Cook Like a Rock Star (42 page)

Apple & Olive Oil Cake with Sautéed Apples & Mascarpone

SERVES: 8 TO 10 • TIME: ABOUT 1½ HOURS, PLUS COOLING TIME

This is a super-yummy cake that you can whip together easily once you’ve got your mise en place under control. Start by preparing all your apples at once—then just break off what you need to sauté for the cake first, and put the ones for the topping in a bowl off to the side. After you’ve grated the lemon zest for the cake, squeeze the juice from the lemon and toss it with the reserved apples for the topping—this adds flavor and keeps them from turning brown while you make the cake.

If you really have it together, you can make the topping ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve the cake. You don’t even have to serve the topping warm, but I think it’s really special this way. Got leftovers? This topping is great over ice cream, on pancakes, or, of course, on second helpings of cake!

MISE EN PLACE

FOR THE CAKE

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 Granny Smith or other baking apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 8 wedges each

5 large eggs, separated, plus 2 additional whites

¾ cup granulated sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon (reserve the juice for the topping)

¾ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed

½ cup Vin Santo

1 cup all-purpose flour

Pinch of kosher salt

FOR THE TOPPING

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ cup packed light or dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

6 Granny Smith or other baking apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 6 wedges each

¾ cup golden raisins

½ cup Vin Santo

1 cup mascarpone, at room temperature

¼ cup granulated sugar

FOR THE CAKE

1
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2
Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat, toss in the apples, and cook until they begin to soften, 7 to 9 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool.

3
In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon zest. Beat the mixture with a whisk until very thick, very pale, and doubled in size, then whisk in the olive oil and Vin Santo. Gently whisk in the flour. Reserve.

4
Put all 7 egg whites and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a stand mixer (you can use a hand beater here if you don’t have a stand mixer) and using the whisk attachment beat the whites until they form
stiff peaks
. Fold one-third of the whites into the
cake batter until just combined—to do this, use a rubber spatula to lift the whites gently from underneath, bring the spatula up, turn it over, and
fold
the whites over as you rotate the bowl slowly. You want to do this gently and quickly; the point is to keep as much air in the whites as you can. Repeat this process two more times with the remaining whites. You’re done when you have a fluffy, homogeneous mixture.

5
Brush the sides and bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with olive oil. Transfer the cake batter to the prepared pan and arrange the sautéed apples in an even layer on top of the cake.

6
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven, let cool for 10 minutes, remove the sides of the springform, and let the cake cool completely.

FOR THE TOPPING

1
Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon and swirl or stir to combine. Add the apples and toss to coat well. Add the raisins and Vin Santo and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the apples are soft but still hold their shape. Turn off the heat and reserve.

2
Meanwhile, combine the mascarpone and granulated sugar in a small bowl. TASTE! Mmmmm…

3
Serve a slice of the cake with the warm apple topping and garnish with a spoonful of the sweetened mascarpone.

We rock!

Leave the apples in the pan to cool while you assemble the cake batter; then use the same pan to make the topping—look at me, thinking ahead and saving YOU some dirty dishes!

CHEF ANNE’S EGG WHITE (AND WHIPPED CREAM) PEAK-O-METER

Separating and whisking egg whites isn’t hard—but it does take some practice. First, when separating eggs, make sure that absolutely no yolk gets into the whites. If you’re going for yolks, it’s fine to have some whites mix in by accident, but if you get even the tiniest bit of yolk in your whites, they will never whip up.

To whisk egg whites, always add a pinch of salt—this helps them whip up faster and fluffier. Also, use the second-highest speed on your mixer, not the highest; this allows the whites to whip up more slowly and gives them more backbone (if you whisk whites too quickly, they whip up fast and fall fast!). To know whether the peaks are soft or stiff, use my peak-o-meter test (which works for whipped cream too): After whisking, take the bowl and whisk off the mixer, swirl the whisk around in the whites, then pull the whisk straight out and pause—then, after a second or two, tip the whisk on its side. If the peak sticking off the end of the whisk bends over or tilts down, that’s a soft peak. If it sticks straight out—that’s a stiff peak!

Pear Tarte Tatin with Shortbread Crust

SERVES: 6 TO 8 • TIME: ABOUT 2½ HOURS

This is the most amazing upside-down cake you’ll ever make. And if you don’t already know how, you’ll learn to make caramel—which used to scare me to death. I always worried about burning it. But making caramel does not have to be an intimidating process—you just have to pay attention. You also want to remember that this is a flipper situation; you need to make the bottom of your tart look pretty because it’s going to end up as the top.

MISE EN PLACE

FOR THE CRUST

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pea-size pieces

¾ cup all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

¼ cup sugar

Pinch of kosher salt

Zest of 1 lemon

1 large egg yolk

FOR THE FILLING

¾ cup sugar

Juice of ½ lemon

1 cinnamon stick

1 pint heavy cream

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into pats

12 seckel pears, peeled, cored, and halved

You can totally use apples here instead of pears. I recommend Granny Smith or any other tart, firm apple. I also recommend using fruit that’s not quite ripe because it’s going to get really soft as it cooks.

FOR THE CRUST

1
In a food processor, combine the butter, flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Pulse until it looks like finely grated Parmigiano cheese. Add the egg yolk and 1 to 2 tablespoons cold water, and pulse, pulse, pulse until the mixture comes together into a ball. If it seems a bit dry, add 1 more tablespoon water and pulse a few more times.

2
Dump the mixture out onto a clean, lightly floured work surface and knead it once or twice, until it comes together in a smooth ball. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to an even circle, 11 to 12 inches in diameter. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.

FOR THE FILLING

1
Preheat the oven to 425°F.

2
Place the sugar, 3 tablespoons water, the lemon juice, and cinnamon stick in a 10-inch ovenproof, nonstick sauté pan. Bring to medium heat and stir to combine.

3
Raise the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil (BTB), brushing down the sides of the pan occasionally with a pastry brush dipped in water. After 7 to 8 minutes the mixture will begin to turn light brown. Swish the pan around gently to promote even cooking and cook the
mixture for 1 to 2 more minutes, or until it turns a deeper amber color. Keep your eye on this and don’t walk away; the sugar can burn quickly if you’re not paying attention.

4
Remove the pan from the heat, add 1 tablespoon heavy cream, and whisk to combine. Discard the cinnamon stick.

5
Whisk in the butter 2 pats at a time. The mixture will bubble up, but that’s okay, just be VERY CAREFUL not to let it splatter and burn you. When all of the butter has been incorporated, begin to arrange the pears in concentric circles as neatly and prettily as you can—remember, you’re going to flip it out.

6
Return the pan to the stove and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat.

TO ASSEMBLE THE TART

1
Remove the pastry from the fridge, carefully drape it over the top of the pears, and tuck the pastry around the edges of the pan. Bake the tart for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown and crispy.