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It’s ‘All About Cake’ as Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi shares her recipes

For your next apple pairing this fall, consider miso.

Christina Tosi learned to love miso — a fermented soybean paste — while working at Momofuku. She especially loved the savory profile in desserts.

In her latest cookbook, “All About Cake,” out Tuesday, the Milk Bar founder features a buttery pound cake with miso that’s topped with an apple compote and sour whipped cream for an “unstoppable flavor trio.” Here’s the recipe so you can experience the combo, too.

Burnt miso pound cake

Makes 1 pound cake/serves 8 to 10

  • 100 g. (5 tbsp.) shiro miso  
  • 145 g. (2/3 cup) buttermilk  
  • 100 g. (1/2 cup) grapeseed or other neutral oil
  • 150 g. (one 8-tbsp. stick plus 3 tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted    
  • 5 large eggs
  • 310 g. (1 1/2 cups plus 1 tbsp.) sugar  
  • 290 g. (2 1/3 cups) cake flour
  • 65 g. (1/4 cup plus 1 tsp., packed) light brown sugar
  • 5 g. (1 1/4 tsp.) baking powder  
  • 1 g. (1/4 tsp.) kosher salt  
  • 1 recipe apple compote (recipe follows)
  • 1 recipe sour whipped cream (recipe follows)

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

2. Spread the miso out in an even layer, about 1/4-in. thick, on the lined baking sheet. Bake it until the miso is browned and quite burnt around the edges, 10-15 minutes. Don’t be a ninny! The edges should be quite burnt and there should be patches of burnt spots all over the top. Remove it from the oven and let it cool slightly.

3. Reduce the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 1-pound loaf pan.

4. Scrape the miso into a blender. Add the buttermilk and oil and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into a large bowl. Whisk the melted butter and eggs into the miso mixture.

5. Whisk the sugar, cake flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a separate large bowl.

6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir to combine. If the batter looks lumpy, use a whisk to break up all the lumps.

7. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake until the cake rises and puffs, about 80 minutes. At 75 minutes, tap the top of the cake with your fingertips: The cake should bounce back and the center should no longer be jiggly. If it doesn’t pass this test, leave the cake in the oven for an additional 3 to 5 minutes.

8. Let the cake cool in the pan for 45 minutes, then run a small butter knife or offset spatula between the edge of the cake and the pan to help release it. Invert the pan onto a wire rack to fully release the cake. Turn the cake right side up and let it cool completely before slicing.

9. Before serving, toast the slices lightly then dollop each with apple compote and sour whipped cream.

Sour whipped cream

Makes about 245 g. (1 cup)

  • 110 g. (1/2 cup) heavy cream  
  • 110 g. (1/2 cup) sour cream  
  • 20 g. (1/4 cup) confectioners’ sugar  
  • 4 g. (1 tsp.) vanilla extract  

Add all of the ingredients to a medium bowl and use a whisk to whip them into soft peaks, about 2 minutes, depending on how fast and furious a whisker you are.

Apple compote

Makes about 350 g. (1 1/2 cups)

  • 1 Granny Smith apple, medium
  • 200 g. (1 cup) sugar  
  • 4 g. (1/2 tsp.) pectin NH
  • 2 g. (1 tsp.) ground cinnamon  
  • .25 g. (pinch) kosher salt  

1. Peel and dice the apple into 1/4-inch chunks. Measure 200 g. (1 2/3 cups) of the diced apple (eat the rest as a snack!).

2. Stir the sugar, pectin, cinnamon, and salt together in a small bowl. Add the diced apple and toss to combine.

3. Heat the apples in a small, heavy bottomed saucepan over low heat. The apples will begin to release liquid. Continue to heat the mixture on low until the released liquid begins to boil. Cook the apples on low, stirring occasionally, until they have thickened and softened, but haven’t broken down entirely, about 15 minutes.

4. Let the mixture cool completely before using. The apple compote will keep in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for up to 1 week.

Reprinted from “All About Cake.” Copyright © 2018 by MomoMilk, LLC. Photographs copyright © 2018 by Gabriele Stabile. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.