Apple Stack Cakes/ Elmali Minik Kekler

It's been quiet on the blog for a while. First, it was summertime. Then I had a feet surgery which required some quite endless bed rest. As my life is going back to (closer) to normal and I'm getting back onto my feet, I promise to post more.

Bir suredir blog'um sessiz kaldi. Once araya yaz girdi; sonra ayagimdan gecirdigim bir operasyon sonucu bitmek bilmeyen bir istirahat donemi... Hayatim (kismen) normale donmeye basladi artik, bir suru de okunmus, isaretlenmis tarifim var yatarken sectigim. Mujdemi isterim, daha cok yazacagim!

 

It is now fall time; shorter days, a bit colder and darker. The autumn leaves change color and turn into beautiful shades of earthy tones. An orange leaf on the pavement, a bright red one stuck in the wipers of my car, oh, here is a pinkish brown one dancing out of the window as I write this. I am in Istanbul for a while, it is mild change of seasons we have here.

Hues of terra have also arrived to the produce section of markets; pumpkins, beets, parsnips, carrots, different kinds of squash... And apples! Yes, apples do have a season and fall is the best time of apples. So many varieties of apples with different tastes and texture representing every tone of yellow-brown color scale.

I wanted to bake something different with apples. Another "grandma's apple pie" recipe is the last thing everyone needs, though I have to admit that my grandmother potentially bakes the best apple pie. So here is a new baking alternative for the best apples of the season, as cute and tasty as it gets. (Via GourmetLive)

 Sonbahar geldi; gunler kisaldi, karardi, sogudu. Mevsim yapraklari renk degisitirip, en guzel kahve tonlarina donmeye basladi. Kaldirimlarda sararmis turuncuya calan yapraklar, arabamin sileceginde hergun karsilastigim kipkirmizi bir tane, hatta suan onumde ucusan koyu pembe bir tane daha! Cok uzun zamandir ilk kez Istanbul'da bir sonbahar geciriyorum, bir mevsim bir sehre bu kadar mi yakisir...

Toprak renklerinin farkli tonlari mevsim sebze ve meyveleriyle ile tezgahlara da ulasti: turuncu havuclar, kirmizi turplar, sapsari avya, armut, rengarenk kabak cesitleri... Ve elmalar! Aslinda cogumuza elmanin mevsimi yoktur gibi gelse bile farkli tatlarda degisik turlerde rengarenk elmalarin asil sezonu tam su aralar.

Elmalarla farkli bir tarif denemek istedim. Aslinda anneannemin elmali turtasi muhtesemdir ama heryer fazlasiyla elmali turta tarifi dolu. Degisik ne yapabilirim diye bakip ararken, bu elmali minik keklerlerle karsilastim. Mevsim meyveleriyle bir tatli yapmak icin degisik, sirin ve lezzetli bir alternatif. (GourmetLive'dan)

The cake is aromatic with ginger and perfurmed with spices. The texture is velvety; soaked with the flavors of the jam but not mushy. The apple jam is blanketed in the middle bursting out the combined flavors of apple juice and dried apples. Assembling the cakes are "as easy as a pie."

Bu kekler zencefilin verdigi degisik bir aromaya sahip, icine eklenen baharatlarin kokusu da lezzetini arttiriyor. Ortasindaki elma puresi hem kuru elma, hemde elma suyu icerdigi icin yogun bir elma tadi tasiyor. Uzerinde elma puresiyle bekletilmesine kekler ragmen dagilmiyor, ezilmiyor. Tadi kadar sunumu da degisik.

For filling:

• 2 cups of dried apples
• 2 cups of apple juice
• 1.5 cups of water
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• A couple of cloves, one stick of cinnamon

For cakes:

• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 6 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses (not robust or blackstrap)
• 1 large egg

1-  For the filling, simmer all the ingredients with a pinch of salt. Cook for 1.5-2 hours, stirring occasionally and mashing the apples as they soften. It should be a thick puree form, let it cool completely. 2- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter and flour the muffin cups. 3- Stir together the milk and vinegar, let it curdle for 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cloves. 4- Beat butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer for 3 minutes till it gets fluffy. Add molasses and eggs.  5- Speed down the mixer to low setting. Slowly in 3 batches, add flour mixture and the curdled milk switching alternately. Start and end with the flour mixture. 6- Place 1 tbsp. of batter into the muffin cups. Bake around 11-13 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then cool on racks. 7- To assemble the cakes, spread 2 tbsp. on top of a cake and place another one on top. You'll have 12 cute, little cakes. Keep the cakes in an airtight container for flavors to develop and deepen for 2-3 days. You can use the rest of the filling as a apple jam/ butter.

Elma puresi icin:

• 2 su bardagi kurutulmus elma/ elma kurus
• 2 su bardagi elma suyu
  
• 1.5 su bardagi su
  
• 2 yemek kasigi esmer seker
  
• Bir kac tane karanfil, bir cubuk tarcin

Kek icin:

• 1/2 su bardagi sut
  
• 1/2 yemek kasigi elma sirkesi
  
• 2 su bardagi un
  
• 1/2 cay kasigi kabartma tozu
  
• 1/2 cay kasigi tuz
  
• 1/2 cay kasigi toz zencefil
  
• 1 cimdik toz karanfil
  
• 6 yemek kasigi yumusatilmis tereyag
• 6 yemek kasigi esmer seker
• 1/2 su bardagi pekmez
  
• 1 yumurta, buyuk

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Dried-Apple-Stack-Cakes-241218#ixzz2DMFfGiFh

1-  Elma puresini yapmak icin butun malzemeleri genis bir tencerenin icinde bir tutam tuzla kaynatin. 1.5- 2 saat boyunca arada karistirarak pisirin. Elmalar yumusadikca pure haline getirmek icin patates ezici gibi bir mutfak gereciyle ezebilirsiniz. Pisen elmalarin yogun bir pure kivami olmali. Pure olduktan sonra kenarda sogumaya birakin.

2- Firini 175 dereceye getirin. Maffin kaplarini yaglayin.

3- Sut ve elma sirkesini karistirin, 10 dakika kadar dinlenmeye birakin. Sirke sutu hafif mayalayip, kesilmesini saglayacaktir.  Baska bir kabin icinde un, kabartma tozu, tuz, zencefil ve karanfili karistirin.

4- Elektirikli mikserle tereyagi ve sekeri 3 dakika kadar kabarana kadar cirpin. Pekmez ve yumurtayi ekleyip, cirplaya devam edin.

5- Mikserin ayarini dusurup, yavasca -- 3 kerede --  un ve sut karisimlarini ekleyin. Unla baslayip, unla bitirecek sekilde iki karisimi da sirayla degistirerek eklenmesi gerekiyor.

6- Maffin kaplarinin icine 1 yemek kasigi kek karisimindan koyup 11-13 dakika kadar pisirin. Firindan ciktiktan sonra 5 dakika kadar kalibin icinde bekletip, sonra kaliptan cikartip sogumaya birakin.

7- En son olarak, iki kekin arasina 2 yemek kasigi kadar elma puresi koyarak keklerinizi hayata getirebilirsiniz. 12 tane civari minik kek elde edeceksiniz. Isterseniz, hava gecirmeyen bir kabin icinde kekleri 2-3 gun bekletebilirsiniz boylece elma puresinin sosu ve kekin aromalari birbirine karisicaktir.

Kalan elma puresini recel gibi kullanabilirsiniz.