Momofuku Milk Bar Apple Pie Layer Cake

Recipe available at Country Mouse. City Life. but originally from Momofuku Milk Bar, by Christina Tosi

Pie crumb

Makes about 350g (2 ¾ cups)

240g flour (1 ½ cups)

18g sugar (2 Tbs, though I used 1 Tbs)

3g salt (3/4 tsp)

115g butter, melted (8 Tbs, 1 stick)

20g water (1 ½ Tbs)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/175C
2. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl and mix well, then add the butter and water and continue to mix until small clusters form. This can be done in a mixer with a paddle attachment on low speed, but it isn’t necessary.
3. Spread the clusters on lined baking sheet, and bake for 25 minutes, breaking them up occasionally. When ready, the crumbs will be golden and a little moist – they will dry as they cool.
4. Cool the crumbs completely, then store in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature or up to a month in the fridge/freezer.

Pie Crumb Frosting

Makes about 220 g (3/4 cup) – this is enough for 1 very generously frosted 6 inch cake or a regularly frosted 7 or 8 inch cake

1/2 recipe Pie Crumb

110 g Milk (1/2 cup)

2 g Kosher Salt (1/2 teaspoon)

40 g Butter, at room temperature (3 tablespoons)

40 g Confectioners’ Sugar (1/4 cup)

1. Blend the pie crumbs, milk, and salt in a blender or food processor on medium-high, until smooth, scraping down the bowl a few times. I just used a small food processor and mine never actually became completely smooth, but I liked getting a bit of texture in the frosting.
   
2. Cream together the butter and confectioners’ sugar using a stand mixer on medium-high, until pale and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and add the crumb puree. After a minute, increase the speed to medium-high and blend for another couple of minutes, until very the frosting is a very pale light 
3. The frosting can be stored for up to a week in the fridge.

Apple Pie Filling

Makes about 400 g (1 3/4 cups)

1 Lemon

300 g Granny Smith Apples (2 medium) – I used 3 medium, and still thought I could have used another one

14 g Butter (1 tablespoon)

150 g Light Brown Sugar (2/3 cup tightly packed) – I used 75g

1 g Ground Cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon)

1 g Kosher Salt (1/4 teaspoon)

1. Half fill a large saucepan with cold water, then add the lemon juice. This water will be discarded later, it is just to keep your apple slices in while you chop the rest. 
   Wash and peel your apples, then quarter and core them. Cut each quarter into three, lenthways, then each of these skinny pieces into four small chunks. Store apple pieces in lemon water. 
   
2. Drain the lemon water from the apples, then return them to the saucepan and add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, gently, over medium heat, the stir the apples occasionally. Once they have begun to release their juices, simmer for 3-5 minutes, until soft but not mushy. 
3. Store this filling for up to a week in an airtight container in the fridge, but do not freeze it.

NOTE: The juice from the apples makes a kind of sauce with the sugar and butter, so if you use the full amount of sugar it might become more of a caramel. Mine was sticky and thick but not quite a caramel. When putting all of the layers together, I used some of the sauce from the apples but not all of it because I think it would have made the cake layer too soggy.

Liquid Cheesecake

Makes one 6” circular baking dish, or a 9 x9 inch dish

227 g Cream Cheese (8 ounces), room temperature

150 g Sugar (3/4 cup) – I used 75 g

15 g Cornstarch (1 tablespoon)

2 g Kosher Salt (1/2 teaspoon) – I used ½ a tsp, but it was a little too salty I think. Next time I will omit the salt completely, or just use the tiniest little pinch

25 g Milk (2 tablespoons)

1 Egg

1. Preheat the oven to 300F/150C.
   Beat the cream cheese on medium for a couple of minutes, scraping the bowl once or twice. Add the sugar and continue to beat for 2 minutes, until completely incorporated.
2. Mix together the cornstarch and salt, then gradually whisk in milk, then egg, until the well combined.
3. Whisk the cream cheese on medium-low and slowly add the egg/milk mixture, until the batter is smooth.
4. Pour the cheesecake into a baking-paper-lined dish and bake for 15 minutes, or until the edges are set but the centre is still jiggly. Remember, this is supposed to be a spreadable liquid cheesecake, so you don’t want to over cook it, but if the edges aren’t set, continue to bake for up to 25 minutes, checking every 5 minutes.
5. Cool completely in the pan, then store for up to a week in the fridge.

