Apple Sage Cake - does that sound good to you?

17 years ago

I was watching one of the cooking shows and they made this. I must admit I had a 'yuck' moment. To me sage is a more savory herb, not a sweet baking spice but I could be wrong. What do you think?

Clare

Apple Sage Cake

Ingredients

Makes one 9-by-13-inch cake

Unsalted butter, for cake pan

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups raw sugar

3/4 cup canola oil

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups shredded Granny Smith apples, peeled

1/4 cup loosely packed sage, finely chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, and oil. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt; mix until well combined. Stir in apples and sage; mix until well combined.

Pour batter into baking pan and transfer to oven. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely.

It was served this way.

Autumnal Parfait

Serves 6

2 sticks cinnamon

8 whole cloves

6 allspice berries

2 star anise

3 1/2 cups grade B maple syrup

1 cup sugar

1 (3-pound) sugar pumpkin, peeled, halved, seeds removed, and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

2 cups apple cider

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Canola oil, for frying

6 fresh sage leaves

Apple Sage Cake, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

Directions

Wrap 1 stick cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and star anise in a small piece of cheesecloth; using kitchen twine, tie to enclose. In a large saucepan, combine 1 cup water, 2 cups maple syrup, and sugar. Add spice packet and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Add pumpkin and cover surface of liquid with a piece of parchment paper to keep pumpkin submerged. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, barely simmering, until pumpkin is tender and easily pierced with a paring knife, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let candied pumpkin cool completely in cooking liquid.

Place apple cider in a medium saucepan. Add remaining cinnamon stick and place over medium-high heat. Cook until liquid has reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 7 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick and discard; stir in remaining 1 1/2 cups maple syrup, heavy cream, and salt. Transfer mixture to a heated whipped cream canister filled with three cream chargers.

Fill a small skillet 1/8-inch high with canola oil; heat over medium heat. Add sage leaves. Cook, until crisp and fragrant, about 25 seconds; transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

In each of six parfait glasses, place 2 or 3 cubes of cake in the bottom of the glasses. Top with 3 pieces of candied pumpkin, 2 more cake cubes, and 3 more pieces of candied pumpkin. Drizzle some of the pumpkin cooking liquid over the parfait, and top with cream mixture. Garnish each parfait with a fried sage leaf and serve.

Here is a link that might be useful: Autumnal Parfait

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (13)

compumom
17 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Nope! I love apples and don't mind sage, but blending the two into a dessert leaves me queasy!
jojoco
17 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Not me either. I could see using sage with pork chops and serving with sauteed apple slices, but not in a cake.
But who am I to say?
Jo
Related Discussions
RECIPE: Food processor apple cake/kuchen recipe
Q
Comments (6)
Here is the recipe: Apple Kuchen Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Streusel Topping: In a food processor with knife blade combine: 1/2 cup flour 1/3 cup sugar 3 Tblsp. Butter, chilled, cut in 3 pieces 1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon or nutmeg (I use cinnamon) Process until crumbly, about 20 seconds. Put in a large mixing bowl. Slice 2 medium apples, cored, peeled and quartered. Add to topping and stir to coat apple slices. Cake: 1 1/2 cups flour 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup butter, chilled, cut into 3 pieces 1/2 cup milk 2 eggs 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt ( I usually use 1/2 teaspoon) 1 teaspoon vanilla With knife blade in food processor, process flour, sugar and butter until butter is cut into flour and sugar, about 15 seconds. Add remaining cake ingredients, process 5 seconds. Turn off processor, scrape down sides of bowl and process another 5 seconds. Spoon batter into a greased 9 X 9 pan ( I use a glass 8 X 8 baking dish). Neatly arrange streusel mixture on top. Bake until came is set and apples are tender, 40-45 minutes. I don't wash the food processor after making the topping, I just mix the cake ingredients in the processor after making the topping. Let me know how it comes out if any of you make it. Enjoy!
...See More
How does this sound to you?
Q
Comments (10)
It sounds wonderful! My mother made cupcakes with a cream cheese/cottage cheese mixture dolloped on the batter before baking. It made a wonderful cheesecake-like filling and it was scrumptious! Hint: (Not that I always follow my own advice) spend the cake-baking time on the tread mill/stairstepper or treadmill to contain the dreaded butt-spread. LOL Lori
...See More
does this sound good?
Q
Comments (3)
Thought I replied, but I don't see it. How about tossing in some chopped dried cranberries? or maybe nuts? As to seasoning--maybe some sage or rosemary? Red onions, for sure I sent you a PM, btw.
...See More
Appalachian Apple Stack Cake for Colleen
Q
Comments (17)
So late to this Annie, but had to comment! That apple stack cake just looks amazing : ) My recipe is packed, but this looks either the same of similar. Here in Tennessee, apple stack cake is a wondrous thing : ) As evidenced by your DH’s Mom’s recipe : ) I remember to make one when the local grocery store deli starts baking them… Apple season comes, and the moment I enter the grocery store the aroma of apples and cinnamon sweetness wafts over me! It’s utterly intoxicating. They sell out so fast – no one can resist : ) Now, I’d love some of your reduced apple syrup topped on as well – I’d be in apple nirvana : ) I mostly serve mine plain, as is. But heated a wee bit, with some vanilla ice cream is DH's favorite way to eat it. He confuses it with apple pie!
...See More
lindac
17 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Sage cake with candied pumpkin? nope....that's being wierd for the sake of being wierd!
readinglady
17 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I guess I could see the possibility of infusing sugar with sage and then removing the sage and baking with the sugar. Not that I would do it, but it might be good. But 1/4 cup sage in that cake? It sounds terrible.

