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.
______________________________________________________________________________________
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
No comments:
Post a Comment