Apple Pie Cake

Soooo....

Time to enter my new life phase of "getting it together." I'll be honest with you: stuff got hairy for a while, between finishing grad school, moving (again), getting a job, and attempting to make friends/connections in my new place. A lot of things (that I really enjoy) got lost along the way. So now, I'm finally in a place where I am ready to rearrange my life to make time for things I enjoy. This blog is at the top of my list, along with making/investing in friends. Oh, and hiking. Hiking, a lot.

(This is my backyard. I repeat: this is my backyard. MOUNTAINS!)

Example 2:

Example 3:

Needless to say, with everything that's been going on over the past 1.5 years, the little place where I hang out with all of my invisible internet friends has been.... neglected.

But, I'm back. [cue music]

Why? Because he was flipping through my pics the other day and started laughing (really hard, I mean, hysterics) at the pictures of my recipes (that I've been stockpiling for a year. Hello. My name is Jil, and I hoard pictures of food.). Pictures that he claimed "would never see the light of day."

I punched him. Hard. And then began working on a post, slowly working on a post. Because like before, life gets busy and cooking is a luxury for the weekends.

But, I found time to make cake! Well, pie. Cake? Apple pie cake?

It was gone in 3 days. Ugh, I need an intervention. #helpme

It's a flaky pie crust with a homemade apple pie filling, which is standard and whatev. But then, you go and POUR CAKE BATTER over the top, which seeps into all of the airy crevices and literally turns what would have been a pie into a CAKE... that is now inside of a PIE. It is literally CAKE in a PIE or maybe PIE in a CAKE. Semantics. Whatever it is, it's genius.

This cake-pie changed my life. The possibilities are endless! I mean, what if I poured pumpkin cake inside of an apple pie? Or pumpkin cake inside of a pecan pie? My tastebuds would be in basic girl heaven #PSL
This dish is perfect for fall. I actually plan on making it for Thanksgiving this year (and there goes any surprise). It's moist, carb-filled, and perfect for those crisp fall days. Just be sure to throw on some caramelized apples. And ice cream. Because trashed-up food is the best food. #nojoke

Apple Pie Cake
(adapted from Diethood <--Ha!)

Crust
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
• 2 ounces Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese (<-- This stuff is amazing.)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons cold water

Filling
• 6 Honeycrisp apples, cored and thinly sliced (or about 5 cups of apple slices) [<--Note: I'm an apple snob. Honeycrisp. It's the way to go. Feel free to leave the skins on. The texture was perfect.]
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2-cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Ground nutmeg, to taste (I added at least a 1/2 tsp.)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 

Topping
• 1/2-cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Prepare Crust
• In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, whole-wheat pastry flour and salt.
• Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut in butter and cream cheese; cut until the mixture is crumbly.
• Stir in oil; stir until mixture is completely moistened.
• Add water and toss with a fork to combine.
• Lightly flour your work area and knead the dough for 30 seconds.
• Shape dough into a ball, press into a disk and wrap in plastic-wrap.
• Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  
Prepare Filling.
• Place apple slices in a mixing bowl and toss with lemon juice.
• Add light brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg; toss to combine.
• Sprinkle with flour and toss to combine; set aside.
• Remove prepared dough from fridge.
• Lightly grease a 9-inch pie dish with baking spray and set aside.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 14-inch circle.
• Transfer dough to prepared pie dish; press dough firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the dish.
• Prick the dough in several places with a fork.
• Place back in the fridge for 15 minutes.
  
Prepare Topping
• In a small bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder; whisk until combined and set aside.
• In your mixer's bowl, combine eggs, sugar and vanilla; beat for 1 minute or until pale yellow and fluffy.
• Add flour mixture to egg mixture; set mixer on low and continue to mix until combined, about 15 seconds.
  
  Final Steps
• Preheat oven to 425.
• Remove prepared crust from fridge.
• Spoon previously prepared apple-mixture into the crust.
• Pour cake batter over apples.
• Bake for 10 minutes.
• Reduce heat to 350 and continue to bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until top is lightly browned and set.
• Remove from oven and let cool at least 20 minutes.
• Serve.

 All of the apples.