Gidget Roots - Journey Through Family Recipes - Episode 22: Apple Cream Cake

MINI SERIES: Twelve Recipes of Christmas - Recipe #6: Apple Cream Cake

This one is for Krissy.... 

ORIGINAL RECIPE

APPLE CREAM CAKE

Ingredients: 

1 Box yellow cake mix

3 cups apples, peeled and diced 1/4" thick

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Procedure [Directions]:

Prepare the cake batter according to package directions. Pour into a greased 9" x 13" baking pan. Combine the apples, walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon. Spoon this mixture over the cake batter. Pour the cream over the top. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 60 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream is desired. 

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I was really intrigued by this recipe as I don't think in all my years of cooking with family, watching Food Network and recipe reading I have ever come across a dish quite like this that called for pouring cream over an unbaked batter. Outside of it being slightly prep heavy with having to peel and dice up the apples (super sticky!) the recipe seemed pretty simple and straight forward and the best part - all the measurements were provided! I wasn't going to have to guess how many walnuts, how much sugar - the most complex part of the ingredients was having to remember that "whipping cream" is NOT whipped cream (as in Cool Whip) but the liquid whipping cream you buy near the milk and heavy cream. Simple!

I used Granny Smith apples for this when I made it because I had several that I needed to use up before they went bad. Mind you I'm sure you can use any sort of apple variety but I also have seen and heard that the tart tang Granny Smith's provide make them a great apple to use in a sweet dish to offset the sweetness. I began the arduous task of peeling the apples cutting out the seeds and removing the stem, to do my best to "dice" into "1/4 " " pieces. (If you don't know I am not the best at gauging size so I either use my Pampered Chef cutting board that has the increments or just ask my draftsman husband if they look right). 

While I was making this dish my husband sat at the table keeping a watchful eye on my movements "quality checking" my progress and keeping me company. We talked about our day, different things with Christmas approaching, goals, etc. Once the apples were finally done, I added the cinnamon..

 

 walnuts...

 

and sugar...

 

 to the apples and mixed together until all the apples seemed to have played in and received their fair share of holiday sand coating. 

Next step was to prepare the box cake mix according to the directions on the box. I used Betty Crocker brand Yellow Cake mix (but you can use whatever brand you prefer or is available), which called for 3 eggs, a cup of water and 1/2 cup of vegetable oil. 

 

 

 

 

I used my electric beaters to mix the batter thoroughly. 

 I then measured out my cup of whipping cream. 

I poured the cake mix batter into a greased 9" x 13" baking pan. Next, the recipe said to "Spoon" the apple mixture over the cake batter. I found this step rather difficult because you can't exactly "spread" the apple mixture over once you've plopped the little tarts into the batter. They don't exactly "sink" but they sort of stand their ground, like a sweet stand of defiance in a quicksand situation. 

Naturally with my OCD, I had to be rather careful with this task to ensure as even a distribution as possible. And due to the detailed job at hand, invoked the keen eye of my husband for his eagle eye approval for even coverage. Mind you at this point my husband had been sitting by pleasantly engaged in easy conversation, but I am sure he wasn't fully prepared at what happened next. Once the apple layer had been applied it was time for the final touch, pouring the whipping cream over the top. 

 

At this juncture I glanced at my husband who now had a look of absolute horror and disgust on his face. A look that screamed "why the hell would you ruin a seemingly perfectly beautiful concoction by pouring whatever the heck that was on it!?" 

 

Well, now dear reader, you know why this recipe intrigued me so! I laughed with mischievous delight and simply said, "I don't know, that's what it says!" In the oven it went for "60 - 70 minutes" - I think I started checking it at 50 because a full hour to an hour and 10 minutes seemed a long time for baking a cake. It really did end up needed the full 60 -70 minutes for the toothpick to come out clean. 

The apartment smelled like the holidays and the cake came out golden and beautiful. I was a little worried as the sides seemed to have pulled away from the pan some, but when it was finally time for the taste test - we were beyond satisfied with the result. The cake was moist, tart, sweet, perfectly delicious and is now one of my favorite deserts. I will definitely be making this dish several times in the future for different events and holidays. (I wonder if this will cupcake!?)

