With the still-warm fall temperatures and a prodigious crop of apples, this year has been an especially wonderful time to visit a local orchard for a day of picking your own. The season promises to be longer than usual too, so there’s still time to enjoy it.

Apple picking in the Berkshires is a time-honored tradition and especially cherished this year, as we all yearn for ways to connect with others and to support our local farming community. All the orchards we visited (and revisited) were rigorously heeding social distancing protocol, providing a safe and enjoyable way to be outdoors with family and friends (and in some cases pets!). You’ll also get enough apples to snack or cook with for weeks to come! Leave your own bags at home and be sure to wear a mask.

You’ll find plenty of sweet and savory ways to use them in The Berkshires Farm Table Cookbook, including two delicious salads—Frisée, Arugula. and Tart Apple Salad (page 37) and Watercress, Apple, and Cucumber Salad (page 40)—plus Celery Root Soup with Apples (page 62). Sweets include an all-American double-crust Apple Pie (page 208) and one of our all-time favorites, Apple Bread (page 230). There’s also a recipe for Chunky Homemade Applesauce (page 100), which is a great way to use up excess (past-their-prime) apples, since it freezes beautifully in an airtight container for months and thaws in about an hour on the counter, quicker if you freeze smaller (half-cup) portions in containers and then submerge them in a bowl of hot tap water whenever you need a batch for baking—including in the recipe below. (Applesauce can replace oil and/or sugar in recipes for a healthier result; it imparts much moistness too.)

Because we’re especially fond of two other offerings at apple orchards—fresh-pressed cider and just-made cider doughnuts—we decided to feature an “apple cider doughnut CAKE” that was prepared and shared by Evelyn Battaglia, who is helping us with this website and our social media for the cookbook.

It’s her take on a recipe from A New Way to Bake, by Martha Stewart. Evelyn happens to be a long-time former editor of cookbooks for Martha Stewart Living and has made this cake many times, without fail. “It’s among the easiest of batters to prepare,” she says. “Just whisk the dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls, then whisk them to combine. No mixer required!” She, like us, enjoyed eating it for dessert with a scoop of ice cream or a generous dollop of whipped cream. But like its inspiration, the cake makes a delightful breakfast or snack too (the next day). Keep it on the counter and slice a piece off whenever the mood strikes.

Local orchards in the Berkshires

Here are four great family-owned and -operated farms for apple picking, with locations ranging from Sandisfield in the southern corner to Richmond farther north.

Riiska Brook Orchard

We profiled Riiska Brook Orchard in The Berkshires Farm Table Cookbook (page 209) and love revisiting it each year at this time. (All the sweet apple recipes mentioned above were inspired by this orchard.) Owner and third-generation founder Bill Riiska runs the family-and pet-friendly orchard with their daughters Suzanne Riiska Avery and Bethany Riiska Perry and their extended families. It’s a bit off the beaten path, so crowds are usually minimal and there’s less competition for choice apples.

We stocked up on Cortland (for cooking) and Gala (for snacking). They provide little wagons for carting little ones and your haul. Such a sweet touch! The views are pretty stunning right now too. Be sure to go all the way to the back rows of trees to take in endless views of the rolling hills and fall foliage.

Riiska Brook Orchard
101 New Hartford Road
Sandisfield MA  01255
413-258-4761

Depending on the season, you can find these types of apples:

• McIntosh
• Honeycrisp
• Cortland
• Gala
• Empire
• Macoun
• Spencer
• Ida Red
• Fuji
• Braeburn

Fresh-pressed, unpasteurized apple cider is also available. Cider doughnuts are made every hour too!

 * Cash Only *

HOURS:  Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays from 9 am to 5 pm

They will also be Open Friday thru Monday of Columbus Day Weekend!

Windy Hill Farm

Judy Mareb, who with husband Dennis founded Windy Hill Farm, said 2020 has been a great year for apples because there wasn’t any frost when the trees were blooming, and despite the lack of rainfall.

