Apple Cake (w/ skin)

Today I bring you another cake, not a fancy, layered cake, but a humble yet delicious apple cake. Perfect for  a chilly afternoon snack along with a cup of tea. =)

What I like the most about this cake is that there's no waste since you use the whole apple - well, except for the seeds, but you can keep them and plant an apple tree. Who knows, maybe oneday you'll be making this apple cake with your own apples. ;) Haha.

Bake on, people!

-Ana

Apple Cake (with skin)

I took this recipe from a brazilian website but I can't find it anymore. =s

1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
3 apples - I used Fuji apples
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
Ground cinnamon, to taste - I used 1 teaspoon
1/2 cup raisins - optional
You can also add nuts, like hazelnuts or cashew nuts

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Grease and flour a cake pan.
1. Peel the apples and save the skins. Chop the apples into cubes.
2. In a blender, add the oil, eggs, sugar and apple skins and blend until smooth.
3. In a medium/large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Add the wet ingredients and mix well. Add the chopped apples, raisins, and nuts and mix.
4. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Let it cool for 15-20 minutes in the pan.

Apple

Hey Ya'll. First I want to start off by saying it's officially spring, yaaaaaaaay!!!!! The sun is setting later, plants are sprouting from the earth, and the best part is that the weather is getting warmer...until this Wednesday, when the temp is suppose to dip down and start snowing again-but the point is that technically, spring has arrived!

Below is an Apple Blueberry Crumble recipe that I got from Donna Hay's Modern Classics book 2. Now I have to admit that I am not a fan of baked apple recipes, people who know me, know that I find 'em slimy, so when I made this crumble, I happily shared this with the rest of my family. All I can say is that if you like apple pie, and strudels, you will love this crumble recipe.

-Ann

Apple and Blueberry Crumble

7 green apples (1.2 kg/2 lb 7 oz), cored and chopped (I used macintosh apples cause grannies are way too sour in my opinion.)

1 cup fresh blueberries

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Topping

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup plain (all-purpose) flour

75g (2 1/2 oz) butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Place the apples, blueberries, sugar, lemon rind, and lemon juice in a bowl and stir to combine. Transfer to a large ovenproof dish. To make the topping, place the rolled oats, sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon in a bowl and mix to combine. Spoon the oat mixture over the fruit and bake for 55 minutes or until the topping is dark golden and crisp and the apple is soft. Serve warm with thick (double) cream or ice cream if desired.

~Serves 4

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I LOVE fritters. That's why I don't make them so often - otherwise I would be 200 pounds by now. They are on my comfort food list. And perfect for a rainy day with a cup of tea. Or for any day, really. =)

This fritters are so light and fluffy that if I haven't practiced my self-restraint I'd have eaten them all by myself. Luckily I had some helpers/tasters this time. And they all gave thumbs up. =)

-Ana

Apple Fritters

From this amazing website - with step-by-step pics!

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons sugar

2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 large eggs

3/4 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 apples, peeled and diced - Ree sugests Granny Smith but I used Gala apples; you can use Fuji apples, as well.

1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with a fork, then add milk, melted butter, and vanilla.

3. Gently fold dry and wet ingredients together until just combined (do not overmix.) Fold in apples. Add enough apples to make a very chunky batter.

4. Heat a couple of inches of canola oil over medium to medium-low heat. When it gets hot, drop a little drop of batter into the oil. If it sizzles immediately and rises to the top, the oil is ready; if it burns quickly, turn down the heat.

5. Drop teaspoons of batter into the hot oil, six or eight at a time. Sometimes they’ll flip over by themselves; sometimes you have to flip them. Just watch them and make sure they don’t get too brown, but cook them long enough to make sure the batter’s cooked through, about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes total.

6. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Dust very generously with powdered sugar or roll them into a sugar and cinnamon mixture.

Serve warm!

**May be heated up the next day in a 350 degree oven for 8 minutes.

For the past few weeks in Toronto, the signs for autumn are ever more present as days get shorter, the air becomes cooler, and leafs turn into a kaleidoscope of colours, we were feeling for baking something that represented the tastes, smells, and sights of fall, and what better recipe than one that has apples. So this week we decided to make Apple Crumb Squares, which can be found on delish.com. Once again any changes that we have made to the recipe are written in italics.

Apple Crumb Squares

Crumb Topping
1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped (we omitted)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, slightly softened (If you want crumbs like ours, use cold butter)
1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Crust
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold butter or margarine


