Saturday, March 28, 2009

Apple of my Thigh!

Here is my adaptation of the German Apple Cake recipe from the Joy of Vegan Baking (thanks little Ruth for getting this for my 20th last year, you're a superstar!) which has pages falling out of it all over the place from over-bending (I don't know if I actually use this book a lot but it is REALLY GOOD and I read it so much when I first got it, like bedtime reading for a couple of months kinda crazily) and this recipe actually fell into my mixing bowl when I opened the book! What a sign!!! I adapted it for the sake of flours and such, and what I had available and how I felt about the flavour of the batter and stuff.

It turned out marvelously and as it ended up being the only cake at Katrina's Housewarming Pot Luck, it shined for everyone.

German Apple Cake (adapted from The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau) my adaptations are asterixed
PREHEAT YR OVEN TO 180c.
GREASE A CIRCULAR TIN
SPRINKLE IT WITH BROWN SUGAR AND CINNAMON (TO TASTE)*
3 apples, peeled and cut into thin slices.
1/2 c. non dairy margarine.
1/2 c. raw sugar
3 T. rice milk*
1/2 c. applesauce (I used a bit more than this because I had a little bit left in the jar and didn't wanna waste)
1 t. natural vanilla essence*
1.5 t. maple syrup *
1/2 t. cinnamon*
1/3 c. buckwheat flour*
1/3 c. chickpea flour*
1/3 c. white maize flour*
1/2 c. generic gluten free "plain" flour mix* (THATS ONE AND A HALF CUPS OF FLOUR)
2.5 t. baking powder

topping: 1/4 c. brown sugar, 1/2 t. cinnamon, 1/4 t. cardamom* mixed.

depending on how you slice your apples you should have enough for both the top and the bottom of the cake. line the bottom of the cake (after you've sugared it) tin with some apples, try to get them in a nice arrangement because this will be the top of the cake. put the remaining apples to the side to do something similar after you've poured the batter in.

Cream the margarine and sugar either by hand or with an electric hand mixer. Add the apple sauce, milk, vanilla essence. Add the flours and baking powder and stir until just combined. Pour onto the apples, and tap the tin a bit to make sure all the apples are covered and there are no gaps or air bubbles.

Arrange the remaining apples to the top of the cake, hopefully you'll be able to cover the whole thing. sprinkle with the sugar spice mix heavily and bake for about 35 minutes.

The cake is done when an inserted toothpick comes out clean and the top is crisp and brown. let it cool for at least 15 minutes before putting a plate on top of it and turning it upside down. the bottom (now top) apples should be soft and sweet smelling.



I think this is sort of what I imagine a 'tea cake' is like. It had a really lovely crumb, a moist top and crisp bottom, almost like a pie-cake. Will make again. yay. Hopefully next time I'll get to have some whilst it's still warm, with vanilla ice cream (we did serve it with ice cream, which was a star of an accompaniment brought by the extra lovely Lizzie!) for more homely-ness.
nb: i just realised how yellow toned my pictures are! my computer must have a red bias in its screen! aaaah. sorry for the acid trip, guyz.

3 comments:

steph said...

Oh wow, this sounds so good (and I love tea cake), but it did give me pause that you would reference rape so casually.

Léna, said...

It was really good. Alex complains a bit that it wasn't sweet enough (european apple cake is INCREDIBLEY sweet and he has the same heritage as me and knows what the tradition is) so if you make it, maybe try the batter for yourself and see if you think it needs more sugar or apple sauce, etc.
I have since editted that section of the post to no longer startle some, though I remain that I meant it in the archaic/viking sense of the word.

x said...

Looks delish, I love the idea of appley baked goods