Getting Sauced

Rach-

That got your attention didn't it? Apple sauced, that is. It's September, and we're deep into apples. I suspect that apple peeling is going to be annual photo shot. Just another way of sneaking kiddie photos into a food blog.

Here's last year's apple peeling pic. What a difference a year makes- from snoozing to sneaking apple peels -the little princess is turning one in a week today. And Finn is hard core into apple preparation (get it? core?). He asks me several times a day if he can peel apples, now if I could just channel that enthusiasm into laundry folding or toy pick-up..

The exciting (for me) difference between the two pictures is that I got smart and realized that the base of the peeler would suction onto my patio table. For indoor peeling I actually need to crank with one hand and hold the thing down with the other. We were seriously considering getting rid of the outdoor table and picking up a smaller table for the deck, but due to its secondary apple peeling function, the table has managed to stave off a purge.

I'm actually posting on cake, not sauce. Do you remember that mom had an almond apple cake recipe floating around the counter last year? I lost my old apple cake recipe and turned to the almond apple cake. Since I didn't have any ground or whole almonds I had to completely modify the recipe. In fact, I think that the only thing I kept the same was the topping. Which is good because I can't remember the original recipe source. It tasted great and in an effort to save this recipe for future repeats, I am blogging it.

For non-Reems-readers: Joan, our tiny little mom (she's small, I can almost fit her in my pocket), has a stack of various recipes newspaper clippings, torn magazine pages, and photocopied cookbook pages from work colleagues, all in a stack, usually on the counter by my parent's phone. I have a similar muddle of recipes in a basket at my house. I would hazard that 95 % of these recipes are never actually tried. However, it is great fun to browse through them - I often copy these recipes down and continue to not try them at my house.

Apple Cake

5 largish apples, peeled and sliced

Cake:

Mix together wet ingredients:
1/4 cup butter, melted
2/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp almond extract (optional, could use vanilla)

Then add dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt


Mix the whole lot together with 2/3 cup butter milk (Or do as I do and use regular milk with just shy of 1 T lemon juice).

Layer half of the apples in a greased 9 inch springform. Spread over half the batter (will be a thin layer). Next layer the rest of the apples and top with final batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 min

Then top with topping and bake for a final 10 min

Topping:

Combine:
2 T melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1 cup toasted chopped pecans or slivered almonds