Vapor Baker: Apple Celery Cake w/Roasted Carrots (Baked)

[ Equipment: convection oven (preferred) or other LTB oven, a 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 (inch) loaf pan. For more information about the terminology in this recipe, see Low Temperature Baking: A Journey of 3 Paths ].

A Waldorf salad inspired this cake of apple, celery and carrots. The truth is: I've never had a Waldorf salad, but the first time I saw it on a menu, I thought the flavors would make an intriguing cake. Because carrot cakes are fairly common, apples and celery make up the main character of this creation, accented with chopped up roasted carrots. There's an almost ethereal quality to this delicately flavored and smooth textured cake, so lightly sweet that it almost drives a craving to eat the entire cake at one sitting. I like to serve it with dots of tiny seeds (shown with sunflower seeds) on a streak of whipped cream for a crunchy contrast.

The base recipe was a pound cake from The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook, but modified. I took out their prune puree for my own applesauce and celery mash, cut back the sugar a bit and reduced over hydration. The low-temperature technique for roasting the carrots essentially steams them first and then roasts them to caramelize lightly and concentrate the sugars. For more intense flavor, increase the oven temperature to 300°F/149°C at the risk of higher acrylamide formation. I baked the cake in a convection oven. It should do well in a slow-cooker oven too, but will be less likely to brown on the top and may require another 10 minutes or so more baking time.

Makes one 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 inch loaf, 10 servings
- 1800 calories per loaf, 180 calories per serving
- Oven Temperature: 250°F/121°C

Cake:

2 to 3 stalks of celery ( to make 1/4 cup finely chopped celery)
1/2 cup sweetened applesauce
1/4 cup butter or vegetable oil spread (see text)
1/2 cup sugar
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup chopped roasted carrots (see below, see text)

Roasted Carrots:

3 carrots
1 to 2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Topping:

sweetened whipped cream or Cool Whip whipped topping
sunflower seeds for sprinkling
powdered cinnamon

Roasted Carrots Method:

1. Slice carrots about 1/4 inch thick.

2. Line baking tray with aluminum foil. Put carrots on foil and toss with vegetable oil.

3. Crimp foil into a pouch.

4. Bake at 250°F/121°C for 1 hour.

5. Open pouch and flatten foil. Spread carrots to a single layer. Continue baking for another 30 minutes.

6. Chop carrots into 1/4 to 1/2 inch bits.

Cake Method:

1. Finely chop celery in a food processor with a blunt blade (the same blade used for chopping nuts). Processing with a blunt blade bruises the celery and expresses celery juice. Do NOT puree.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon until well combined.

3. In a large bowl, mix the applesauce, chopped celery, butter and sugar until well combined and the butter has been broken down into tiny flecks - about 4 to 5 minutes with an electric mixer on low setting 1 or 2.

4. Add milk, whole egg and egg whites. Continue mixing for another 1 to 2 minutes.

5. Mix in flour in 3 or 4 portions to form a thick batter.

6. In a small bowl, coat chopped roasted carrots in 1 to 2 teaspoons of all-purpose flour. Fold carrots into batter.

7. Pour batter into a 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 2-1/2 inch loaf pan. Smooth surface of batter with a spoon or spatula.

8. Cover top of loaf pan with aluminum foil, crimping down edges. With a knife or the pointed end of a bamboo skewer, cut out a rectangle in the foil, leaving a 1-inch border. With scissors, at each corner of the rectangle, snip a 1/2-inch diagonal cut.

9. Bake until cake has risen to almost touch the foil (about 30 minutes). With 2 spoons or forks, lift the foil flaps up and away from the cake. Continue baking for another 40 minutes or until the internal temperature of the cake is around 200°F/93°C.