
When I had the idea to share my baked goods with neighbors and friends,I honestly didn’t think about what I would receive in return. Generous people have brought fresh produce – tomatoes, Swiss chard – and homemade goods. My friend Jodi shared their duck eggs, which are almost the size of jumbo chicken eggs. So I thought of using them whenever the recipe asked for 2, or its multiple, eggs. And my friend Ellen gave us a wonderful crabapple sauce, with a hint of cardamom. I could have eaten it all by the spoonful, but the novelty of crabapples tickled my curiosity so I searched for a cake recipe with it as the main ingredient.
I found this Crabapple Whiskey Cake which caught my attention. I liked the idea of using alcohol, since I never do, but I wanted to balance it without overpowering the delicate flavor of the cake. Looking for the right whiskey required a trip to our local corner store. They kindly suggested bourbon* and that’s what I used in this recipe. Please, if you have a different kind you’d like to use, do so. This cake resulted in a moist, delicate cake, with the right balance of sweet and tart.
ENJOY!