Hot Caramel Apple Spiced Cider

Hot spiced cider has always been an Autumnal favorite of the Kitchen Witch. When I was a kid we used those apple cider packets, tasty yes, but really, how hard is it to heat up cider and spice it?? Turns out not hard at all!! And its SO much better than the packets. The flavor of cider really shines when its heated, the crisp apple just begs for some cinnamon to compliment it.

Nothing goes better with the fresh fall flavor of apple then sweet buttery caramel. I made a batch of my favorite caramels, salted of course, and dipped a few apples into it. Oh boy were those good!! It seemed only natural to add some of that luscious caramel to the hot cider, allowing it to melt into the drink, adding a different layer of sweet, salty and rich to the mix. You can use store bought caramels if you don't want to make your own, but I promise, its a lot easier than you think and oh so much tastier! Caramel sauce (like for ice cream) would work in a pinch, too.

Finally I topped off each mug with a splash of heavy cream. You could use whipped cream instead, but honestly, I was too lazy to whip up the cream when it was going to just melt into the drink anyway. Whip the cream or not, the choice is yours. Regardless, you'll be very happy with the resulting drink, sweet, tart, salty and creamy. Hot Caramel Apple Spiced Cider is the perfect ending to a busy fall day! Enjoy!

Hot Caramel Apple Spiced Cider
makes 4 servings
4 cups apple cider
1 t cinnamon
1/4 c heavy cream
4 pieces of caramel (homemade is AWESOME but store bought will work too)

In a microwave safe bowl OR a sauce pan heat the cider and cinnamon until it simmers. Add caramels and stir until they melt into the drink. If you're in a hurry you can microwave the caramels until they just start to melt before adding to the hot cider. Once caramels are melted ladle hot cider into your favorite mugs and top with cream, whipped or not.

Isn't that Witch awesome?? She was the cake topper on my 6th birthday cake. I love her!

Nutrition Facts calculated by SparkPeople Recipe Calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 165.8
Total Fat 3.6 g
Saturated Fat 2.4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.9 g
Cholesterol 10.9 mg
Sodium 27.7 mg
Potassium 30.1 mg
Total Carbohydrate 8.4 g
Dietary Fiber 0.4 g
Sugars 6.6 g
Protein 0.6 g

Apple upsidedown gingerbread with cinnamon whipped cream

Apples are my favorite fruit, hands down. Gingerbread is high on my list of favorites as well. Thats why when I heard about apple gingerbread upside down cake I knew it would be a hit. I mean whats not to love, apples, spicy gingerbread, caramel topping, sounds like a serious case of Kitchen Witchcraft to me!

The first time I made this gingerbread upside down cake I used McIntosh apples. While they did have good flavor the apples tendency to become overly soft when cooked was an issue. The 2nd time around I used Pink Ladies. Wow, what an improvement! The apple flavor is still very pronounced but the apples have a tarter edge than the McIntosh did, and a firmer flesh which stood up to the gingerbread, as well as the caramel topping, a lot better.

I decided to use my old standby cast iron skillet to bake this gingerbread cake in. What can I say, I love my cast iron!! Old fashioned pineapple upside down cake is made in an iron skillet, why not my apple upside down gingerbread? Here's how the cast iron helps make a superior upside down cake, or gingerbread:

~The caramel topping cooks in the same pan as the cake bakes in, less pans to clean!
~Cast iron holds heat extremely well. This means that the pan is pretty darn hot when you pour your batter into it, resulting in a very even bake and a delectable crusty edge
~Because the caramel is cooked and never removed from the pan it develops a deep caramel flavor, something that was lost in the original. (at least at my high altitude it was)

The cinnamon whipped cream is a Kitchen Witch exclusive. The slightly sweetened spicy cream is the crowning touch to an already delicious cake.

Apple upside down gingerbread
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, serves 12
Topping
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
Pinch of salt
4 apples (about 1 3/4 pounds), peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch wedges (I used Pink Ladies)

Batter
1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup honey
1 cup milk
1 T lemon juice
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 t fresh ground nutmeg

Cinnamon Whipped cream
1 c heavy whipping cream
1/2 t vanilla
3 shakes cinnamon or 1/8 t approx
1 T powdered sugar

Heat a cast iron skillet over med heat. Add the topping ingredients to the pan, whisk well. It will take a bit of cooking but the mixture will go from grainy to smooth caramel, just keep working it! Cook the caramel for 5 minutes over med heat, stirring often.



Arrange apple slices on top of the hot caramel, using a spiral pattern. Remember this will be your presentation side! You will probally have about 1 apples worth of slices that won't fit into your pretty design. Dice them up & sprinkle over the top of the arranged apples.

