By The kitchen is in full spring mode. The oven at 375 (always 375), the crockpot on the counter, the pantry stocked with jars from last August's canning — the evidence of a woman who preserves summer against winter and loss against forgetting and food against everything.
The recipe this week: lemon chicken with capers. Standing at the stove, Marlene's wooden spoon in my hand (the cracked one, the one that will outlast us all), the recipe either from the card box or from my own expanding collection, both equally real, both equally mine. The kitchen holds all of it — the old recipes and the new ones, the teacher's food and the student's food, the grief and the joy and the cinnamon. All of it. Always.
The garden is waking up. The garlic that overwintered is pushing green shoots through the soil, the annual proof that buried things come back. Jack's seedlings are hardening off in the greenhouse. The Marlene cherry tomato — generation 4 now — ready for transplanting. Every spring the planting is the memorial. Every spring the name goes back in the ground.
When I wrote “the grief and the joy and the cinnamon,” I wasn’t being poetic — I was being literal. Cinnamon is the smell of this kitchen in every season, and this Cinnamon-Apple Honey Cake is the recipe that keeps finding its way to the counter whether I plan it or not. It’s the kind of cake that feels like it belongs next to Marlene’s wooden spoon, next to the overwintered garlic, next to all the things that come back. Honey preserves. Apples come back every fall. Cinnamon endures. That felt right this week.
Cinnamon-Apple Honey Cake
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar (for topping)
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan or a 9-inch round springform pan and set aside.
- Prep the apples. Toss diced apples with lemon juice in a small bowl to prevent browning. Set aside.
- Whisk dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until evenly combined.
- Cream butter and sweeteners. In a large bowl, beat butter, honey, and granulated sugar with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add eggs and vanilla. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract.
- Combine wet and dry. Reduce mixer to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream (beginning and ending with flour), mixing just until combined. Do not overmix.
- Fold in apples. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the diced apples into the batter until evenly distributed.
- Add topping and bake. Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan. Stir together brown sugar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, then sprinkle evenly over the top. Bake for 40–45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is golden.
- Cool and serve. Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature. Drizzle with a little extra honey if you like.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 265 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 41g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 145mg