Barely Brown Butter Cake

Makes 1 Quarter Sheet pan, or two 7 or 8 inch circular cake pans

40g brown butter (2 Tbs) – see recipe for instructions

55g butter (4 Tbs,, ½ stick)

250g sugar (1 ¼ cups) – I used 120 g

60g light brown sugar (1/4 cup tightly packed) – I used 50g

3 eggs

110g buttermilk (1/2 cup) – if you don’t have buttermilk, put ½ Tbs into a measuring cup and fill with milk to the ½ cup mark. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes

65g grapeseed oil (1/3 cup)

2g vanilla extract (1/2 tsp)

185g cake flour (1 ½ cups)

4g baking powder (1 tsp)

4g salt (1 tsp)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/175C. To make the brown butter, microwave the 2 Tbs of butter in a microwave safe bowl covered with a microwave safe plate, for 3. The butter will pop while browning, so don’t worry if it sounds like your microwave is going to explode. 
   If not browned enough after three minutes, continue to microwave at 1 minute increments. Be very careful when removing the bowl and plate from the microwave – it will be very very hot. While brown butter is cooling, stir occasionally to melt the caramelized bits of butter. Cool completely in the refrigerator.
   Combine the butters and sugars and beat on medium-high for 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs and continue to beat for 2-3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Return the speed to medium-high and beat for at least 5-6 minutes, until the mixture is very light and has doubled in size. Note: if you have reduced the sugar content like me, the mixture won’t ever really become white, but it will lighten significantly in colour. 
2. If the mixture hasn’t reached this stage by 6 minutes, continue to beat it.
3. Reduce the speed to very low and add the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Continue to mix on very low for a minute or two until all the batter is smooth and free of lumps. 
4. Line your quarter sheet pan or cake tins and divide the batter equally. Bake for 30-35 minutes , until the cake holds its shape when poked and the centre is no longer jiggly.  
5. Cool the cakes on a wire rack and store for up to 5 days, well wrapped in plastic wrap, in the fridge.

Apple cider soak

Makes about 60g (1/4 cup)

55g apple cider (1/4 cup)

5g light brown sugar (1 tsp tightly packed)

0.25g ground cinnamon (just a pinch)

1. Whisk together all of the ingredients in a small bowl until the sugar has dissolved.

Assembly!

1. If you used a quarter sheet pan for your cakes, cut out two x 6’’ circles of cake, using a 6’’ ring as a guide. Use the remaining ‘scraps’ to form another layer of cake.
   If you made two 7-8 inch cakes, slice off the tops so that they are even layers, and not too thick. Use the domed pieces as your ‘scraps’ (you will have to break them up a bit to make a flat layer). 
   Line the 6” or 7’’ ring with acetate or another type of strong but flexible plastic sheeting. Place the cake scraps inside the ring and flatten them into an even layer. Brush half of the apple cider soak over this layer, then layer over half of the liquid cheesecake. Sprinkle over 1/3 of the apple pie crumbs, then half of the apple pie filling.
2. At this stage, you can use reinforce the walls with another layer of acetate, overlapping the bottom one slightly, or if your plastic is strong enough, you can continue on with the layering.
3. Place another layer of brown butter cake over the apple pie filling and brush on the remaining apple cider soak. Cover with remaining cheesecake, then half the remaining pie crumbs, and all of the leftover apple pie. Place on the last sheet of cake, then top with the pie crumb frosting. Decorate it as you will or smooth it flat. Use the remaining pie crumbs to make a border around the outside of the frosting.
4. Transfer the cake to the freezer and leave it there for at least 12 hours, or up to 2 weeks. 3-4 hours before you want to serve the cake, remove it from the freezer and slide off the metal cake ring. Peel off the acetate and stick the cake in the fridge, where it can stay for up to 5 days. Wrap it in plastic or cover it with a cake box if you are going to leave it for an extended period of time.