In the work bowl of a mixer whip butter until fluffy. Add sugar, whip well. Add honey, molasses and egg, mixing well until smooth. Add the milk & lemon juice, mix well. The batter will be very curdled looking, this is normal.


Sift flour, spices, salt & soda together. Add dry ingredients to the wet in 3 installments, scraping down the sides after each installment. Batter will begin to smooth out after 2nd addition.

Pour batter over apple slices using care not to disturb the apples. Smooth batter on top and bake at 335* for 45-60 minutes. Start checking at 45 min, remove when a toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean. Allow to cool for 15 min before inverting.



USE CAUTION when inverting, the cast iron will be HOT still. Invert cake onto a large plate.


To make the cinnamon whipped cream add all ingredients into a work bowl and whip cream with a mixer. You will want stiff peaks, about 5 min of whipping.

Top cake with dollops of whipped cream. Best when served warm. Delicious with coffee.

Caramel

As the sweet, brown, buttery smells of cooking caramel fill the Kitchen Witch headquarters we know the holiday baking season is upon us.

Here in Colorado its pretty difficult to make candies and other boiled sugar confections because of our altitude. For you low landers, that's anyone under 3,000 ft above sea level, you probaly don't have any clue what I'm talking about. Let me tell you. Water boils at 212* at sea level. Here, at 6,000+ ft ABOVE sea level water boils around 190*. Whats the problem, Kitchen Witch, your water boils at a lower temp, things should cook faster, right? Well, no, not so much. What happens here is that the water in say caramel boils out too soon and the sugars start to recrystalize before we want them to, resulting in caramel that is crunchy and hard, not soft & chewy. Or cookies that are flat as pancakes, not soft & chewy and puffy. Altitude, its a bitch!

The caramel recipe I'm about to share with you is more of a 'cheaters caramel' compared to a traditional caramel preparation (sugar, butter and cream). I realize that true candy makers will probally shudder at the corn syrup addition to the caramel but its what allows this caramel to work so well at our altitude.
For those who are wondering, the corn syrup alters the crystaline structure of the dissolved sugar, and won't allow it to recrystalize and become hard or crunchy. The corn syrup is the key to a chewy caramel at the Kitchen Witches high altitude.
If you are in a lower altitude & would like to try a more traditional approach please do and let me know how it goes! For those of us, lowlanders and highlanders alike, who would love homemade caramels thats pretty fool-proof, give this one a shot! It has not let me down yet!

Chewy caramels
from the Better Homes & Gardens 'Complete step by step cookbook'
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 c brown sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 t salt
1 t vanilla

Melt butter in a heavy bottom sauce pan. Add brown sugar and salt, stir well until it incorporates.


Add corn syrup and stir very well. *TIP spray the measuring cup with non stick spray before measuring the corn syrup, it'll pour right out and not stick to your cup that way*

Once mixture starts to boil add the sweetened condensed milk.

Notice how the caramel darkens as it gets closer to the target temperature.


Boil sugar mixture over med heat until it comes to the hard ball stage - that was 233* here at my altitude, please use the altitude conversion chart to determine what temp you should be aiming for based on your location.

Pour caramel into a buttered 8x8 pan, dust with kosher salt (salted caramel is amazing, try it!) and allow to cool completely before cutting & wrapping.

OR you can pour hot caramel onto pecan clusters to make 'turtles'. Top each cluster with a few chocolate chips. The residual heat in the caramel will melt the chips, all you have to do is come back & spread the melted chocolate over the caramel.

Candy stages, temp (at sea level) and cold water test results
Thread (230*-234*) -- syrup dropped from spoon spins 2 in thread
Soft Ball (234*-240*) -- syrup can be shaped into a ball that flattens when removed from water.
firm ball (244*- 248*) -- syrup can be shaped into a firm ball that does not flatten when removed from water
hard ball (250*- 266*) -- syrup forms a hard ball that is pliable
soft crack (270*-290*) -- syrup separates into threads that are not brittle
hard crack (300*-310*) -- syrup separates into hard, brittle threads

To do the cold water test, which is most accurate for high altitudes, get a small bowl of water, add 4-6 ice cubes, once water is very cold remove ice & drop small amounts of syrup into the water. I HIGHLY recommend doing this test through out the cooking process, to familiarize yourself with what the syrup looks like at the different stages.

ALTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Decrease temperature about 2* for every 1,000 ft above sea level

Happy Winter Solstice everyone! I wish you all a very happy holiday season filled with yummy treats, good friends, family and fun! May your kitchen be filled with delicious treats to sustain you through the winter season. By the power of three by three I wish you all Blessed Be!
With much love,
Andrea the Kitchen Witch