4-ingredient apple cake

Butter, unsalted, room temperature	For greasing pan
Eggs, room temperature	3 large
Sugar, light brown	1 cup (213 grams)
Salt	¼ teaspoon
Apples, Granny Smith	3 (198 grams each)
Flour, whole wheat	1 cup + 2 tablespoon (134 grams)

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. 
2. Butter the bottom, not the sides, of an 8-inch springform pan. 
3. Combine the eggs, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. 
4. Start on low, then raise to speed of medium-high, and beat for 8 minutes, until the mixture is a pale tan in color and super fluffy. 
5. Meanwhile, peel the apples, and cut them into ½-inch pieces; yield should be about 4 cups. 
6. When the egg-sugar mixture is mixed, remove the bowl from the stand mixer, and add the flour. 
7. Use a flexible spatula to gently fold in the flour until it is almost incorporated. 
8. Add the apples and fold in. 
9. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. 
10. Bake for 1 hour, or until the top is browned and a cake tester comes out completely clean. 
11. Cool in pan for about 30 minutes, then run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake, and unhinge the outside. 
12. Serve the cake in big wedges, warm or room temperate, with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar, and a dollop of cream or Greek yogurt. 

Recipe from Food52.com, September 2019.

Pluot-blueberry upside-down cake

Butter, unsalted	3 tablespoons + ½ cup
Sugar, light brown	¾ cup
Blueberries	6 ounces
Pluots, halved, pitted, cut into ½-inch slices	1 pound
Flour, all-purpose	1 ½ cups
Baking powder	1 ½ teaspoons
Salt	¼ teaspoon
Sugar, granulated	¾ cup
Vanilla extract	1 teaspoon
Eggs, room temperature	2 large
Mile, whole, room temperature	½ cup

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
2. To make the topping, in a 9-inch round cake pan or a cast-iron skillet, melt 3-tablespoons butter over low heat. 
3. Add the brown sugar, and stir until thoroughly moistened; remove from heat, and let cool briefly. 
4. Distribute half of the blueberries evenly over the brown sugar mixture. 
5. Arrange the pluot slices over the blueberries in overlapping concentric circles. 
6. Strew the remaining blueberries on top of the pluots; set aside. 
7. To make the cake, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. 
8. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together ½-cup butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. 
9. Add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating until completely incorporated. 
10. Gradually mix in half of the flour mixture. 
11. Stir in the milk, followed by the rest of the flour mixture, and mix until combined. 
12. Scrape the batter on top of the fruit, and smooth it into an even layer. 
13. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. 
14. Let cool for 15 minutes. 
15. Run a knife around the sides of the cake to help loosen it from the pan. 
16. Invert a serving plate over the pan. 
17. Wearing oven mitts, grasp both the pan and the plate, and turn them over together. 
18. Carefully lift the pan. 
19. Serve the cake warm with whipped cream or ice cream. 

Recipe mildly adapted from Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz.

Strawberry-honey cake with sour whipped cream

Strawberries, hulled, quartered	1 pound +
Sugar, granulated	¼ cup + 1 cup
Butter, unsalted, room temperature	¾ cup + 1 tablespoon +
Flour, all-purpose	2 1/3 cups +
Baking powder	1 teaspoon
Baking soda	½ teaspoon
Salt, kosher	1 teaspoon
Eggs, room temperature	3 large yolks + 2 large
Sour cream	1/3 cup + 1 cup
Lemon juice, fresh	1 teaspoon
Vanilla extract	1 teaspoon
Honey, wildflower or clover	¾ cup
Water	¼ cup
Cream, heavy	1 cup

