The book is ‘Simply Sensational Desserts’ by François Payard, with Tim Moriarty and Tish Boyle. Photography by Philippe Houze and published by Broadway Books, New York.
I bought this book about 17 years ago and now it’s pretty much falling apart from years of use and abuse. Some of the pages are loose and torn, some are stained with either syrup or batter or chocolate. Needless to say, I love this book and have referenced it dozens of times for its beautiful photography, its well-told stories and its exquisite recipes.
If you love baking, chocolate and pastries in general, you should definitely buy this book, and if you’re in NYC you should make going to his shop for lunch a ‘must do’ on your itinerary. http://www.payard.com/
This recipe, adapted from the Apple Cake recipe on page 82, was the first recipe I saw when I opened the book and is the main reason I bought the book.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/3 cup (60 grams) Raisins
- 3 Tablespoons (42 grams) Dark rum, such as Myer’s
- 1 scant cup (136 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon (3 grams) baking powder
- 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) (113 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (113 grams) confectioners’ sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 Apples, such as Fuji or Rome, peeled and cored
- ¼ cup (60 grams) Apricot glaze, (strained apricot preserves, use warm)
- Preheat oven to 325F
- Butter an 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ inch loaf pan, dust with flour, tap out the excess
- Bring a small pan of water to a boil and add the raisins, boil one minutes. Drain and repeat, after the second time, drain well and place the raisins in a small bowl with the rum. Set aside
- Sift together flour and baking powder
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together butter and sugar on medium speed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula. Mix in the raisins and rum, add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until blended. Spoon half of the batter into the pan and smooth into an even layer
- Cut one apple into 12 wedges and arrange them over the batter down the center of the pan, so their sides touch and the domed side is facing up. Spoon the rest of the batter on top and smooth flat. Cut the other apple into 8 wedges and cut each wedge in half crosswise. Arrange the wedges in a single row along each long side of the pan, pressing the center-cut sides of the apple against the sides of the pan with the points facing the center, gently push the apples into the batter leaving the tops exposed.
Bake the cake for 60-65 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Unmold the cake and turn it right side up. Gently brush the Apricot glaze over the top of the hot cake. Allow the cake to cool completely before cutting into slices.
