Double Apple Bundt Cake

Double Apple Bundt Cake

Dorie Greenspan's book "Baking from my home to Yours".

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (she won't even know it's there)
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup store-bought apple-butter spiced or plain
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and grated
(I used granny smith apples
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup plump, moist raisins (dark or golden -
I soaked them in passion fruit juice for about 1/2 hour
and then drained them)
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting (optional)

For the Icing (optional) (I didn't do this)

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
About 2 Tbsp fresh orange or lemon juice

Getting Ready:

1. Centre rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. Butter a 9-to-10 inch (12-cup) Bundt pan. If your pan is
not nonstick, dust the interior of the pan with flour, then
tap out the excess (If you have a silicone Bundt pan, there's
no need to butter or flour it.) Don't place the pan on a baking
sheet - you want the oven's heat to circulate through the
Bundt's inner tube.

3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices
and salt.
4. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle
attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter
and sugar on medium speed, scraping the bowl as needed for 3
minutes, or until the mixture is smooth, thick and pale.

5. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after
each addition; you'll have a light, fluffy batter.

6. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the apple butter -
don't worry if it curdles the batter.

7. Still on low, add the grated apples and mix to completely blend.

8. Add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into
the batter.

9. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the nuts and raisins. Turn the
batter into the Bundt pan and smooth the top of the batter with
the rubber spatula.

10. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes (50 minutes worked for me - 40 minutes
for the small bundt pans), or until a thin knife inserted deep into
the center of the cake comes out clean.

11. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 5 minutes before unmolding
and cooling the cake to room temperature. If possible, once the cake
 is completely cool, wrap well in plastic and let it stand overnight
 at room temperature before serving.

To Make the Optional Icing:

Put the sugar in a small bowl and stir in a squirt or two or either
orange or lemon juice. Keep adding the juice a little at a time until
you have an icing that falls easily from the tip of a spoon. Drizzle
the icing over the top of the cake, letting it slide down the curves
of the cake in whatever pattern it makes. Let the cake stand until
the icing dries, a matter of minutes, before slicing.