SPICED APPLE CREAM CHEESE (NOT A COFFEE) CAKE

Hier geht's zur deutschen Version dieses Posts (folgt noch)



















I found the Spiced Apple Cream Cheese Coffee Cake, October project of the ABC-Bakers, very intriguing. Topped with apples, sautéed in butter with cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg - that sounds delicious!

A coffee cake is a bit of a strange concept for a German - aren't all cakes meant to be enjoyed with coffee? And what is a non-coffee cake? To gain more insight, I checked Wikipedia:

A one layer bundt coffee cake: Red Wine Cake 

"Coffee cake is a common cake or sweet bread.....it is generally intended to be eaten with coffee or tea..... ". 

Hm! I can't really say I see any sense in singling out some cakes as suitable pairing for coffee or tea, and others - pies, tortes, bars? - are not.

But wait - here's more: "They are typically single layer cakes.....square, round or ring shaped.... flavored with cinnamon or other spices, nuts, and fruits. These cakes sometimes have a crumb topping called streusel".

Gotcha! This coffee cake is an impostor! Flavored with cinnamon and other spices, yes, but not one, but fancy three layers! 

My curiosity satisfied (and feeling good about myself) I went ahead and baked the cake, but couldn't resist the temptation to righteously call it a Not a Coffee Cake :)

Legitimate or not - we loved the cake with its spiced apple topping, soft, but not mushy, resting on a delicately flavored cream cheese layer that kept the cake from getting soggy - even after three days.

Legitimate coffee cake or not - we enjoyed it with coffee!

Changes & Comments:

• My husband likes cinnamon, but not too much - I reduced it by half in the cake batter.
• I don't like it too sweet - I took less of the overall sugar.
• Substituting some of the white flour with whole grain (spelt)
• I found small local tart apples, and did not peel them - unless the skin is very thick and tough, it's really not necessary, and, more important, most of the vitamins are in the skin
• Trying to "lightly swirl" the cream cheese batter with the cake batter in order "to sort of fuse the two batters together" proved very awkward - I would just spread the cream cheese batter over the cake bottom.

I used small, tart, local apples, and did not peel them

SPICED APPLE CREAM CHEESE CAKE  (adapted from Christina Marsigliese's blog "Scientifically Sweet"
(8-10 servings)

CAKE
163 g/1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used 120 g AP + 43 g spelt flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon (I used only 1/2 tsp)
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp salt
85 g butter, softened
66 g/1/3 cup sugar (I used only 40 g)
71 g/1/3 cup packed light brown sugar (I used 35 g)
1 tsp vanilla extract
50 g/1 large egg
1/2 cup evaporated milk

CHEESECAKE:
1 package (250 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
50 g/1/4 cup sugar (I used 37 g)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 large egg yolk
3 g/1 tsp all-purpose flour

TOPPING
28 g/2 tbsp butter
3 whole cloves
1 kg/1 1/4 lbs tart apples, such as Granny Smith or Northern Spy (ca. 4 apples), cored, peeled and chopped into 1/3-inch/1-cm cubes (I used small local tart apples and didn't peel them)
26 g/2 tbsp sugar (I used 18 g/1 1/2 tbsp)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Cook apple pieces "al dente"

For the topping, combine apples, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in medium bowl.

Heat butter in large non-stick skillet over medium heat until foam subsides. Add whole cloves (to infuse butter) and then add apple mixture. Cook, stirring often, until they just begin to soften (they shouldn't be mushy), about 3-5 minutes.

Transfer apples back to bowl, discard cloves, and leave to cool.

Mixing the cream cheese batter

For the cheesecake layer, beat cream cheese in medium bowl until smooth and creamy (I used a handheld mixer). Add sugar and vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until sugar is mostly dissolved, about 1 minute.

Mix in cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves until combined. Add egg yolk and flour and beat just until incorporated and batter is smooth. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 325°F/165ºC. Lightly grease 20-cm/8-inch round springform pan with butter, and line bottom with parchment paper.

Whisking the dry ingredients is easier than sifting them

In small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom and salt. Set aside.

In mixer bowl, beat butter with both sugars until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in vanilla until blended. Add egg, and beat until well incorporated, and batter is fluffy, about 30 seconds.

Fold the last portion of the flour with a rubber spatula into the batter

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat on low speed until mostly combined, then add 1/2 of the evaporated milk, and mix until just blended. Repeat this step by adding another 1/3 of the flour mixture followed by remaining milk (beat only 15 seconds between additions).

After all milk has been added, beat on medium speed a few seconds to make sure batter is smooth. Then fold in last of the flour mixture with a rubber spatula, until combined.

Spoon dollops of cream cheese mixture over the cake bottom

Transfer cake batter into prepared pan and spread it out evenly. Spoon dollops of cream cheese mixture over cake batter, then gently distribute it with a wet rubber spatula.

