Jodi Whalen and Phil Merrick opened August First Bakery appropriately enough on August 1, 2009, in downtown Burlington. August First remains blissfully “cell phone free,” so bring a newspaper, or better yet, focus on the deeply flavorful, from-scratch baked goods, soups, sandwiches and salads.
About this recipe
Vermont farmers’ markets offer crisp apples throughout the winter, along with plenty of maple syrup, so this coffee cake should become a mainstay for the cold months ahead. The cake also freezes well—eat one today, save one for next weekend!
Instructions
Yields 2 (9- by 5-inch) loaf pans
Streusel Filling
¼ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Apples
4 apples
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
Dry
3¾ cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups sugar
2¼ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled
Wet
1¼ cup sour cream
3 eggs
1½ teaspoons vanilla
Maple Glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Grease and flour pans. Preheat oven to 350°. Make the streusel by combining the walnuts, sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside. Peel, core and chop apples. Toss with cinnamon, sugar and cardamom until evenly coated. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a separate bowl, whisk sour cream, eggs and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Add wet mix to dry, incorporating thoroughly. Gently fold in apples. Spread ¼ of batter into each pan. Sprinkle half of prepared streusel evenly across both pans. Add remaining batter and sprinkle the remainder of the streusel over both pans. Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans. Mix confectioners’ sugar, cinnamon, butter, vanilla and maple syrup with mixer until completely smooth. Add more syrup as needed to make a thin glaze. Pour over loaves.
