to learn a technique or to have something nice to bring to coworkers or J's friends. Although my cinnamon rolls from the last entry were less-than-perfect, when I saw the photo of this Glazed Apple Lattice Coffee Cake in last month's Bon Appetite, I instantly moved the recipe to the front of my "to do" list....not so much to consume it but to try and make the beautiful latticed top that made the cake so attractive.

Laying the filling onto the dough

Sunday was the perfect day for this project, as J had planned to spend all day in front of the TV, watching football. Although I'm a fan of the game, I'd rather pop in to see highlights here and there in between puttering around the kitchen (wow, I sound like an old lady!!). Anyway, I made a double batch of the dough, which came together very easily, put the two balls in oiled bowls, covered them with plastic and set them outside in the sun to rise.

Step one

The apple mixture was easy as well, although peeling, coring and slicing isn't exactly my favorite pastime. I melted some brown sugar and butter in a skillet, added the apples and spices and let them cook down until the juices formed a thick glaze. I set the mixture to cool and ran into the living room to catch some of the game.

More folding.....

After about 2 hours, I checked my dough balls which had risen nicely, then started the part I was most looking forward to. I got out my handy tape measure, rolled one into a rectangle and made indentations of where the apple mix would go. First, you lay down 1/3 cup of crushed vanilla wafers onto a 4 inch strip down the middle of the rectangle, then top that with the apple mixture. After this step, I again used my tape measure to cut one inch strips into each side of the rectangle, then folded the strips over the apple mixture. I did this all on my slipmat so that I could easily transfer the finished cake onto a cooking sheet for a second rise. Making the latticed top was quite easy, and created such a dramatic result. I couldn't wait to see the finished cakes!

All folded and ready to rise

Although the recipe didn't call for it, I brushed puffed cakes with an egg wash, then baked them in the oven. The recipe also said to bake for 30-35 minutes, but I found they were done in about 22- good thing I checked since the top and bottom would have gotten way to dark had I left it in for that long. I let them cook slightly before drizzling them with an icing made from powdered sugar and freshly squeezed orange juice.

Baked cakes, cooling slightly...

And the taste? Let's just say that this cake will definitely go into my regular rotation of recipes for the season. The apples were sweet and perfectly spiced, and the dough resulted in a tender cake studded with orange peel, cardamom, nutmeg and cinnamon. I'm not a huge fan of too much cardamom, but it gave just the right touch of warmth to the cake and smelled absolutely gorgeous. Combined with the orange peel and apples, it was perfect!

Iced and ready to be eaten.....

Inside reveals the apple filling.....


A slice of this and a big mug of coffee and you'll be on your way to a pretty great day.


Recipe here.