If you have been following any of my posts you will notice that this "format" is a little different than usual. (Typically I share my adventure with the recipe at the end, as with most food bloggers do).  My cousin Krissy had shared a meme on social media expressing frustration at "those blogs" where you have to read a long story before getting to the actual recipe - therefore, this time I decided to adjust the format just for her. Let's see if she reads this whole thing now that it isn't before the recipe - so Krissy, this one's for you 💗😜

NEXT EPISODE - MINI SERIES CONT.: Twelve Recipes of Christmas #7 Herbed Pot Roast

Gidget Roots - Episode 21: Grandma Laverne's Goulash

 MINI SERIES: Twelve Recipes of Christmas - Recipe 5: Grandma Laverne's Goulash

 If you can recall back to my Instagram and Facebook message posting about this family recipe, you will know it is one of my husband’s childhood favorites. His birthday is in December so for a special treat I decided to make him his mom’s goulash for dinner. You also may recall that this was also a recipe that took a lot of trial and error.  Once I had figured out the specific combination to make it “just like mom’s” you bet your butt I wrote all the details down on a recipe card for safe keeping. We used to make this a lot more frequently but after working on not eating as much pasta (I know so sad!), I was glad to have a recipe that had the precise measurements to making this perfect, just as he (and I) had grown to remember.  My husband and I have been together for 10 years, married for almost 4 – I don’t recall the specific time frame I decided to try and make this for him, but because he love his mom’s goulash so much, I wanted to be sure to learn the recipe from his mom so I could also make it for him. It was sort of a Goldilock-esque adventure with lots of “this batch was too tomato-ey” or “this batch didn’t have enough cheese” to find the “just right” combination of sauce, meat, pasta, cheese ratio to make this dish perfect.

To start off let’s discuss pasta. Did you know that different size pasta means the flavor is different somehow? You can fight me on this point if you would like, however I will hopefully prove it to you if you ever trial and error this dish with different pasta sizes. Shells. Pasta shells are what is used for this recipe. Specifically, medium shells. The little ones are too little and don’t get enough hamburger nuggets of yumminess because they are too small, whereas the large shells (not even the large ones for stuffed shells) are too big; so the Medium Shells are the best size for not only hiding away little surprise meat nuggets but also to get a perfect saucy coverage for the perfect bite.

First, in a large pot you want to start your water and bring to a boil. THIS RECIPE DOES NOT SALT THE WATER! (My Italian influences may consider this blasphemous but trust me, it isn’t the right recipe if the water is salted). 

 

While that is going, in a large skillet (one with high sides is the best) you want to brown your ground beef. Leave the ground beef in large to medium chunks (we aren't making tacos here, people). You can season with salt and pepper to taste, but mildly so, as I don’t believe the recipe originally calls for any seasoning at this point. 

Once the ground beef is cooked through, you will add two 10 ¾ oz cans of Campbell's condensed tomato soup to the ground beef and stir together until well mixed. DO NOT ADD WATER. Use only the contents of the canned soup. Let that sit and bubble for a few minutes.  

 

 

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook 8-10 minutes or until al dente, or according to package directions. You do NOT want to overcook the pasta otherwise the dish will become GoulMUSH. 

While the pasta is cooking, you will need to add the cheese to the sauce. Unwrap 5 slices of Velveeta (HAS TO BE VELVEETA – Kraft will NOT work for it to be this recipe) and lay them over the sauce in a single layer. 

 

As they begin to melt, carefully stir together to fully melt and incorporate into the cheese. 

