Recipe: Apple Pie Cake Balls and Homemade Yellow Cake (3 topping options)

APPLE PIE CAKE BALLS

"There is no pastry crust involved here. Rather, I combine yellow cake with an apple pie filling that you cook from scratch. These are fairly sweet; using some tart apples helps balance the flavors. I have spiced my filling with cinnamon and just a dash of nutmeg, but you can add whatever spices you like in your apple pie."



"I have offered you three different toppings: a confectionery glaze, chopped walnuts, and cinnamon sugar. The amounts of the toppings suggested assume you will use all three, so adjust accordingly if you want to use only one or two. Read the directions for the Confectioners' Sugar Glaze before beginning to familiarize you with that recipe's technique."

1 batch Yellow Buttermilk Cake, baked, cooled, and crumbled (recipe follows)
FOR THE FILLING:*
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch dice
3 red apples, such as Cortland or McIntosh, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

FOR THE CINNAMON SUGAR TOPPING:
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

FOR THE WALNUT TOPPING:
3/4 cup toasted walnut halves, finely chopped

FOR THE GLAZE:
1 batch Confectioners' Sugar Glaze, prepared right before using (recipe follows)

55 miniature fluted paper cups (optional)

TO MAKE THE FILLING:
Toss together the apples, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl until combined. Melt the butter in a large, wide saute pan. Add the apple mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the apples are very soft and syrupy, about 10 minutes (you can cover it for part of the time to encourage the cooking). Let cool completely.

TO MAKE THE CAKE BALLS:
Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil; place a cooling rack on one pan.

In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon for the topping. Place the walnuts on a cutting board.

Combine the crumbled cake and about three-quarters of the cooked apple mixture. Test by compressing and tasting and add more apple filling only if needed for flavor and moisture. Roll into golf ball-size cake balls. Refrigerate one-third of the cake balls until firm, about 45 minutes (these will be dipped in glaze).

Meanwhile, roll half of the remaining balls in the walnuts and the remaining half in the cinnamon sugar right away and place on the lined pan.

Using two forks, dip the chilled cake balls one at a time, in the Confectioners' Sugar Glaze, completely coating them and encouraging any excess glaze to drip back into the container. Place, evenly spaced, on the cooling rack. Allow the glazed cake balls to dry at room temperature until the glaze is set. The glaze should be dry to the touch before you store the cake balls, and this might take several hours.

Place each cake ball in a miniature fluted paper cup, if desired. Glazed balls can be placed in a single layer in a container, loosely covered with aluminum foil, and stored at room temperature overnight. Remaining balls with dry toppings can be placed in a single layer in an airtight container and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.

*You could try using canned apple pie filling or any other flavor fruit pie filling for the filling, although these tend to be sweeter than homemade versions. Depending on the moisture level of the fruit, you would most likely need between 4 and 6 cups of canned filling.

Makes about 55 golf ball-size balls

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YELLOW BUTTERMILK CAKE
Makes one 9x13-inch base cake (about 12 cups crumbs)

"This is a buttery yellow cake, perfect for cake balls that need a fairly neutral flavor background. It works well combined with everything from jam to liqueur to ganache and various frostings."

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat the inside of a 9x13-inch rectangular pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl to aerate and combine; set aside.

In a lager bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar gradually and beat until very light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl once or twice. Beat in the vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time scraping down after each addition and allowing each egg to be absorbed before continuing.

Add the flour mixture in four additions, alternating with the buttermilk. Begin and end with the flour mixture and beat briefly until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center shows a few moist crumbs when removed. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

The cake is ready to use. Alternatively, double-wrap the cooled cake in the pan in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 1 day before proceeding.

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CONFECTIONERS' SUGAR GLAZE
Makes enough to coat about 24 golf ball-size balls

"Turn to this glaze when you want a lighter coating, such as on a carrot cake, gingerbread, or the Apple Pie Cake Balls. This recipe provides a veil of sugary, somewhat opaque white glaze. The thicker the glaze, the more opaque it will remain when cooled, but it has to be thin enough to allow you to dip the cake ball. Experiment with the amount of water until you find the consistency you prefer. If you whisk the sugar and water together without heating, the glaze will remain sticky. The best type of rack to use with this recipe has a crisscross pattern of bars, with very small squares created by the bars. This fully supports the cake balls while also allowing the extra glaze to drip off the balls most effectively. The glaze must be made right before using."

4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup water, plus extra as needed

Gently whisk together the confectioners' sugar and water in a tall, narrow container. You are aiming for a thick consistency that is just fluid enough for you to dip and coat your cake balls. Add extra water only if necessary. Use immediately.

Note: To dip cake balls into the glaze, line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Place a wire rack on top of the lined pan. Using two forks, dip balls one at a time, completely coating them and allowing any excess glaze to drip off. Place on the rack to dry at room temperature. The glaze should be dry to the touch before you store the cake balls, and this might take several hours. Cake balls coated with glaze may be stored overnight at room temperature, loosely covered with aluminum foil.

Source: Cake Balls by Dede Wilson