APPLE COCONUT HAZELNUT FAMILY CAKE @ DORIE

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T'was finally my turn to chose the recipe for Baking with Dorie , ok not finallycoz i didn have to wait too long.
I didn know which week this would be when chosing this recipe , but now i think its perfect, coz after all the cookie baking here come a cake with Apple and coconut.

 Apples in everything make things good and apples in cake are as wonderful as they are ...

To add to this the recipe has coconut = lodsa moisture guaranteed, which i love.
 And ground nuts too....

So here is my first choice of recipe , for Baking with Dorie , a wonderful group for those who want to bake their way thru Baking from My home to yours, this is a wonderful small group.
We bake only twice a month and as long as u dont miss too many together , its cool:-)

Mia's Notes

1. I expected a light moist cake , and while this is not to say this cake is not moist , coz it is , its not light , what i mean by light is , that it is more of a dessert cake ,sort of, but soo delicious , that i finished 1 heart ,all by myself in a few hours.
2. I thought of adding ground hazelnuts and thought i had a wonderful idea , only to realize as i wrote this , that playing around has exactly this :-)only that there it says 1/2 cup ground and i added 1/2 cup whole.
3. I added lodd of cinnamon , maybe around 1.5 tsp or more , and 2 types , true cinnamon from tsp spices and Sri Lankan cinnamon , both together created aflavor i loved.
4. Added lods of vanilla too.
5. Chopped the apples fine , instead of dicing , to be added into the batter and for the topping  used a few cookie cutters.
6. I had to bake way longer than the time specified, infact , i got them out , coz it was already a lot of time , checked ,thought they were fine ,and glazed them and all and had to out them back in the oven , which i did , for another so many mins more , my total was more than double but then my oven always takes longer , so it could be me.
7. Ground the coconut and nuts in a coffee grinder:-)

 Want a slice???

All that said , leemme begin with my step by step pics...
Begin with measuring out the flour ...

And lodsa cinnamon , freshly grated Sri lankan cinnamon+ true cinnamon by tsp spices, loved the flavor ...

And whisk it all with the soda + baking powder and set aside...

And to begin the action , measure out the sugar ,i have this thing of missing some parts from recipes and i missed the part where i need to keep the 2tsp sugar later and added it right there,it was fine though...

Add 2 eggs , organic is nice and whisk well.

Ahh , i added lodsa vanilla , and hazelnut oil + syrup ,with the rum , right at this stage.

All whisked up..

Time to add the oil and yogurt and whisk again...

Ahh , before i forget , u need to keep the nuts ready too , i didn read the playing around,when i was actally making the cake , jus did it on whim , which was glad i did, but i used only 1/3rd cup hazelnuts..

lightly roasted...

and ground , also ground the coconut , which i used fresh tender coconut ...

Granny Smith is a wonderful apple to bake with , though i dont think it really matters:-)

A mandoline slicer makes for perfect slices...

And a cookie cutter  helps cut out some pretty shapes..

Hearts coz me loves pink and hearts and loveee...

And coz love is soo in the air *365

and a finer dice for the rest of the apples to add to the batter...

so back to the batter , need to fold in the flour mixture and nut powder into the whisked egg, sugar, oil, yogurt flavored batter.

And fold in the coconut too , using a spatula to fold in everything and then the beater to smoother things out is the best.

And fold in the chopped apples too...

very well Buttered spring forms ready to be filled...the first way to introduce butter into the recipe...

Place the cut out apples , atop , in whatever way seems pretty to u....

Dot with some butter ,which ur sure to have around ,and this is another way to introduce butter into the recipe:-) and sprinkle with sugars , here vanilla, cinnamon sugar and my vanilla sugar.

very liberally sprinkled with sugars of all sorts , ready to go into the oven...

Pop that in the warm oven , while u run some warm water,bubble some studs, and get going with the dishes:-)

Once the cake is done , u need to warm some jam , my personal choice , apricot preserve with vanilla in there, lodsa it...

Warmed with a splash of water , so that it jus liquefies...

And ready.....

A Dorie Recipe
Copied from Here

As found in Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours:

Apple-Coconut Family Cake

The tastes in this light, moist cake are coconut, a hint of cinnamon and the sweetness of apples, all of which put you in mind of early fall. Our friend Michael Vogel aptly calls it a "family" cake.

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
3 apples (I use Golden Delicious), peeled and cored
2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup plain yogurt
6 tablespoons flavorless oil, such as canola or grapeseed
1 tablespoon dark rum
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup shredded coconut, preferably unsweetened
About 1/2 cup apple jelly, for glaze

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

Cut 2 of the apples into a small dice, cover with plastic wrap and set aside. Cut the third apple from blossom to stem into slices about 1/4 inch thick; cover.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and 1/2 cup of the sugar together for a minute. Whisk in the yorut, oil, rum and vanilla and whisk for about a minute, until smooth. Still using the wisk, or switching to a rubber spatual, fold in the flourt mixture, followed by the coconut and the diced apple.

Scrape the batter into the pan and jiggle the pan from side to side a couple of times to even the batter. Arrange the sliced apples in an attractive pattern over the top of the cake - I like to make a sunburst pattern - and sprinkle the apples with the remaining 2 teaspoons sugar.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the apples and cake are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the springform pan to a rack, and cool the cake for 20 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, make the glaze. Warm the apple jelly with a splash of water just until it liquefies.

Once the cake has cooled for 20 minutes, run a knife around the edges of the cake and release the sides of the pan. Using a pastry bursh, give the top of the cake a generaous gloss of glaze.

Makes 8 servings.
Serving: The cake can be served warm or at room temperature. While it is great as is, it's scrumptious with a little whipped cream.
Storing: This cake is a good keeper. Wrapped well, it will keep at room temperature for about 4 days. Because of the apples and glaze, it isn't a good candidate for freezing.

 Playing Around:Coconut-Nut Family Cake
Keep the coconut in the cake, but add 1/2 cup ground pecans or walnuts and an equal amount of the same nut, finely chopped. This double-nut cake is just as good made with slices of pineapple or pears as it is with apples.
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 This cake keeps well cling warp in the fridge, and then slightly warmed in the microwave.
the flavor gets really good the next day and the next.

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