“We’ve changed the usual picking protocol because of COVID,” she says. Now you pay before you walk up the road (following the signs) to the top of the orchard. The limit has been cut back by about 20 percent but that’s still over 100 per acre, and they’ve never had that many people (as in 800!) at one time.

Windy Hill Farm
686 Stockbridge Rd
Great Barrington, MA 01230
(413) 298-3217

Here’s what they are picking this week:

• Empire
• Gala
• Honeycrisp
• Idared
• Jonagold
• Macoun

The farm offers bags of fresh-picked apples if you don’t have time or the inclination to do it  yourself. Cider doughnuts and pies from The Sweetish Baker are sold on weekends; the farm’s own fresh-pressed, unpasteurized cider blend is available every day. You can even buy a copy of The Berkshires Farm Table Cookbook here!

Be sure to check their website or call the store at (413) 298-3217 for the most up-to-date picking information.

HOURS: Daily from 9 am to 4 pm

* Debit/Credit Cards Preferred *

Hilltop Orchards

Hilltop Orchards, which sits on property that has been an apple orchard for more than 100 years, grows over 26 varieties of apples, including heirlooms that date back to the start. Not all are available at one time, so you can call ahead to see what kinds are ripe for picking—or haven’t been depleted yet. Or you can wait until you arrive and then check the chart when you pay; be sure to take a photo so you know what color ribbons to look for.

Besides apple picking, Hilltop has marked hiking trails offering panoramic views. Just past the orchard, at the top of the hill, is an open expanse that’s extremely popular for snapping selfies and group photos.

In light of COVID, advance reservations (at a cost of $3) are now required for apple picking. Click here for the link.

Hilltop Orchards
508 Canaan Road / Route 295
Richmond, MA 01254
413-344-6817

HOURS: Daily 9 am to 5 pm

* Accepts all types of payments *

Bartlett’s Apple Orchard

According to its website, Bartlett’s Apple Orchard has been in the same family for 71 years and is now a fourth-generation operation.  

Bartlett’s Apple Orchard
575 Swamp Road
Richmond, MA 01254
413-698-2559

They offer 13 varieties of apples to pick, including:

• Paula Red
• Jona-Mac
• McIntosh
• Cortland
• Gala
• Macoun
• Empire
• Mutsu
• Liberty
• Ida Red
• Jona-Gold
• Red Delicious
• Golden Delicious

Plus you can buy cider doughnuts, baked goods, and their own fresh-pressed cider made from a blend of sweet and tart apples in the farm store.

HOURS: Daily 10 am to 5 pm

* Accepts all types of payments *

The Recipe

Applesauce and apple cider lend seasonal flavors to this cake, which is baked in a Bundt pan to resemble a generous-sized doughnut. Extra-virgin olive oil may not be a common ingredient in baking sweets, but it lends a subtle fruity note and provides a tender crumb, similar to other types of cooking oils.

Apple-Cider Doughnut Cake 

Adapted from A New Way to Bake, by Martha Stewart (Clarkson Potter)

Evelyn made a few changes to the original recipe: For a vegan version, she swapped out the butter used to brush the pan with nonstick cooking spray, preferably the kind with flour. “This is one instance where you really don’t want to take a chance of the cake being stubborn when unmolding it.” And she reduced one cup of cider down to a syrupy glaze for brushing over the still-warm cake in lieu of the butter. “I’ve also become fond of subbing refined white sugar with unrefined organic coconut sugar, which can be used as a 1:1 replacement in baking.” (She particularly likes the Madhava brand for being mindfully sourced from hundreds of small family farms in Indonesia.) Finally, she upped the amount of whole-wheat flour, reducing the all-purpose accordingly.

Nonstick cooking spray, for the pan

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups natural cane sugar or organic coconut sugar

1 cup unsweetened apple cider, preferably fresh pressed

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs, room temperature

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, or 2 tablespoons reduced apple cider