There’s a tradition in New England to eat our apple pie with a slice of cheddar cheese on top. Give it a try, and expand on the idea!
It may sound strange to some, but many think it is the only way to enjoy that thick slice of pie. Way better than ice cream or whipped cream, in my book, the pie is sweet enough it doesn’t need more sugar. The slightly salty cheddar is fabulous with the apples, an unforgettable combination. One of the children’s favorite after school snack has long been apple slices topped with cheddar. Such a good combination.
Just a little leap
With all this in mind, it wasn’t a big leap to add some cheddar to an apple walnut cake, just for a little twist. What a good decision. The result is a sweet cake, moist, with lots of layers of flavor. It doesn’t scream cheese, but it does make one stop for a moment to figure out what all those taste buds are experiencing.
The problem with apple picking
I’ve made lots of versions of apple and applesauce cakes through the years. It was one of our favorites growing up. Apples were, and still are, abundant and cheap, especially if you pick your own, or have a tree, or neighbor with a tree. There is a problem with picking apples – it goes quickly, and before you know it, you’ve filled up a bushel bag. Now, you get to figure out what to do with them!
Use up those apples
Often, I’ll make a massive batch of applesauce and can or freeze it for use all winter. It freezes beautifully if you are not set up for canning. Dehydrating apples is fairly easy and can be done in a dehydrator, your oven, the microwave, air fryer, or strung on a thin rope or dowel in a cool spot to dry. I’ve tried all these methods except the air fryer, and the oven works best for me, although I’ve had good luck, if little patience, with the more time-consuming, but lovely to look at, rope and dowel method.
Choose a few varieties
For this cake, use three different types of firm apples if possible, it lends a rounder flavor. Don’t use a really soft apple like McIntosh, they will turn to mush. Gala, Braeburn, yellow delicious, Granny Smith, empire, and Fuji are all good choices, but any that are firm will work.
White cheddar, please!
Being a Vermonter, I’m a bit of a snob about cheese. The white cheddar used here is Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar. Vermont cheesemakers don’t usually add orange food coloring to our cheese to make it look like something it isn’t. If you see an orange cheese, it got that way with the addition of annatto, a food dye, just to make it look richer, I guess, but to me it looks like a crayon melted in the cheese. Just sayin’.
Enticing aromas
Be prepared for the luscious aroma of apples, browned cheese, and toasty walnuts. Serve it up as is, it really doesn’t need a thing, But, if you absolutely must, and my husband does, a little dollop of whipped cream can finish it off.
Apple Cheddar Walnut Cake
- 1 ½ cups plus 2 tbsp. unbleached white flour
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- ¾ cups chopped walnuts, plus 13 halves for garnish
- 1 ½ sticks, 12 tbsp., butter or vegan butter, melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 jumbo egg or egg replacer
- 3 apples, peeled, cored, chopped into ½” pieces, about 3 cups
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- 4 ounces Vermont white cheddar cheese, shredded
Grease and flour an 8 ½ -inch springform pan, line bottom with parchment, and grease and flour that as well. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Sift together the flour, cinnamon, soda, and salt, add the chopped walnuts, and set aside.
Combine the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and the apples. Mix well, then add the flour mixture.
Evenly place half the batter into the springform pan and sprinkle with half the cheese. Top with the rest of the batter, even it out (an offset spatula works well here, the batter will be thick) and sprinkle on the rest of the cheese. Place the walnuts in a decorative pattern on top of the cake like the face of a clock and one in the middle, or just place them randomly, it’s your cake.
Bake uncovered for a half hour, cover with foil so it won’t brown too quickly, then reduce the oven temperature to 350. Set your timer for another 30 minutes. The cake might be done then, but will probably take another 10 minutes, it all depends on your oven.
When finished, the sides will slightly pull away from the tin, the cheese on top will be nicely browned, and it will be firm to the touch. Let cool on a rack for 20 minutes, then loosen the sides and release. Let cool completely so the cheese inside can solidify again. It’s tempting, but this is one cake you don’t want to eat hot.