1. In a medium bowl, mix the strawberries with ¼-cup sugar; cover and refrigerate overnight. 
2. Strain the berries through a fine-mesh sieve set over a small bowl; reserve the syrup for serving. 
3. In a food processor, pulse the macerated berries until finely chopped. 
4. Preheat the oven to 325°F with a rack in the center. 
5. Generously butter a 12-cup bundt pan, and dust with flour, tapping out the excess. 
6. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
7. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the ¾-cup butter with 1-cup sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. 
8. Reduce the speed to low, and beat in the eggs, one at a time, until just incorporated; scrape down the sides of the bowl.
9. Beat in the 1/3-cup sour cream, juice, and vanilla, then beat in the chopped strawberries. 
10. Beat in the flour mixture until just combined.
11. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs. 
12. Transfer to a rack, and let cool in the pan for 20 minutes. 
13. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. 
14. Invert the cake onto a cooling rack, and then set the rack on the baking sheet. 
15. In a small saucepan, bring the honey, 1-tablespoon butter, and water to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until the honey is dissolved, about 3 minutes. 
16. Using a wooden skewer, gently poke holes all over the cake; the more holes, the more the honey mixture will penetrate every last bite of the cake. 
17. Slowly pour the honey syrup over the top, letting it get absorbed before adding more. 
18. Let the cake cool completely. 
19. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the heavy cream and 1-cup sour cream until soft peaks form. 
20. Slice the cake, and serve with the sour whipped cream, strawberry syrup, and additional fresh strawberries. 

Recipe from Food&Wine Magazine, April 2017.

Honey cake with citrus frosting

Cake
Flour, all-purpose	1 ¾ cups
Cinnamon, ground	1 ¾ teaspoons
Baking powder	½ teaspoon
Baking soda	½ teaspoon
Cloves, ground	¼ teaspoon
Allspice, ground	¼ teaspoon
Salt	¼ teaspoon
Ginger, ground	1/8 teaspoon
Oil, vegetable	¼ cup
Oil, almond	¼ cup
Honey	½ cup
Eggs, room temperature	2
Sugar, granulated	½ cup
Sugar, dark brown	½ cup packed
Tea, strong black, hot brewed	½ cup + 2 tablespoons
Orange juice	2 tablespoons
Vanilla paste	½ teaspoon
Frosting
Sugar, granulated	½ cup + ½ cup
Flour, all-purpose	¼ cup + 1 tablespoon
Milk, whole	1 cup
Butter, unsalted, softened	1 cup
Orange zest, finely grated	1 teaspoon
Vanilla extract	1 teaspoon
Salt, kosher	¼ teaspoon
Candied
Water	1 ½ cups
Sugar, granulated	½ cup
Orange, navel, thinly sliced	1

Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F; grease an 8-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper, and wrap the outer bottom with aluminum foil, then set on a rimmed baking sheet. 
2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, cloves, allspice, salt, and ginger. 
3. In another bowl, whisk together the oil and honey. 
4. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the eggs with both sugars at medium-high speed until thick and nearly doubled in volume, about 4 minutes. 
5. Gradually beat in the oil-honey mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. 
6. In a small bowl, combine the tea, juice, and paste. 
7. At low speed, in three alternating additions, add the dry ingredients and the tea mixture, until just combined. 
8. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. 
9. Bake for 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
10. Transfer the cake to a rack, and let cook for 1 hour. 
11. Run a knife around the edge of the cake, and remove the springform ring. 
12. Invert the cake, and remove the springform bottom; discard the parchment paper. 
13. Let the cake cool completely, about 45 minutes, then transfer to a cake plate. 

Frosting

1. In a small saucepan, whisk ½-cup sugar with the flour, then whisk in the milk. 
2. Bring to a boil over moderately low heat, whisking constantly, about 10 minutes. 
3. Scrape into a heatproof bowl, and press a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface; let cool 1 hour. 
4. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter with ½-cup sugar and orange zest at medium speed until fluffy and smooth, about 5 minutes. 
5. Beat in the cool milk-flour mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, beat well after each addition. 
6. Beat in the vanilla and salt, and continue beating until smooth, about 2 minutes. 
7. Spread a thin layer of frosting al over the cake, and refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes. 
8. Spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides of the cake. 
9. Refrigerate until the frosting is just firm, about 30 minutes. 

Candied

1. Bring the water and sugar to a boil. 
2. Add the orange slices, and simmer for 30 minutes. 
3. Transfer the slices to a rack to cool. 
4. Top the cake with the slices before serving. 

Recipe moderately adapted from Food&Wine Magazine, March 2017