At this year’s Taste of Chappelle, we challenged neighbourhood bakers and creators to showcase their best dishes featuring fall’s favourite fruit – apples!
Did our local creators ever deliver! We tried pulled pork tacos marinated in apple with an apple slaw, fresh baked apple fritter, apple chutney, and slow-cooked chicken apple sausage. Everything we tried was delicious, but one treat stood out above the rest and received the most votes from all our guests at Taste of Chappelle.
Caramel Apple Cake Pops
"We both thought it was a bit ambitious for us to even attempt this," Natasha Aiello and Minna Baker agree. "We just wanted to give it a try, so we strategized in our back alley together to come up with a dish - we didn't even have a name for it for the longest time!" Aiello, a realtor in the community, is neighbours with Baker and the pair often trade baked goods with each other.
What the pair devised was a perfect infusion of two amazing treats: cake pops and caramel apples. Both the cake and the caramel are made from scratch and the quality and care she put into her delights were evident from the first bite.
“Everything at Taste of Chappelle was amazing, but the Caramel Apple Cake Pops really blew me away,” says Kaylie Thomas, Program and Events Manager with the Chappelle Gardens Residents Association. “It was a tight competition, no doubt. Everyone brought their best, and something about what Natasha and Minna created was above and beyond.”
Going over and above for the community is part of what makes Chappelle Gardens a great place to call home. The connection in this community is distinct for a major city – it’s almost like a small town of it own. Only a community with this strong of a connection between neighbours could inspire someone to create a dessert as delightful as a Caramel Apple Cake Pop.
Recipe
Equipment
· Cake Pop Maker / Silicone Cake Pop Mold
· Stand Mixer
Ingredients
Cake
· 3 cups all-purpose flour
· 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
· 1 teaspoon baking soda
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
· 2 cups sugar
· 3 large eggs
· 3-4 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into ½ inch pieces (3 cups)
· 1 cup chopped nuts, such as pecans or walnuts (optional)
· 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
· Non-stick cooking spray with flour
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees if using a silicone mold for cake pops. Otherwise, preheat cake pop maker. Spray with cooking spray.
2. Working over a large sheet of parchment paper, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Gather sifted ingredients into center of sheet; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine vegetable oil, sugar, and eggs. Mix on high speed until lemon yellow.
4. Fold reserved parchment in half lengthwise; with mixer on medium speed, gradually shake in dry ingredients until just incorporated.
5. Add apples and, if desired, nuts to batter. Mix to combine. Add vanilla, mixing until incorporated.
6. Pour batter into molds or cake pop maker and bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Approximately 12 minutes
7. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
Caramel Sauce
· 1 cup light brown sugar
· ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
· ¼ cup evaporated milk
· 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (substitute Brandy if you’d like)
· Pinch of salt
Directions
1. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until sugar is completely dissolved and sauce is well-mixed.
2. Remove from heat and continue stirring until desired thickness.
3. Drizzle over cooled cake pops, or dip cake pops into the caramel with a slotted spoon.