Apple Filling
4 pounds green cooking apples such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and cut into 1⁄2-inch chunks
4 tablespoon butter or margarine
3/4 cup raisins or dried currants
1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar, packed
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Prepare Crumb Topping: In medium bowl, with fingertips, mix all topping ingredients until mixture comes together. Shape into a ball; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate to use later. Our topping was very dry so we couldn't shape into a ball; but it didn't make much difference in the end result.)
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease sides of 15 1/2" by 10 1/2" jelly-roll pan.
3. Prepare Crust: In large bowl, with fork, mix flour, granulated sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. With pastry blender or 2 knives used scissors-fashion (we used our fingertips), blend butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles fine crumbs. With hand, press crumb mixture evenly into bottom of prepared pan.
4. Bake crust 20 to 24 minutes or until golden brown (crust may crack slightly).
5. Meanwhile, prepare Apple Filling: In nonstick 12-inch skillet, cook apples, butter, raisins, brown sugar, and cinnamon over medium heat 25 to 30 minutes or until apples are very tender and most liquid from apples evaporates, stirring occasionally. In cup, mix cornstarch and lemon juice. Stir lemon-juice mixture into apple mixture and cook, stirring, until mixture thickens. Remove skillet from heat.
6. Spread apple mixture over hot crust. Break Crumb Topping into chunks and scatter over apple mixture. Bake 40 minutes or until topping browns. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. (We baked for only 20 min. because we thought our crust would've  burnt if we'd left longer.)
7. To serve, cut lengthwise into 4 strips, then cut each strip crosswise into 6 squares.

Ann's Thoughts

I have to admit that apple baked goods are not my favourite. I absolutely love apples, but I find desserts such as apple pie, apple turn over, apple strudel and the like to be rather slimey in texture, which I don't like. Plus, apples are already sweet so adding more sugar makes them too sweet for me. Even though I have reservations about apple based pastries, I was quite insistant on making something with apples this week, afterall we are approaching fall, it just seemed right. I came upon Apple Crumb Squares on Delish, and Ana, who is pretty much cool with doing any recipe, was cool doing this one.

So how did I find it? They weren't bad at all. The squares weren't too slimey, and because we used Granny Smith apples, the squares turned out to be more sour than sweet. When my mother tried a piece, she enjoyed the sour taste, but Ana did not prefer the sourness, and so the only thing that I can advise is for those of you who want sweeter apple squares use Macintosh or Fuji apples, but I wouldn't use Red Delicious apples-they are not as sweet as the previous two.

This recipe is somewhat time-consuming, so plan about two hours in order to make these squares, however just because it takes a long time, does not mean it's hard to make, because it's not....seriously! So if you have a free evening, take the time to make these bars, and fill your home with the natural fragrance of apple and cinnamon- perfect for this season.

Ana's Thoughts

For Ann's happiness, this week's treat we made apples. =) Nothing more appropriate, since Fall is already on its way. Or is it already here? Can't really tell, but for me the last couple of days seems more like winter o.O I mean, Brazilian winter. Can't wait for Canadian winter. Hurray! Not. haha

Now back to the squares. Although we overbaked the crust (Oops, my bad...), and the crumbs weren't exactly what the recipe said it was supposed to look like, ours turned out pretty tasty. The crust was buttery (in a good way) and crunchy and the crumbs were crispy. Nom nom nom. The filling was a bit sour so perhaps next time we should use Fuji apples or one similar to that.

We got 20 medium-size squares so make sure to invite friends over when you make this. ;)

'Til next week!

Receita em Português
Farofa doce
1 xíc. de farinha de trigo
1 xíc. de pecans ou nozes, picadas (nós não usamos)
1/2 xíc. (115g) de manteiga ou margarina, em temperatura ambiente
1/2 xíc de açúcar mascavo (aperte-o na xícara na hora de medir)
1 colher (sopa) de baunilha
1 colher (chá) de canela em pó


Em uma tigela, com a ponta dos dedos, misture todos os ingredientes até formar uma massa. Faça uma bola, enrole em um plástico e leve para gelar. Reserve. (A nossa massa ficou parecida com uma farofa mesmo, então não conseguimos formar uma bola. Mas não fez diferença nenhuma no produto final.)


Base
3 xícs. de farinha
1/3 xíc. de açúcar
Sal
3/4 xíc. (170g) de manteiga ou margarina, gelada


Pré-aqueça o forno a 190ºC. Use uma forma retangular com beiradas rasas.
Junte todos os ingredientes em uma tigela e misture com a ponta dos dedos até formar uma farofa úmida. Aperte na forma e leve para assar por 20-24 minutos ou até dourar. (Ela vai rachar um pouco.)


Recheio de maçã
1,8 kg de maçã Granny Smith, sem casca, sem sementes e cortadas em cubos de 1cm  (Substitua por Fuji se preferir um recheio mais doce.)
4 col. (sopa) de manteiga ou margarina
3/4 xíc. de uvas passas
1/2 xíc. de açúcar mascavo (Aperte-o na xícara na hora de medir)
3/4 col. (chá) de canela em pó
1 col. (sopa) + 2 col.(chá) de amido de milho
3 col. (sopa) de suco de limão


Enquanto a base estiver assando, faça o recheio. Coloque todos os ingredientes, menos o amido e o suco de limão, numa panela e cozinhe, mexendo de vez em quando, por 20-30 minutos ou até que as maçãs estejam macias e quase toda a água das maçãs tenha evaporado.
Em um copo, misture o amido de milho e o suco de limão e junte às maçãs. Misture até engrossar. Retire do fogo.
Despeje as maçãs sobre a base ainda quente. Espalhe a farofa por cima e leve ao forno por 40 minutos ou até dourar. (Nós deixamos somente por 20 min.)