Because you picked too many, dehydrate apples:
Oven method: Set your oven to 250 degrees. Gather your blemish-free apples and slice into 1/8-inch slices, no need to peel or core. I used a mandoline, the easiest and most uniform, but you can also just use a nice sharp knife.
As you cut a batch, place them in a bowl of water with the juice of a lemon. I toss the lemon carcass right in too. The lemon will stop the apples from browning excessively, but even doing so, they will brown somewhat, so this step can be totally optional if you don’t mind the darker color. It doesn’t affect the taste.
Most of the seeds will fall out, but help along any that don’t. After slicing them all up, place between two kitchen towels and dry completely.
Arrange, not touching, on a rimmed baking sheet with a wire rack, or on parchment. If you like, you can lightly sprinkle with spices at this point. I like a light dusting of cinnamon. Place in the oven and set the timer for one hour. Turn them over and rotate the pans. Set the timer again, and repeat the process for about 3 1/2 to four hours.
The apples are done when they are still pliable, not too soft, and don’t break when you bend them. If you tear off a piece, there will be no glistening moisture.
Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container in a cool spot and they will keep for months, if they don’t get eaten, which is unlikely.
You can also string the apples on twine and hang in little loops, or tie each end to a dowel. This method takes days, not hours, but works really well.
Copyright 2024– or current year, The New Vintage Kitchen. Dorothy Grover-Read. Unattributed use of this material and photographs is strictly prohibited. Reposting and links may be used, provided that credit is given to The New Vintage Kitchen, with active link and direction to this original post.
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Yum!! Perfect for a fall birthday!
Yes it is! Happy Birthday to October folks!
Deliciousness! You had me at the title.
A wonderful take on a New England tradition! Apples and cheddar cheese, Vermont I am sure!
It’s such a good flavor combo, we just love it. And who doesn’t like browned cheese bit?
It looks fabulous Dorothy, I never had apple pie with cheese. I put cream cheese in recipes so I guess why not cheddar.
Once you try it, you will be sold!
What a unique recipe Dorothy! I’m going to try it !
Thank you! It’s a little different, and really tasty!
Apple and walnut cake is divine. With cheese? Wow, this has to be tried! 😊
Thank you Lis! I think you will love this combo!
I love cheesy bread!
Then you would love this one Marilyn!
I would love a slice! Looks quite delicious!
Thank you! I’ll save you a slice next time!
This cake looks heavenly! Perfect for my October Birthday!
I am going to make this very soon. Thank you!
Happy Birthday Nancy! When is your actual date?
The 25th! 🥳
So close to Halloween! Did you have pumpkin cakes growing up?
Yes indeed! They were delicious. My Mom made everything and baked everything. I liked a coconut/pineapple cake and she would make that for my birthdays sometimes.
She also made a Apple Slab Pie(not for my birthday) but it was something always in the kitchen during the fall.
Love a slab pie, especially apple, when there’s a crowd in the house! All great memories Nancy!
This bread would be delicious with tea for breakfast.
I wouldn’t argue with that!
This brings back my Vermont days. Cabot seriously sharp cheddar is my favorite as well, and I loved the tasty combination with apples/apple pie right from the first bite. Adding it right into the batter is a brilliant idea! 🙂
It was so good, the cake had absolutely no ‘keeping quality’ but disappeared!
Ingenious to add the cheddar like you did. We were just talking the other day about how when we were kids, people put cheese on apple pie but it seems to not be the done thing around here anymore.
Well, you will just have to revive that trend!
Looks really good.
Thanks! We really enjoyed this a lot.
Yum! These cake looks so delicious. And pairing apple pie or cake with cheddar makes complete sense to me! <3
My grandfather ‘always’ ate cheese with his apple pie. That makes me smile just thinking about it. 🙂 I’m going to make this cake because it just looks delicious. I do need to stop at the store and pick up some cheese. 🙂 Thank you for sharing. By the way, I can put mine on the same plate because I have my grandparents set. 🙂
Topping my slice of apple pie with cheddar and warming it in the toaster oven is something I have been doing for years. I recently introduced the tasty combo to Colette who gave it her seal of approval with a great big smile and a thumbs up! Your Apple Cheddar Walnut Bread looks delicious and sounds absolutely amazing! What a fabulous holiday gift this would be!
