While I was home last week, I raided the orchard behind the house. My suitcase on the way back to DC weight about a million pounds, but it’s totally worth it to have some produce that’s not awful for a change!

I have a ton of apple recipes to try, for some reason mainly from King Arthur Flour. The first is an apple cheddar coffeecake I made straight off the plane. The cheddar and apples go well together, and both go well with the brown sugar streusel.

Ingredients:

Topping:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 stick butter, softened

Batter:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour (I finally bought this! Go me.)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups diced cheddar cheese (I think I would have liked grated better – the texture of chunks of melted and reformed cheese was a bit weird?)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped apple

The topping comes first – blend together the dry ingredients then mix the butter in with your fingers or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

Make the batter by mixing together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, beat the oil, sugar, and eggs for 2 to 3 minutes, until very light.

Mix the buttermilk and the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, alternating halves at a time, stirring only until blended.

Fold in the cheese and apples.

Pour half the batter into a bundt pan, then stir in one third of the topping mixture with a fork.

Spoon in the remaining batter, and stir in another third of the topping.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Be sure you’re not stabbing right into a cheese pocket when you test.

Let the cake cool in the pan for ten minutes, then turn out onto a serving plate. At this point, I began wishing I had greased the pan.

Sprinkle the remaining topping over the cake while still warm, and serve.

Yum!

Apple Cheddar Coffeecake

From The Original King Arthur Flour Cookbook.

Streusel:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 stick butter, softened

Batter:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups diced or grated cheddar cheese
• 1 1/2 cups chopped apple

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a bundt pan.

Prepare the topping by blending the dry topping ingredients then rubbing in the butter with your fingers or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

To make the batter, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the oil, sugar, and eggs for 2 to 3 minutes, until very light.

Mix the buttermilk and dry goods into the egg mixture by alternating halves. Beat only until just combined. Fold in the apples and cheese.

Pour half the batter into the bundt pan, then stir in one third of the topping into the batter with a fork. Pour in the remaining batter, and mix in another third of the topping. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool the cake for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a serving plate. Sprinkle remaining topping on the cake while still hot.