Quarantine Cooking: Molten Apple Noodle Cakes from Taste the Islands

For our “Quarantine Cooking” series, UPF exhibits and promotions coordinator Jenna Kolesari made Molten Apple Noodle Cakes from Taste the Islands: Culinary Adventures in a Caribbean Kitchen.

Jenna’s comments:

I wanted to try something different, and I’ve never had fried noodles in a dessert before. It was definitely a new experience, and a very tasty one. The noodles are a nice crisp contrast to the compote, and I really enjoyed this new dessert. I had a lot of apple compote left over, and also used some over waffles, which was also great. I would definitely make this again!

From “Chef Irie” (Hugh Sinclair):

I call this dessert “apple pie meets funnel cake.” This dish combines noodle cakes—my take on funnel cakes found at county fairs—with a deconstructed apple pie that is flavored with Caribbean rum and dessert spices.

You can use spaghetti noodles or ramen noodles, but you don’t want to use noodles like angel hair, which are too thin.

Molten Apple Noodle Cakes

Serves 4

For the Apple Compote:

• 3 cups sliced granny smith apples
• ⅓ cup orange juice
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons dark Caribbean rum
• ¼ cup peanut butter
• ½ teaspoon salt

For the Noodle Cakes

• 2 cups lo mein noodles or cooked spaghetti
• Canola oil for frying
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

 

1. Make the apple compote: Put the apple slices in a medium bowl and pour the orange juice over them. Toss the apples and set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, sugar, vanilla, and rum, and stir well. Reserving the orange juice, add the apple slices to the pan and stir to coat them evenly.
3. Add the peanut butter to the orange juice and stir to break up any large clumps (it will be a little lumpy). Pour the mixture over the apples, stir, and sprinkle with the salt. Simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Make the noodle cakes: If using lo mein noodles, cook them in boiling water for about 5 minutes, drain, and set aside. If using spaghetti, cook in boiling water until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes, drain, and set aside.
5. Heat oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat to a temperature of 350°F.
6. When the oil is hot, add a nest of noodles (using ¼ of the noodles) to the pan and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden brown on one side. Flip the noodles and continue to fry for an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the noodle cake from the oil and place on paper towels to drain. Immediately sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Repeat with the remaining noodles, for a total of four noodle cakes.
7. To serve, place noodle cakes on individual serving plates and smother with the warm apple compote.