squarely back to the present
I’m fresh off vacation, rested and even a little bit sun-kissed. But I’m also suffering that old post-vacation affliction: The Difficult Return. A vacation I’ve been looking forward to for months is suddenly over, an engagement we’ve been celebrating for almost two (!) years has become a marriage. The real world has been thrust upon me, with all its mundane chores and the requirement that I actually go to work, rather than sip from a boozy, frosty, umbrella-adorned glass all the livelong day. It’s a tough thing to take, I tell you.
Of course, I’m exaggerating. But one portion of The Difficult Return is no joke: I’m feeling completely out of sorts when it comes to the season. When I left for Mexico, the trees were lit up in a palette of red-yellow-orange; when I got back, the leaves were all but gone. Add to that the fact that I just spent a week on the beach, banishing all footwear besides flip-flops and refusing to don even a pair of jeans. Then, I got back to Chicago and braced myself for a chill as I pushed my way out of O’Hare’s revolving doors. But there was no chill. Not even a breeze. And the next two days would be drenched with sunshine and would warm to nearly 70 degrees.
But, countering all this, there’s the matter of the calendar. It says, clear as day, that it’s November. And, as if to remind me of the date despite the weather, the darkness starts to swallow the daylight at an alarmingly early hour. Like, prior to five o’clock. And Thanksgiving is suddenly staring us down, less than three weeks away. Meanwhile, the stores and advertisements have hopscotched right over Thanksgiving and have already begun to deck the halls with Christmas cheer.
Ever practical, I decided to take action this weekend. I needed to get my head out of the clouds—to plant myself firmly back in fall mode, to remind myself that it is indeed the second week of November. The solution emerged, as it often does, from my kitchen. It hailed from the oven, to be precise, in the pretty ring that only a bundt mould can produce. It was a cake stuffed to near-bursting with chunks of apple, spiced with cinnamon and spiked with bourbon.
It’s a lovely cake, one fit for either breakfast or dessert, provided, of course, it’s an autumn breakfast or dessert that’s at issue. And you know what? It worked like a charm. The apples, cinnamon and bourbon brought me squarely back to the present.
More photos from the trip are here.
Cinnamon-Spiced Bourbon-Apple Bundt Cake
Adapted from Martha Stewart
The bourbon addition, to both the cake batter and glaze, was my sole adaptation. You can, of course, omit the bourbon. If you do, I think the cake batter would probably benefit from a splash of vanilla. In the glaze, you can just use water.
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons bourbon, divided
6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced into 1/4 inch cubes
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Make the Cake:
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a large bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, eggs and 1 tablespoon bourbon. Whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in dry ingredients just until combined (do not overmix). Using a rubber spatula, fold in apples. [It might look like there are too many apples, but don't worry, it will all work out.] Spoon batter into a 12-cup nonstick Bundt pan, and smooth top. Bake until a tester inserted in cake comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 15 minutes; invert onto rack to cool completely.
Make the Glaze:
Whisk together confectioners’ sugar, remaining tablespoon of bourbon and enough water to form a thick yet pourable glaze. Set rack with cake over a piece of wax paper (for easy cleanup); drizzle cake with glaze, and let set before serving.
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There was no bourbon to be found as we know this was a tequila only party… However, I would have died for a slice of this. Till our next vacay, Dubs!
As I am shivering here in my bed all wrapped up in sheets, I’m dreaming about endless beaches, pina coladas, and golden sun-filled afternoons. Oh, Kristin. You are tempting me with those photos!!
This is a gorgeous bundt and i can’t wait to try it!
I fall prey to The Difficult Return every time! Hopefully this gorgeous cake got you back into the swing of fall. And how about that season finale of Mad Men? Not such a bad way to spend a Sunday night if it has to be back home from vacation.
Ah – the Difficult Return… I never knew it had a name but am also too familiar with its affects.
But this cake… looks divine! Can’t wait to try it. Oh, and the glaze in the jar is the perfect touch – love it.
I’m just glad you brought the warm-ish weather back with you. It is rather disorienting to need the windows open and then have the sun set before 5.
I love the cook of this cake. I don’t own a bundt pan but I think I will have to put it on my holiday wish list.
Welcome back! The snippets from your vacation are dreamy. This cake captures the flavors of fall splendidly and looks mighty delicious.
I knew I could count on you for ideas to keep me busy post wedding! Now I’m torn between pumpkin swirl brownies and this bundt cake! Are bundt cakes a midwest thing, b/c no one out here knows about them? That may be exactly the reason I decide to represent with this one first!
Love you and thanks for being there! Your pics are beautiful.
Oh, how I wish my monitor were scratch ‘n sniff. And how I love your photography.
I gotta tell you I think this is your best batch of photos. I was licking my lips the whole time especially when gazing longingly at the glazing photos! Mmmmm, mmm!
~ingrid
Lovely photos. I browsed them longingly! I can clear up the small matter or your lovely weather. We have kindly taken the cold weather of your hands here in Scotland. Frosty, frosty mornings.
Yum! I love bourbon and apples and cake, so I think this is a no-brainer.
I love apples in a cake. This is definitely a bundt that I am going to have to make soon!
Don’t worry, you’ll have more than enough cold weather any minute now…
Tough to come back to reality, isn’t it? But your cake has done the trick- it’s loverly.
I hear you on the vacation. It is so difficult to transition back into real life. Congratulations, though. Even better days are yet to come, hidden in the everyday.
Seems like a great getaway. The photos are just simply amazing. I love the look of your apple bundt cake too.
[...] been craving apple cake lately and when I stumbled across the one up at The Kitchen Sink, I knew that was the one for me. [...]
You are a woman after my own heart. I can’t tell you how much I love this recipe. I have a bowl full of apples waiting for a recipe like this and I am a Kentucky Girl so we always have boubon on hand. Thanks so much for sharing!!!
Ali: About this next vacation, when/where? Please advise.
Amanda: If I have my stories straight, I think you’re off for a getaway of your own this weekend, so that should help! I expect photos, of course.
Monica: Thanks! I hope you do.
Polly Rice Sumner: Oh my: So. Good. I loved the episode and have already fallen into withdrawal. : )
Kara: Thanks! I was short on glasses and the jar seemed sort of charming.
Whitney: The early darkness is killing me. Awful.
Jennifer: Thank you!
Molly: You made such a beautiful, joyful, ridiculously fun bride. I’m still smiling, in fact. xo.
Half Assed Kitchen: You are onto something with that idea. Let me know when your prototype is ready …
ingrid: Why, thank you! I think the golden afternoon light gets most of the credit, though. : )
Jacqueline: If it makes you feel any better, it’s here now too. Sigh.
kickpleat: Three good food groups, I think. : )
Danielle: I hope you give it a try!
Barbara: Aaaaaand … it’s here. Oof. I guess I should’ve expected it, seeing as though it’s mid-November and all.
Kylie: It was actually my best friend’s wedding, so I’ll make sure she sees the congrats. And, I know just what you mean about the everyday.
tracieMoo: Thanks! And it was indeed.
treehouse Chef: You’re all set!
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