Delicious Fall

Fall and Spring battle each other as my favorite season, but right now Fall is winning. Between the mum and pumpkins, college football, apples, and crisp air, I'm loving life. I'm also loving being home although I am missing the boy.

Mom, Dad, and I spent the past weekend working in the yard (dad jokingly calls me "speedy" when it comes to yard work), hanging out, cooking, and enjoying a meal with some of their sweet friends. This yard is HUGE! We picked up sticks and other trash from the construction crews as well as threw some mulch down. I think I provided some help even though Dad may disagree :) We headed over to one of their friends' houses for dinner one night and had a delicious meal. I found it so delicious that the guy whose house we were at said "I think it's great to see young people eat so much." What can I say, I enjoy good food. We took the recipes with us and I'll have to share after I make some of them. Mom and I made Apple Spice Cake to take to the dinner party and holy yum. I found the recipe in Whole Living (you know the healthy Martha mag) and have been wanting to try it. It screamed "Dad would love this" and knew we had to make it during a beach visit. If you are up for a somewhat intimidating and slightly time consuming recipe yet delicious fall recipe, then give it a shot.

Glazed Apple-Spice Cake

Serves 8

A few things to note before you get started: Dice the apple first and set aside. Don't forget to save the cores and peel. Don't worry about removing the seeds form the core. The batter will appear very thick, but don't worry you're doing it right. Fill the pan about 3/4 of the way as the bread doesn't rise much. We doubled the recipe (recipe below is for one 5x7 loaf) and made one 5x7 loaf, one smaller one and 10 muffins. The bread is the way to go. We tried it with and without the glaze. Use the glaze. The bread is most delicious after the glaze has been applied and allowed to sit for an hour or so. Serve at room temp. The rest of our notes are in the recipe below.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch of ground allspice
6 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
6 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup applesauce
2 apples (We used Gala)
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter (sprayed canola oil) and flour a 5-by-9-inch loaf pan.

(Cut your apples first. See directions below starting with "Peel"))

In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, kosher salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.

Use an electric mixer to beat together butter and light brown sugar until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add molasses; beat until combined. Add eggs, 1 at a time, plus vanilla, and beat until incorporated.

With the mixer on low, add half the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Beat in applesauce; add remaining flour mixture until just incorporated.

Peel and core apples, reserving the peel and the core. Cut apple into 1/4-inch cubes, and fold into the batter. Transfer to pan, and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour, 10 minutes. (We cooked the 5x7 for just under and hour and it was perfect. The smaller loaf cooked for about 40 minutes.)

(Leave in pan and) Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

In a small saucepan, combine granulated sugar, 1/2 cup water, and apple core and skin. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium-high heat until syrupy, about 10 minutes. (Our never got syrupy but it still worked)

Remove cake from pan, and brush glaze over top and sides of cooled cake. (Let stand before tasting)

This is great to bring to friends as a "Happy Fall" treat.

Enjoy!
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