Finally, scatter cooled apples in even layer over cream cheese.

Top cream cheese layer evenly with the cooked apples

Bake until cake is still a bit wobbly in the center, 45-50 minutes.

Transfer cake to wire rack and let cool completely in pan, before removing the ring.

It's a keeper! 

BETTER THAN BAKED APPLES - BAKED APPLE MUFFINS!

Hier geht's zur deutschen Version dieses Posts

Karola B. Lütjen (Herzensköchin blog), a nurse and nutritionist, doesn't only cook from the heart, but, also, for the heart - a healthy one!

Her Bratapfelmuffins had been on my to-bake list since last December. The late fall with its drizzling rain, intermingled with wet snow flakes, made me crave the comfort of something cinnamon-y, with apples and almonds - Baked Apple Muffins seemed an excellent choice.

To make the muffins taste even more like baked apples, I sautéd the apple cubes in butter and toasted the almond slices. I also reduced the sugar amount a bit and used vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean.

I like Honey Crisp or Cripp's Pink for baking

Those wonderfully moist muffins with crispy almonds surpassed all my expectations! My husband found them: "Much better than baked apples", and I couldn't agree more!

Better than baked apples!

BAKED APPLE MUFFINS  (12)  (adapted from Karola B. Lütjens' Bratapfelmuffins)

3.4 oz/100 ml apple cider, hot (I used hard cider)
0.9 oz/25 g raisins
0.9 oz/25 g dried cranberries
2.6 oz/75 g almonds slices, toasted
1 1/2 - 2 apples, cored, and cubed (9 oz/265 g net)
3.5 oz/100 g butter, softened + 1 tbsp. (1 stick)
2.6 oz/75 g sugar in the raw
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature

5.6 oz/160 g all-purpose flour
1.4 oz/40 g whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp. baking powder
5 oz/150 ml milk (whole or 2%)


In a small bowl, pour hot cider over raisins and dried cranberries and let them soak for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 355ºF/180ºC. Line cups of a muffin pan with paper liners.

In a skillet without fat, toast almond slices until light brown and fragrant. Transfer them to a small bowl.

Cook apple in butter for a few minutes

Wash apples, quarter, core and cut into 1/4-inch/1/2-cm cubes. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in the (now empty) skillet and sauté apples until al dente - they shouldn't turn into mush!

In a large bowl whisk together flour and baking powder.

In mixer bowl cream remaining 3.5 oz/100 g butter until fluffy, then mix in vanilla, cinnamon and sugar until well blended. Add flour mixture in portions, alternating with the milk, until everything is just combined.

Mix raisins, cranberries and apples with almond slices

Drain soaked raisins and cranberries in a strainer (use soaking liquid for another purpose). Add with apple cubes to the bowl with toasted almond slices, and mix to combine.

Fold 2/3 of the fruit mixture into the batter

Fold 2/3 of the apple mixture into the muffin batter. Distribute evenly among the paper liners (3/4 full). Sprinkle muffins tops with the remaining fruit-almond mixture, then press gently down a bit to attach.

Bake muffins for 25-30 minutes, until tops are light brown, and a needle comes out clean. (Don't wait for them to turn really brown, then they will bake too long!). Let muffins cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer them to a wire rack.

Baked Apple Muffins fresh from the oven

TIP:
Baked Apple Muffins taste best a bit warm.Thanks to the whole wheat and the juicy fruits they keep fresh for several days (in a cool place).To warm them up, zap them briefly in the microwave.

Even Ruffi, the Roamer, likes it better indoors now!

APPLE CINNAMON ROLLS - FRUITY LITTLE BUNS

Hier geht's zur deutschen Version dieses Posts (folgt noch)












Apples are one of my favorite fruits.

Therefore fall means apples - preferably baked apples, as in Schwäbischer Apfelkuchen - Swabian Apple Cake or boozy Apfelkuchen with Almonds & Apfelkorn.

Hanaâ's pick for our October ABC project, Cinnamon-Apple Twist Bread was a novelty for me - a bread with an apple filling! King Arthur Flour's two beautifully twisted breads are enough for a large family, so I made instead a batch of Cinnamon Apple Rolls.

Apart from halving the recipe, I made a few changes, replacing a third of the all-purpose flour with white whole wheat, reducing the amount of yeast (while enhancing the flavor!) with a slow overnight rise in the fridge, and omitting the sugary glaze.

Next time I would use even more grated apples for the filling

For the filling, I used half white, half brown sugar, and cut down on the overall amount. I also added some lemon zest. Measuring weight rather than volume, I ended up with more than 1 cup grated apples in the filling - which was fine, it even could have been more! 

Using Instant ClearJel in the filling, I didn't experience any pesky leakage, when I rolled up the dough. (You can take flour instead, but, unless you cook the filling, this doesn't work as well!)

