Monday 20 September 2010

Apple cake

In preparation for making the apple butter I went to my bf's parents' house to pick apples from some trees they have growing in their garden. I picked, and picked, and picked, really without paying too much attention to how many apples I picked. I left their house with 2 grocery bags worth of apples. To say the least, I've had my work cut out for me trying to figure out what to do with all the apples.

Last week I made apple sauce, I've used apples in salads and in my cooking, and I am thinking about maybe having a go at making apple chutney. On Saturday, of last week, I made an apple cake. Yum! It wasn't for me though, I made it for the café at church. And as I have previously said here on the blog, baking cakes for the café requires demographics. You have to know who will show up (as in what age-group. Older people= stuff smothered in whipped cream, younger people= modern cakes, such as cheesecakes or things made of chocolate). I thought I'd play it safe this week, since Irene was making a cake made out of meringue and whipped cream (not a pavlova, but a cake called "Verdens beste"- "The world's best"), I decided to make an apple cake. Old, as well as young people love apple cakes, don't they?

I can tell you, they do. But do you know what they love more than apple cake, or "Verdens beste" for that matter? They love apple cake baked by the new volunteers at church. There I was, selling my cake, when the new volunteers showed up, German and Austrian apple cake in hand, and they barely had the chance to put the cake down before people were fighting over the pieces.

Needless to say, I returned home with half the cake... 


Apple cake
Adapted from Allt om mat
Makes about 30 slices

7 dl plain flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp powdered vanilla sugar
2 eggs
4 dl sugar
3 dl milk
4 tbsp (50 g) melted butter
2 tbsp apple butter, optional

1 kg apples, peeled, cored and cut into wedges
2 tbsp cinnamon
0,75 dl sugar

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200° C. Mix flour, baking powder, powdered vanilla sugar, normal sugar in a large bowl. Crack the eggs in a different bowl, whisk in the milk and the melted butter, and the apple butter, if using. Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in a little of the egg mixture. Stir to combine using a wooden spoon. Pour in a little more of the egg mixture and stir again, keep doing this until you have incorporated all the of the egg mixture into the flour,and you are left with a smooth batter. Do not use an electric beater for this.

2. Place the peeled, cored and wedged apples in a large plastic freezer bag. Pour in the sugar and the cinnamon. Close the bag and shake it to ensure each wedge of apple is coated.

3. Line a baking tray (30 x 40 cm) with baking parchment. Spread the batter onto the parchment. Press the apple wedges down into the batter one after another in neat rows until you have covered the entire cake with apples. Discard any left over apples, or eat them with some ice cream or some yoghurt.

4. Place the cake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake-bit of the bake comes out try and free of crumbs.

Serve the cake with ice cream or pour over some vanilla custard.

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