Apple Pie Cake

I love apple season.  I know, I love a lot of seasons...we are big fruit eaters in our house, and are very lucky to be living in a fruit producing region of Canada that allows us plenty of selection of amazing fruit (and vegetables too!).  There's something about apple season though, the smell of apples baking...just so good!

I love apple pie, but I am not a big pie maker.  When I stumbled across Martha Stewart's recipe for Apple Pie Cake, I decided that I needed to give it a try.  Here is the recipe:

2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided, plus extra for sprinkling
1 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
8-10 apples (the more tart the better)
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon.  Using your pastry blender, cut in the butter.  You'll know you are done cutting in the butter when the mixture looks like small peas.  Measure out 2/3 of the mixture and press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.  I used my hand to press into the pan.

Peel apples, cut into even, thin slices.and place into a second large bowl. Add the second teaspoon of cinnamon and the lemon juice.  Toss well.  Place the
apples on the base, pressing slightly into the base.

Top with the remaining floir mixture and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Place the pan on a foil-lined baking sheet (the apple juice may leak through), and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Remove from oven, allow to cool in the pan so that the cake can set.  Before releasing the springform pan, run a knife along the edge to release the cake from the pan.

VERDICT:
We served tha cake slightly warm, and it was so good.  A nice variation for us.  And pretty easy to make - not a lot of ingredients, and all common pantry ingredients.  Will be trying my next piece with a little scoop of vanilla ice cream or some whipped cream. 

German Apple Cake

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms!  I know, Mother's Day was yesterday, but I'm choosing to celebrate all week long!  Yes, I'm a little cheeky sometimes :-)  In honour of Mother's Day, I asked the two wonderful Mom's that I am so lucky to have in my life to share with me their favourite recipe.  Today I am sharing my Mom's recipe for German Apple Cake, and on Thursday when you come back you will see my Mother-in-Law's recipe for Hint of Thai Sirloin with Mango Pepper Salad. 

Here is my Mom's recipe: 

German Apple Cake (source: my Mom’s recipe binder)

Cake

1 ½ cups flour

¾ cup sugar

½ cup butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

¾ cup milk

½ teaspoon vanilla

Topping #1

Apples (about 3-4, peeled and sliced)

Topping #2

1 cup butter

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar (white)

Topping #3

1 ½ tablespoons sugar

1 ½ tablespoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.

Make the cake batter by mixing the butter, eggs, milk and vanilla.  Add in the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, and baking powder), blend, and pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish (I use glass for this cake).

Place the sliced apples (Topping #1) on top of the batter.  Slice more apples if needed to cover the cake. 

In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for Topping #2 (butter, flour and sugar) and spread on top of the apples.  This topping will be very crumbly. 

In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for Topping # 3 (sugar and cinnamon).  Sprinkle on top of the crumbly mixture.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.  Cool before serving, though this cake is delicious when served warm (and with a heavy cream!)

VERDICT:

I grew up with this cake…so I am a little biased – this is like a comfort food for me, I love this cake!  As a teen, I would sneak pieces for breakfast (healthy, I know!).  It is SO not low-cal…but that’s OK, it’s DESSERT!  My oldest son LOVED it and has already asked me to make it again.  My husband, the non-dessert guy, also enjoyed the cake and he was sneaking pieces of it too for the short time it lasted in our house.  Thanks Mom for sharing!