Autumn is such a wonderful season. The air becomes crisp. The light from the sun is softer and the leaves on the trees turn amazing colors of orange, yellow and crimson. The best, though, are all the Fall Harvests like pumpkins and apples.
You can’t beat the variety of apples that you can choose from this time of year. Of course, they are delicious on their own. Picking one and eating it whole is the best of experiences. Each type of apple has its own personality of flavor from Delicious to Jazz to Gala to Ambrosia to Crisps. Just reading the names makes my mouth water with expectation.
It is also fun to cook with these apples. You can make it as simple as sautéing apple slices in a cast iron skillet or as complicated as baking an Autumn Apple Cake, which isn’t actually that complicated.
My in laws owned some farmland in Missouri that had an old apple orchard on it. It was the highlight of our autumn when the kids were little to go pick the apples and eat them fresh from the tree. The grandparents loved riding everyone around in a wagon pulled by the tractor. They also baked lots of great dishes with apples and the children helped. One of the favorites was an apple cake with chunks of the fruit in it. Today when I bake this cake I get a rush of happy memories and can still imagine the bumpy tractor ride.
Since we are happily living a healthier lifestyle these days, I have tweaked the recipe for healthier results. Get ready for the wonderful aroma of apples with cinnamon baking in your oven! Here is the recipe for the updated version:
Apple Cake
Ingredients
5 apples, peeled and cut into square chunks
2 teaspoons cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar
2 cups flour, unbleached
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Trivia sugar baking blend
3 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup apple sauce
4 eggs
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking Spray, canola flavored
Directions
1. Put apple chunks in a bowl and sprinkle with cinnamon and 5
tablespoons of sugar.
2. In a separate bowl, combine next 11 ingredients. Beat until smooth.
3. Pour half the batter into an angel food cake pan sprayed with the
cooking spray. Arrange half the apples over it.
4. Pour in remaining batter and top with rest of prepared apples.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours until golden brown and tooth
pick comes put clean.
6. Let cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pan while slightly warm.
Serves: 12 - 16. Serving size: 1 slice. Calories: 356/268.
Here are a couple of other recipes from my blog that incorporate apples:
Maple Mustard Pork with Caramelized Apples
Enjoy! And Live Vibrant!
