Spiced Apple and Banana Bundt with Brown Sugar Caramel Glaze

I scoured the internet recently to look for creative recipes that could utilize the many over-ripe bananas that had gone uneaten in my house. I landed on a recipe for this cake on this website. I made a few modifications and loved the results! The timing of this find was perfect as this is a wonderful cake for the fall with apples, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. The brown sugar caramel glaze was delicious and easy to make. The recipe below yields one bundt cake that serves 12-16. Enjoy!

HELPFUL HINTS

1. If you don't have all the spices listed, no cause for alarm. Use the spices to taste or substitute more of one than another if you prefer.
2. Poking the holes in the top of the cake really does make a difference and ensures a consistent taste with every bite.
3. When making the glaze, make sure you have all the ingredients ready to go as the process is time sensitive and must be worked through quickly.

INGREDIENTS

Bundt
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup canola oil
5 oz sour cream
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 cup finely diced apples
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt


Brown Sugar Caramel Glaze
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 Tbs cream or milk
1 Tbs vanilla extract
2 cups confection sugar, sifted


DIRECTIONS

Cake
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Butter and flour a Bundt cake pan
3. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power.
4. Add canola oil, yogurt, eggs, sugars, vanilla and spices.















5. Whisk until batter is smooth and silky, about 1 minute of vigorous whisking.
6. Add the bananas, apples, and stir to combine.















7. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and stir until just combined, taking care not to over-mix.





























8. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes.















9. Allow cake to cool in pan for at least 15 minutes before inverting it and removing cake.
10. Once inverted, poke 15-20 holes in the top of the cake with a popsicle stick.















Glaze
1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add the brown sugar and bring to a boil for 2 minutes, stirring nearly continuously.















3. Remove the pan from the burner, allow it to cool for about 1 minute.















4. Add the cream and whisk aggressively.
5. After the bubbling has subsided, add the vanilla and whisk to combine.
6. Add the confectioners’ sugar one-half cup at a time, until desired sauce consistency is reached.















7. Pour glaze over cake and allow it to set up for a few minutes if desired; or slice and serve immediately.

Caramelized Apple Stuffed Chicken Breast with Fontina and Cranberries

This wonderful recipe comes courtesy of Food Network with only a few of my own modifications. The chicken was perfectly moist thanks to the delicious marinade, and the stuffing combined the nuttiness of fontina cheese, the tang of dried cranberries, and the sweetness of caramelized apples. A perfect combination! The recipe below yields 8 servings. Enjoy!

HELPFUL HINTS
1. This is a great dish for dinner parties as the chicken breasts can be grilled and stuffed and then refrigerated up to 24 hours in advance.
2. Try to find chicken breasts that are thicker in the middle, giving you plenty of room for your stuffing.
3. I would recommend some sort of accompanying sauce. In the pictures below I made a cranberry wine sauce using 3 cups white wine, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup dried cranberries and 1 Tbs dijon mustard, brought to a boil then simmered for several hours.

INGREDIENTS
Marinade
4 Tbs red wine vinegar
6 Tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp dry mustard
4 tsp honey
5/6 cup olive oil

Chicken and Stuffing
8 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium Fuji apples
1 Tbs unsalted butter
4 oz fontina cheese, shredded
4 oz dried cranberries

DIRECTIONS
Marinade
1. Place the red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, the mustards and honey in a food processor.

















2. Turn it on and drizzle in the olive oil until fully incorporated / emulsified.

















3. Marinade the chicken breasts overnight in this mixture.

















Prep
1. Preheat grill to high.
2. Remove chicken breasts from the marinade and transfer to a plate.
3. Season them with salt and pepper.
4. Mark the chicken breasts by grilling them only long enough to make grill marks and then rotating them about 45 degrees to make crosshatch marks. Do this on one side only. The chicken breasts should still be completely raw inside.





























5. Hold breasts in the refrigerator until ready to stuff.

Stuffing
1. Peel, core, and very roughly chop the apples.
2. Melt the butter in a saute pan over medium high heat and add the apples.
3. Cook the apples for roughly 5 to 10 minutes or until they are deeply browned.

















4. Remove from heat and transfer to a mixing bowl.
5. Add the fontina and cranberries and mix.

















6. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Chicken
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut a slit in the thicker side of the chicken breast about 1 inch wide, creating a pocket almost as large as the breast itself.

















3. Stuff the breasts with the apple stuffing mix, cramming in as much as possible without ripping the breast.
















4. At this point the breasts are ready to bake and can either be held in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours or baked right away.
5. When ready to bake, place on a baking sheet and bake for about 12-15 minutes or until an instant read thermometer registers 155 degrees in the thickest part of the breast.