 

Now here is the funny part. I am guessing the following occurred because we scaled back the dish when we made it for ourselves (there are already usually leftovers for the two of us when we make this scale of the recipe – my husband’s mom usually made it for 4-8 people at family dinners) but this is just a weird “science”, if you will, to making this “just right”.  First time I made this on my own, as I mentioned earlier, there wasn’t enough cheese. So, the next time I made the goulash, I added an extra slice of cheese, but then it was “too cheesy” and although still “good” wasn’t mom’s goulash – and by golly I was going to make it “just right” for the love of my life. So, the next time (and every time since) I’ve added ½ - ¾ of a slice of cheese. Yes. You read that correctly.  Once the initial 5 cheese slices have melted and been mixed into the meat sauce, I add 1 more whole slice, then add ½ a Velveeta slice, let it disappear into the volcano lava sauce of molting goodness, then taste it. If it isn’t quite right, I add ½ of the remaining ½ of cheese or sometimes the rest of the slice. (The below photo is of me holding onto the other 1/2 to show that I DID NOT ADD IT - shortly after this photo was taken the extra 1/2 slice met its savory demise by my mouth - yes cheese was harmed in the making of this recipe but I savored every bit, none went to waste nor sacrificed in vain).

As I write this out, I am thinking that perhaps there is a slight variation in the tomato-ey-ness of the soups that could throw the dish off balance to require such an expert fromager decision?  Once the last of the cheese has been melted and mixed together, the sauce should have a sort of orange tinge to it and your pasta should be done. 

 Drain the pasta thoroughly shaking any excess water (you don’t want to water down your sauce) but do not rinse the pasta. At this point I like to put the pasta back into the large pot (now empty) it had been cooked in and pour the meat sauce mixture into the larger pot, covering the pasta. This vessel makes it easier to stir and mix together. Gently fold the pasta and sauce together trying not to mash the pasta while stirring together (no you see why a vital step is not overcooking the shells!)?

Finally, it is done and ready to be served.

You can serve with some sprinkled Parmesan or as is, depending on taste, and we almost always have some sort of garlic bread or roll to sop up all that delicious sauce. 

 

This recipe holds a special place in my heart, no matter how unconventional of a traditional goulash it may be, as its story is a part of my husband and I’s relationship and story together. I found out a few years after figuring out how to make it that in all actuality it isn’t his mom’s goulash recipe either, but rather his paternal grandma Laverne’s recipe that my husband’s mom learned to make for my father-in-law because it was one of his favorites, too. So here I am, the next generation of wife who is simply trying to make something memorable for her husband from his childhood. And that is one of the many reasons why I love food and am especially enjoying cooking through family history. 

NEXT EPISODE - MINI SERIES CONT.: Twelve Recipes of Christmas #6 - Apple Cream Cake

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 SCRAPPY GIDGET'S VERSION OF GRANDMA LAVERNE'S GOULASH

with inspiration and guidance from my beautiful mother-in-law

Ingredients:

1 lb 96% ground beef        8 oz - Medium Pasta Shells 

6-1/2 - 7 slices of Velveeta Cheese Slices

2 - 10 3/4 oz cans of Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup

Water for boiling

(optional side of garlic bread)

Directions:

1) Brown the meat, leaving in medium to large chunks 

2) Boil UNSALTED water for pasta, cook to al dente

3) In the pan with browned meat, add 2 cans of condensed tomato soup, Mix together and bring to simmer.

4) Once meat mixture is bubbling, add 5 slices of Velveeta Cheese slices in a single layer and let melt, mixing together, as needed, until well incorporated

5) Once cheese has melted, add remaining 2 slices to pan in single layer and let melt. 

6) Combine with drained pasta, serve immediately. 

Top with grated Parmesan cheese if desired. Serves 4-6 

Gidget Roots - Journey Through Family Recipes - Episode 20: Rich Brownies

  MINI SERIES: Twelve Recipes of Christmas - Recipe 4: RICH BROWNIES

 Rich brownies – how delightful they sound! One of the many struggles throughout our culinary journey through the cuisines of my ancestors has been the measurements and inconsistencies. This recipe brought a new founded problem – packaging and availability differences from times long ago to what is available now. This recipe calls for Baker’s chocolate, the measurement – seemingly straight forward – 3 squares. However, did you know that there are different varieties and shapes of said chocolate? I for one only found the bars of Baker’s chocolate and figured “they must be in squares 2 per pack” right (to make the rectangle? Stay with me!) Wrong – I open the chocolate to find myself staring at a troubling site of Hershey chocolate style Lego block shaped segments melded into the full bar. 