Oh yes please, cut me a big slice!!! I love Vermont sharp white cheddar 🙂
Jenna
It’s waiting for you, along with a cup of tea!
While Bruce would love the taste, his insides would be unhappy with him. He has trouble with cow dairy, though butter and heavy whipping cream seem to be okay for him. He thinks he has problems with the milk proteins.
These dairy problems are all over the place! Some folks it’s the fat, obviously, like Bruce, it is something else!
Unfortunately, there are no good vegan cheddars that I’ve found!
Sounds a good taste combo. In the English lake district, fruit cake is served accompanied by a slice of Wensleydale cheese, and the tastes work well together.
Oh, that sounds lovely! The cheese is a good tamer for sweet cakes and breads.
what a fun autumn recipe! It’s not something I would’ve ever thought of but it sounds so intriguing and it looks amazing!
It’s such a nice combo, let me know if you give it a try!
I did buy too many apples. Thanks for the idea to pull out the dehydrator. The cake was fantastic!!!!
Thank you Bernie! I’m glad you enjoyed it! One of our new favorites, and I have to make another batch of dehydrated apples, they were all nibbled away…
I would be very happy to have a slice of that.. or two…thanks for the recipe Dorothy ♥
I’ve saved you a slice Sally!
Looks so Delicious and Amazing! I have yet to try the combines New England’s cooking culture of apples with cheese. ❤️
You’ll be surprised how wonderful it tastes!
You always add that extra something, Dorothy. Why have I never thought about mixing different types of apples. You are brilliant, and this recipe looks delicious.
Mixing up the apples just lends a bigger flavor! Sometimes you hit all the notes.
My goodness this does sound wonderful, Dorothy. I remember the days when I ate cheese with apples – delicious! Add walnuts to the mix – thinking less of cooking and more of an enticing mid afternoon treat. 🤗 I am soooo lazy. 😂
Then afternoon treat it is! Thank you my dear Carolyn!
I will muster a lot of willpower and determination to top some apple slices with a piece of jarlsberg, seeing as that is the cheese we have atm. I can’t do apple pie with cheese yet. Baby steps… haha.
You will love it! Actually, we did this funny little test at a party and tried every cheese (cheddar, blue, goat, camembert) with every fruit (apple, peach, pear, cherries). They all worked!
There’s a cheese/fruit world out there to explore! One of my personal favorites is a nice juicy pear with blue cheese and pecans.
I could see how pear would work with pecans and blue cheese. Fruit-cheese world get ready. Here I come!
And, she’s off!
Looks delicious 😋 All my favorites in a cake 🤓👍🏼
Thanks! We just adore that combination.
Yes, put a slice of cheddar cheese on that apple pie wedge! Looks fabulous. I wish you had a certain food truck on the road…
Well, that could be fun!
OMG – I really have to get back into the kitchen!
Thanks for the inspiration! Linda 🙂
Now this looks delicious Dorothy and I have heard of cheddar cheese with pie but I love my apple pie with crust or streusel. I am not a big cheese person, unless it’s cream cheese so not sure if I would like this. I would definitely try a small piece if you gave me one though. Lol
And then, Diane, you would humbly ask for seconds…
Yum–this sounds wonderful for Fall! 🙂
Thank you! We love this one!
Thank you for sharing these great-looking recipes with the world. I am definitely making not only the bread but the dried apple slices; it’s like I was meant to find you and this gem of a blog because I have been going through bags of store-bought apple chips at the rate of one a day. 🫣
Oh, and I’ll also be making applesauce (again, using your recipe) for the first time. I’ll let you know how it all goes!
Samantha
Alabama, USA
Thank you Samantha! I hope you enjoy them all. The apple slices this time of year are always on my counter, and they have a way of disappearing!
Where in Alabama are you? I lived there for a year when my husband was in the military.