Stale Pound Cake Never Tasted So Good!
I had baked a pound cake during the winter holidays and at the same time we were busy with other holiday baking and tasting, so I ended up with a wedge of pound cake that had gotten stale. I decided to pop it into the freezer and see if I wanted to use it later.
Well, fast forward about 3 months and I bought a bag of Honeycrisp apples, which gave me several options for baking. A lovely French apple cake is always welcome, as is an apple cheddar galette, or whole baked apples, etc. But then I remembered the pound cake stashed in my freezer and got inspired.
I ended up crumbling the pound cake and browning it in a skillet with some butter until it was nice and crisp. Oh, man, was this good. It was all I could do to not gobble it all down as it cooled.
I then peeled and sliced the apples, and kept it simple by tossing them with lemon juice, brown sugar, a little cornstarch, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt.
I then placed them in a casserole, covered the dish and baked the apples until they were nice and tender and had produced a lovely sauce from their juices.
At this point, all you need is a dairy product and you’ve got several choices. A scoop of vanilla ice cream, lightly whipped cream, or plain yogurt are all good choices. Fresh ricotta would be great, too. I had a big carton of whole milk plain yogurt on hand, so that’s what I used.
I scooped the apples into a bowl, spooned on some yogurt and scattered the pound cake crumbles on top. And for good measure, simply because I had them, I sprinkled pomegranate arils on top. But what a good decision that was. Their bright sweet/tart pops of flavor were wonderful here.
I am so happy with this dessert. When you get down to the last of a pound cake, think about making these crispy crumbles. They’d also be delicious on a simple bowl of ice cream or with a bowl of sliced fresh fruit, amongst other things. Of course, you could just buy a pound cake at the grocery store and use the whole thing to make a big batch of these buttery crumbles. Then you could freeze them and all you’d have to do when you get the urge would be to let them thaw. That’s not a bad idea at all.
Baked Apple Slices with Crispy Pound Cake Crumbles
Crumble up some stale pound cake, crisp it up in a skillet with butter, then bake sliced apples with lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch until they're tender and saucy. Serve them with a scoop of yogurt, the pound cake crumbles, and pomegranate arils. So good and so easy!
4-6
servingsKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
135 g (2 cups ) stale pound cake crumbles
4 tablespoons salted butter, divided
1,276 g (2 3/4 pounds) Honeycrisp apples, cored, peeled, and sliced into 1/4 inch thick wedges
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
158 g (3/4 cup) packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Large pinch salt
Plain yogurt, ice cream, or whipped cream
Pomegranate arils, optional
Directions
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 12 inch skillet over medium high heat. Add the pound cake crumbs, stirring occasionally until browned and crisp - about 7-8 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°. In a 3 quart casserole dish toss the sliced apples with the lemon juice, brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving either warm or at room temperature.
- Scoop the apples into serving bowls and top with either fresh ricotta, plain yogurt, ice cream, or whipped cream. Sprinkle on the crispy pound cake crumbs and pomegranate arils. Serve and Enjoy!