Cake for Cory Booker

'I'm not going to allow my inability to do everything undermine my ability to do something.'

This week, I’m fangirling over my filibustering giant of mind and heart, Sen. Cory Booker. Instead of tattooing his name on my forehead or something drastic, I instead created a cake in his honor. I figured the guy must be hungry.

I created a cake true to his Jersey roots: A vegan apple crumb cake. Why?

Crumb cake: We Jerseyans are rightly proud of our crumb cake, which, dense with streusel topping, is the best in the world. This is not up for argument and, I’m sure, even the diplomatic senator would agree.

Vegan: Booker has kept a vegan diet since 2014. Vegan baked goods are better thanks to new products, including my favorite vegan butter, Miyoko’s. This cake also calls for non-dairy milk. I used oat. Soy and almond would also work well. (And if you don’t want to go vegan, replace the vegan milk and butter with cow versions. We are nothing if not flexible here in Jerz. As long as you don’t claim your crumb cake or pizza is better than anything in New Jersey. Because it’s not.)

Nutmeg: The cake is flavored with nutmeg to honor Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who stood by the New Jersey senator’s side during his filibuster, feeding him questions.

Apples: Most people think of Newark as an urban center, but from colonial times until the mid-to late-19^th century, Newark was world-famous for its apple cider. The unique apple varieties that once grew in the area, among them the Harrison, Campfield and Graniwinkle, are the reason the King of England in 1684 wrote exuberantly of the quality of Newark cider. George Washington preferred it to cider from his home state of Virginia. And, about 15 years ago, Ironbound Brewing Company in Asbury, N.J., set out to re-create the bubbly elixir of Newark and planted orchards of Newark’s most famous heritage apples, not just in the name of creating complex, rich cider but also to create a model of regenerative farming that supports the health of the land and the welfare of local farmers. (As it happens, Booker gave a bottle of Ironbound’s Cider Royal, a blend of cider and Laird’s apple jack, as a birthday gift to Vice President Kamala Harris when she was in office.)

FYI: Cider Royal is thought to be the first cocktail born on these shores. Laird’s, the oldest distiller in the country, and a proud child of New Jersey, bottled apple jack brandy. Robert Laird dreamed up the combination of Newark cider and Laird’s own apple jack, and the Cider Royal was born. George Washington was such a fan of it, he “encouraged” the electorate of the House of Burgesses to vote for him with plenty of Laird’s Cider Royal. Ironbound’s Cider Royal is as original as it gets: It’s a blend of Ironbound cider and Laird’s apple jack brandy.

And now: Cake!

Apple Crumb Cake for Sen. Cory Booker

Yield: 1 9” cake, serves 8 to 10.

What You’ll Need:

For the cake:

2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour

1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ cup (120 ml) vegetable oil

¾ cup (175 ml) oat milk

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the crumble:

9 tablespoons (130 grams) vegan butter (I use Miyoko’s cultured vegan butter; do not use a vegan spread)

1 ½ cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons (80 grams) granulated sugar

6 tablespoons (70 grams) brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the apple filling:

2 small to medium apples, peeled and chopped into 1” pieces

2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

What You’ll Do:

1. Heat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease a 9” springform pan.

2. Make the crumble: In a heat-proof bowl, melt the vegan butter. With a fork, stir in the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon until the mixture begins to clump together. You want a variety of shapes and sizes for the crumble topping. Refrigerate while you prepare the rest of the cake.

3. Make the apple filling: In a small bowl, toss together the chopped apples, sugar, flour and cinnamon. Set aside.

4. Make the cake: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, oat (or other) milk, lemon juice and vanilla. Pour the liquid mixture over the dry and whisk together until just blended. Do not overmix or the cake will be rubbery.

5. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared baking pan. Layer the chopped apples on top of the batter. Don’t submerge them. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the apples.

6. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick stuck in the center of the cake comes out with just a few dry crumbs. Let cool for 30 minutes, then release the cake from the springform pan to cool further. Dust the top with confectioner’s sugar, if desired.

7.

Marissa Rothkopf Bates writes about food for the New York Times, Newsweek (RIP) and Publishers’ Weekly among others. Her newest book, “The Secret Life of Chocolate Chip Cookies,” is available for pre-sale wherever fine books are sold. Find her on Substack here.

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