Napa Farmhouse 1885™: Apple & Chocolate Cake

Happy Fall everyone! Can you believe summer is over? It has been rainy and cool the past couple of months so it has not felt much like summer in Taos. (But the rains have been amazing helping to end our drought. Now we need the rains to move to Napa!) I was at the beautiful farmers' market in Santa Fe, New Mexico last weekend and, while there were tons of end-of-summer produce like tomatoes, zucchini, corn, berries, peaches and peppers, many vendors had bushels of apples ready for sale.

Apples always remind me of fall. The scent of them baking in the oven, spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg is home to me so it is the perfect item to kick off this year's Food Network's Fall Fest. The schedule is as follows:

SEPTEMBER
25: Apples

OCTOBER
2: Cauliflower
9: Pumpkin
16: Roasted Garlic
23: Slow-Cooker-themed
30: Halloween-themed

NOVEMBER
6: Brussels sprouts
13: Carrots
20: Favorite Thanksgiving side

DECEMBER
4: Holiday cookies
11: Holiday-themed beverage
18: Holiday side dish

My apple submission? How about Apple & Chocolate Cake?" Inspired by a cake in the Moosewood Restaurant Book-Desserts, their version first introduced me to the concept of using vinegar and oil in a cake instead of butter and eggs. Thank you Moosewood! This cake is also delicious without the apples..a bit lighter and more "cakey". The apples make it dense, moist and really fudgy so you have options depending on what type of cake you want. Try both versions (exact same recipe...just leave out the apple) and please let me know what you think. I have also made this cake using figs, zucchini and pears in place of the apples. As you can tell, I love this recipe. Hope you give it a try. Please tell me what you think in the comments section at the end of this post.

Apple & Chocolate Cake

1 1/2 cups organic unbleached flour
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup organic white sugar (or coconut sugar)
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup best quality unsweetened premium cocoa powder (I like Scharffen Berger)
1 Tsp kosher salt
2 Tsp baking powder
2 cups cold water
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp pure balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups shredded apple (I use a box grater or food processor with the shred disk)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a bundt cake pan using extra virgin olive oil. Add the first 6 ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir with a wooden spoon to mix. Add rest of ingredients and stir, using the paddle attachment, until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 45 min to 1 hour. Test for doneness by sticking a skewer, chopstick or knife into the center of the cake. If your tester is clean when you remove, the cake is ready. Rest on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Invert onto cake plate and allow to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar and serve. (This is also delicious with a chocolate glaze drizzled over the cake and served with ice cream or fresh fruit.)

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It is "Apple" week at Food Network's Fall Fest roundup. Do you have a favorite apple recipe? Share in the comments section and/or link to your blog if you have one.