Serious Eats: Recipes
Cook the Book: Easy Cranberry Apple Cake
When I planned my meal from Ina Garten's How Easy Is That?, I was curious to see just how easy the recipes would be. So far this week, they haven't exactly been effortless, but impressively not labor-intensive. The last hurdle, and the course that usually provides the most difficulty is dessert. More specifically, baking. Baking can strike fear into the heart of even the most seasoned cooks, and is rarely easy. I decided to try this Easy Cranberry Apple Cake for two reasons. First, it had the word "easy" in the title and second, apples and cranberries add up to a fantastic fall dessert.
As far as cakes go, this one is a breeze. The batter, which is almost coffee cake-like, comes together in a stand mixer in a matter of minutes. It's layered on top of apples and cranberries that have been tossed in brown sugar, cinnamon, orange juice, and zest. While the cake bakes the fruit cooks down and forms a wonderful sweet-tart bottom, somewhere in between a cobbler and a tarte tatin. Sprinkling a little cinnamon-sugar on top of the batter gives the crust a light crunch and a bit of sparkle. How easy is that? is the question that Garten poses in the title of her newly released cookbook and after cooking a week's worth of her recipes, I have to say, the answer is pretty damn easy but even more importantly, incredibly tasty.
As always with our Cook the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of How Easy Is That? to give away this week.
Adapted from How Easy Is That? by Ina Garten. Copyright © 2010. Published by Clarkson Potter. Available wherever books are sold. All Rights Reserved.
