An Apple A Day - Two Easy and Scrumptious Apple Desserts

Howdy all!  I hope you are having a happy hump day. 

Later this month, I will be publishing a post highlighting my preferred cookbook authors and recipe sources. In the interim, I'd like to give a shout out to Bonnie Stern, who is my favourite Canadian kitchen wizard.  

Bonnie has, over the years, introduced me to a host of new taste experiences. Stern extoled the marvels of Middle Eastern cuisine (she is Jewish) before Yotam Otto Lenghi came along. This is certainly not a diss at Ottolenghi, who is brilliant, and, as fate would have it he and Stern are friends.  

Two of Bonnie's Cookbooks, Essentials of Home Cooking and Friday Night Dinners are staples in my household.  I have procured cookbooks over the years that are more aspirational than realistic, but Stern's recipes remain steadfastly in my dinner repertoire.  If you happen to live in Victoria, you could try borrowing Stern's titles from the public library to see if you like them. I recommend Friday Night Dinners and Essentials of Home Cooking, (though her Heart Smart books are great too, they don't feel like health cookbooks at all)  Or purchase copies of Stern's books for yourself at Russell Books, a fantastic source for scoring affordable cookbooks.  Bonnie also has a website, here, where she lists a number of her recipes:  http://www.bonniestern.com/  The website may be a bit old-fashioned, but I assure you Bonnie's cooking style is not. It is fresh, exciting and appealingly contemporary.

Steve and I both are both sweet tooths, but we do not eat dessert every day.  On weeknights, we sate after dinner sweet cravings with a small serving of good quality chocolate.  We avoid eating sweets during the day as, once you get to a certain age, empty calories add up.  However, once a week, we enjoy a dessert with no self-guilt or recrimination.  Everything in moderation is our mantra.  But, one thing, if I do want a treat, I want it to be something DIVINE, something worthy of indulgence. If I purchase a dessert, I get one from a good bakery, and I am happy to pay a premium for quality ingredients.

Occasionally, my family asks me to please make the "apple pancake-y thing".  I am rarely spontaneous, rarely do things on the fly (more is the pity), but in this instance I am thrilled to oblige as, number 1, apple pancake happens to be the easiest thing in the world to make and, number 2,  it does not use any esoteric ingredients, If you have flour, butter, sugar and an apple you can make this. I might add that apple pancake would not be unwelcome at a brunch table if you were so inclined. I  eat it plain, dusted with a little icing sugar. Steve tops his with a drizzle real maple syrup. Either way, you cannot go wrong with this.  And you could trot it out at a fancy dinner party and your guests would be none the wiser. The pancake puffs up dramatically as it cooks, making for a dramatic presentation.

I should mention that Bonnie has consented to the sharing of these recipes. Here is the recipe for the apple pancake.  You will need an oven proof skillet in order to make this:

https://www.besthealthmag.ca/recipes/apple-puff-pancake/

I mentioned there were not one, but two recipes I was going share and, while I am on an apple kick, as well as a Bonnie Stern kick, I figured the logical step would be to share this easy recipe for apple cake. This is an easy to assemble cake, perfect for novice bakers.  The caramel sauce (recipe below) is an unnecessary yet delicious addition. 

I originally baked this cake for my father-in-law. He was craving cake with autumnal flavours and this proved to be a big hit.  This is a moist cake with deep cinnamon-y flavour and a bronzed,crackly crust.  

Both of these recipes were originally published in Stern's phenomenal Friday Night Dinners Cookbook.

Here you go:

Ruthie’s Apple Cake (recipe by Bonnie Stern, and maybe Ruthie too)

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
¼ cup orange juice
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
4 to 5 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
½ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
2 tbsp coarse sugar, optional

With an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar in a bowl until light. Beat in oil. Beat in orange and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to egg mixture and stir until combined.

In a third bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, apples and nuts.

Spread about half of the batter in an oiled and parchment lined 9 inch spring-form pan. Spoon apples on top of this batter. Drizzle remaining batter on top of the apples. The batter on the top layer may not cover the apples completely. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for about 50 to 60 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. If the cake is browning too much, cover loosely with foil and reduce oven heat to 325 degree F. Makes 8 to 12 servings.

 CARAMEL SAUCE (optional but amazing) to be drizzled over cake:

In a large saucepan, stire 1 cup granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of water over medium-high heat until sugar comes to a boil (DO NOT STIR at this juncture or caramel will be granular!). Brush any sugar down sides of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold watter. Cook, NO STIRRING, for 6 to 8 minutes or until your caramel turns a rich golden. Remove from heat and, CAREFULLY, it will sputter, add 3/4 cup whipping cream. Heat gently until smooth. Cool. Serve with cake.  

Have a lovely week everyone! If you try either of these recipes (or both!), please do not hesitate to comment and let me know what you thought. Take care all. xoxo