 

When in doubt, I turn to my great-aunties who always are great problem-solving sleuths ready for any challenge. Three pieces was the assessment based on what we had to go from, so I broke the chocolate down to harvest the three chocolate “squares” from the bar. Once I had the three segments separated from the pack, I felt that instinctual ancestral whisper that has helped guide me on the journey say it wasn’t enough. So, I broke off a few more squares. 

 Once the chocolate conundrum had been addressed, I turned my attention to the batter.

 Cream together the Crisco, eggs, and sugar. Check. Setting that aside, it was now time to melt the chocolate over a double boiler, stirring often so as not to burn the chocolate (what a waste of chocolate that would be!).   

While the chocolate was melting, I mixed together the dry ingredients in a separate smaller bowl. 

 Time to pour that chocolate fountain of delectable goodness into the creamed egg, Crisco, sugar mixture and stirred it together gently. 

 

This part was soothing for some reason I loved seeing the two different contrasts mix, meld, and combine into a harmonious goop of delight. 

Then slowly add in the dry ingredients making sure to mix thoroughly and scraping the sides so no morsel gets left behind. 

Next I added some vanilla and chopped walnuts and folded it in. 

 

 Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho it’s off to grease we go (the pan not the country) using the Crisco wrapper I spread a layer of protection across the baking pan and then dusted with Hershey Cocoa powder. The recipe calls to flour the pan, however my maternal great-grandmother taught me to use Cocoa powder for chocolate or darker cakes because it will help prevent the flour dusting showing up on the completed dish. Fun fact! 

 

 Pretty sure the recipe then said to “pour” the batter into the baking pan. Again, I really am beginning to develop an aversion to this word because unless it is a thin batter or liquid, I personally have the opinion that it is not the best selection of word choice for this task. 

Once I plopped the decadent batter into the pan, I had to carefully slather and spread the batter out evenly, careful not to make too many topographical changes to what hopefully becomes a uniform pan of brownies will be.  Into the oven they went and baked. Before the timer even alerted their journey’s end, scents of deep chocolate sweetness permeated our apartment. My husband even stopped in to check to see if they were done. Almost, but not quite yet.  Once the timer went off, out they came to rest and cool long enough to set. 

 

Now it was time for a taste test. 100% approval rating from both my husband and I. 

 The original recipe includes a frosting for the brownies, but after looking to see how much powdered sugar was to be used we decided against it. After-all, we had how many more recipes to go in the 12 recipes of Christmas challenge plus two holiday meals ahead of us? We were okay to forego the frosting this time and enjoy the simplicity and deep deliciousness of the brownies on their own. 

NEXT EPISODE - MINI SERIES CONT.: Twelve Recipes of Christmas #5 "Grandma Laverne's Goulash"

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ORIGINAL RECIPE

RICH BROWNIES

 Ingredients: 

3/4 cup Crisco (use regular Crisco)            1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs                                                            3 squares Bakers semi-sweet chocolate (melted) 

1 cup of flour                                            1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt                                                    1 tsp of vanilla

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Put the chocolate on to melt (I put the chocolate squares in my Pyrex measuring cup - put the cup in a pan of water. Turn the burner on low. Don't let the water boil and stir continuously). Blend the Crisco, sugar and eggs. Stir in melted chocolate. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the vanilla and chopped walnuts. Spread in a 10x10x2 greased and floured pan. You can also use an 8x8x2 pan (for thicker brownies). Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 - 30 minutes. Test with a toothpick. Cool and frost*

(*optional)

FROSTING

2 squares melted chocolate

2 Tablespoons butter or oleo

1 Tablespoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 Tablespoons cream or half & half

Melt the chocolate. Combine the butter and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl. (I use my electric beaters. Put your bowl in the sink - the powdered sugar will fly). Add half and half and beat well. (You may need to add more half & half). When mixed well, add vanilla and melted chocolate. (The chocolate will thicken the powdered sugar mix. Add more half & half if needed). Mix well and spread on cooled brownies.