Recipe for

Apple cake variations:

Prepare bundt pan. Pre-heat oven to 325 to 375 F (180 C).

MIX in small bowl:

3 cups flour (white, wholewheat, combination)

1 tsp. baking soda or baking poweder

dash of - to half tsp salt

1 tsp to 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

MIX in large bowl:

3 large eggs or 4 small eggs, beaten already

1.5 to 2 c sugar (again, white, light brown, or dark brown)

1 to 1.5 c oil (sunflower, grapeseed, olive oil)

1 to 2 tsp vanilla extract

2 to 3 Tbsp orange juice

5 apples, peeled and sliced thinly (2 to 3 cups)

MIX small bowl into large bowl.

Fold in remaining optional ingredients

1 c chopped nuts (walnuts, pecan, almond)

1 c flaked coconut

Pour into pan and bake in centre of oven for 1 hour or longer, until long toothpick (or barbeque skewer) comes out clean.

Bon Journal

Windfall apple cakes

My neighbour introduced to me the term "windfall apples." These are apples that have fallen to the ground by themselves, or rather, being blown by the wind.

What do you do with windfall apples? Let the birds eat them? Let them rot and become next year's fertilisers?

No, there's a better way. Use them in making an apple cake.

For about a year now, I have been experimenting with various apple cake recipes from my cookbooks and the Web. Recently I decided to try variations on the same theme of windfall apples.

The recipes almost always include oil (vegetable oil or sunflower oil) rather than butter or margarine. The ratio of sugar to flour is about 1 to 2. For a less sweet cake, use brown sugar instead of white. Some recipes call for a certain number of apples rather than cups of apples. They almost always include a dash or half teaspoon of salt and double the amount of cinnamon.

I like to peel my windfall apples and cut them into very small and thin slices to allow the flavour to penetrate and also to enable a smoothe and even bake. Soaking them in fresh lemon juice prevents the apple slices from turning brown too quickly. Adding chopped-up lemon peel introduces a freshness that otherwise might go unnoticed.

Where does one find apple cake recipes? Just search for "apple cake" on any good search engine. You can add coconut flakes and/or walnut or pecan pieces to make the cake more chewy. You can also vary the kinds of apples, both windfall and the hand-picked variety. I don't know whether different kinds of apples make a difference in taste. Psychologically they do --- for variety is the spice of life!

6 November 2003 Thursday

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