And the pumpkin is just adding insult to injury. A lot of trouble to cook something I wouldn't like nearly as well as a simple apple cake or pie.

Carol
User
17 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Pass......
Cloud Swift
17 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
A quarter cup sounded really large to me too - even if sage in cake is okay which sounds odd to me. The whole thing reminds me of a pumpkin gingerbread trifle my DIL tried last week. A lot of work and to me the end result had too many tastes fighting with each other. The plain gingerbread with a bit of whipped cream or lemon sauce was better.

I think the whole idea of using my whip cream canister with hot contents and a triple charge sounds scary. The instructions that came with it certainly don't cover that kind of use (or abuse).
Lars
17 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Try heating some apple juice with sage and see how you like it. (Maybe add a bit of sugar.) It's definitely not worth making a whole recipe without a preview of the results.

Lars
centralcacyclist
17 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
It sounds like a labor intensive mess to me! I might like a hint of sage with apple but sage is a pretty potent flavor. And candied pumpkin makes my teeth ache. There is a Mexican candy that is candied pumpkin (Dulces De Calabasas) and recall that it is very, very sweet.
gbsim1
17 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
The combination of the apple, sage and pumpkin does seem like too many competing flavors. I've always thought of sage both fresh and dried as one of the herbs where a little goes a long way.

But for me, the kicker would be using 3 1/2 cups of maple syrup to cook the pumpkin!!! Since maple syrup is so costly for us here in the deep south (and probably everywhere), it seems like a huge waste/expense.

Grace
lindac
17 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I watched the video! LOL! Martha wasn't too keen on all that sage....and very non-commital on the cake!
colleenoz
17 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Lemme think...............mmmmmmmmmmm................no. Taste buds are in retreat and looking for a hiding place ;-)
Adnama
17 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
The only user comment on that link says "No good," and that the user might give it to a neighbor s/he doesn't like.

I would probably try an apple sage cake, but not that recipe. And definitely not with the pumpkin. I'd want it to be like the lemon rosemary cakes I've had--fruity flavor, a hint of the herb, with cream cheese frosting. Or maybe streusel, in this case.

~Amanda
compumom
17 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I really don't care for sweet foods with savory herbs. I'm not crazy about lavender at all and would prefer my sweets to not have rosemary added either.

Apple Sage Cake - does that sound good to you?

Comments (13)

compumom

jojoco

Related Discussions

lindac

readinglady

User

Cloud Swift

Lars

centralcacyclist

gbsim1

lindac

colleenoz

Adnama

compumom

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US