Apple Walnut Bundt Cake

In Korea, the larger grocery stores are forced to closed two days/month so that smaller stores have a chance to compete. Sadly, most of these smaller stores are a bit lacking in their baking departments (you can get the basics, but nothing too fancy!) Because of this, I was somewhat limited to what I already had in my kitchen last night (though I did manage to find walnuts at a local corner store.)

For the actual baking process, I found this to be one of the more challenging cakes (though not because it was difficult, but simply because it dirtied a million different dishes so my small kitchen was very cluttered!) I did discover that I didn't reduce the original recipe quite enough - I again had the cake overflow and make a huge mess inside my toaster oven. I also found that my oven might be a tad small for the 7-inch Bundt pan I purchased; the top always seems to burn against my oven's roof (though that might only be because I overfilled the pan!)

Fortunately, the final result was a great tasting cake that was well-liked by my Korean co-workers (in fact, they preferred this to my 7-Up Cake last week. I think the fruit and nuts gave it a richer taste - and is more similar to the cakes you typically find in bakeries in Korea. It was a moist, delicious cake that I would definitely try again!


Apple Walnut Bundt Cake
(fills one 7-inch Bundt Pan)

1 heaping cup apples, pealed and diced
1¾ t. sugar
½ t. cinnamon
1¾ c. flour
1¾ t. baking powder
¼ t. salt
1 c. plus 3 T. sugar
½ plus 1 T vegetable oil
2 T. plus 1 t. orange juice
2 eggs
¾ c. chopped walnuts

Dice apples and mix with sugar and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. In a mixing bowl, mix sugar, oil, orange juice and eggs until smooth. Add the flower mixture to the liquid in three equal parts. Fold the walnuts into the batter. Pour &frac13 of the batter into a greased and floured Bundt pan. Top with half the cinnamon apple mixture. Add another &frac13 of the batter and top with the remaining apples. Add the final third of batter over the apples. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 1 hours (or until a knife comes out clean.)