We liked the fruity little buns and finished them in no time. They taste best when they still a bit warm.

NEXT TIME  I would put even more apple in the filling, add some walnuts, brush the dough coils with egg wash, and sprinkle them with a bit of raw sugar.

Fruity little Apple Cinnamon Bun

CINNAMON APPLE ROLLS  (adapted from King Arthur Flour)
(12 Rolls)

Dough
130 g/4.6 oz all-purpose flour
55 g/1.9 oz white whole wheat flour (or more all-purpose flour, total amount 1 5/8 cups)
22 g/1/8 cup potato flour or 1/4 cup dried potato flakes
1 1/2 tbsp. sugar
2.5 g/1/2 + 1/8 tsp. instant yeast
1/2 + 1/8 tsp. salt
21 g/0.75 oz butter (1 1/2 tbsp)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 egg*)
113 g/1/2 cup milk

*) Break egg into a small bowl, set on a scale, beat it lightly, weigh amount and spoon half of it in your dough.

Filling
20 g sugar
20 g light brown sugar (instead of 1/4 cup all white sugar)
10 g/1 1/2 tbsp. Instant ClearJel powder (or 10 g/1/8 cup instant tapioca)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
170 g/12 oz apples, peeled and grated (1 large apple, I used Honey Crisp - it could have been more!)
1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. lemon zest


DAY 1
Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl, so that they are evenly distributed. Add butter, vanilla, egg and milk, then mix until a shaggy dough forms. Let rest for 30 minutes.

The dough is nice and smooth, ready to go in the fridge overnight

Knead dough for ca. 10 minutes; it should feel slightly sticky and soft (adjust with a bit more water, if needed).

Gather dough into a ball and place in an oiled container, rolling it around to coat. Cover, and place in the refrigerator overnight. 

DAY 2
Remove dough from refrigerator 2 hours before using. It should have almost doubled in volume and show large gas bubbles.

The bottom of the dough shows large gas bubbles

For the filling, whisk together sugar, ClearJel powder and cinnamon.

Whisk together sugar, ClearJel and cinnamon

Toss grated apples with lemon juice, then add to ClearJel-sugar mixture. Mix well, and set aside.

Mixing the filling

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured or greased work surface. Roll into a 25 x 30-cm/10 x 12-inch rectangle.

Spread filling over the rolled-out dough, leaving a 1 1/4 cm/1/2-inch margin clear along all sides.

Spread filling over the rolled out dough

Starting with a short side, roll dough into a log, then seal the edges.

Roll dough with filling into a log

Now cut the log into 3 cm/1-inch slices. Place slices, cut side up, on parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them that they touch each other.

Let rolls rise about 45 minutes, or until they are puffy and a dimple remains visible when you gently poke the dough with a finger. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350ºF/175ºC.

Nicely risen and ready for the oven

Bake rolls for about 20-30 minutes, until they are lightly browned.

Let them cool before serving. We liked them still a bit warm.

Mount Desert Island in October - still sunny and fairly warm

APPLE CIDER DONUT MUFFINS

Hier geht's zur deutschen Version dieses Posts












 
We like out local newspaper, the  "Bangor Daily News", because of its well written reports and excellent photos. It, also, often publishes interesting recipes, I made quite a few of them, and most turned out very nice.

Just before I went on my fall trip to Hamburg, I saw a muffin recipe that really piqued my curiosity.

I was looking for recipes with apples, because I still had a whole bag full of tiny apples gathered from abandoned orchards at the roadside. After making two apple pies, I felt I needed a bit of change.

First trial: good, but still a bit too sweet for my taste

Fia's Apple Cider Donut Muffins promised muffins that tasted like donuts.

I like donuts, (if they are not doughy, overly sweet mass products à la Dunkin), but I had never heard about a donut-muffin-hybrid. 

My first trial, with half the recipe amount - I didn't want to feed armies, after all - turned out pretty good, but needed a bit of tweaking. 

Though I had reduced the sugar, we found the muffins still too sweet. And the fruity aroma of the apples was overpowered by nutmeg, even though I had halved the amount here, too.

The consistency resembled donuts, and the crumb was nice and moist. But, nevertheless, I thought the muffins could do with a little more apple. 

When I'm on the phone with my son in Hamburg, I always gush about my baking. This time, I promised, I would bake something for him, in his own kitchen, during my visit.

Apple pieces for an extra moist muffin crumb

From my cousin Uta's garden I had brought some nice Boskoop apples, and my son likes donuts.

So what was more appropriate than making Donut Muffins?

With a whole large apple, even less sugar, and only a pinch of nutmeg, the muffins turned out so good, that Per and his girlfriend munched them down in no time. 

The original recipe contains cider, but I baked some with hard cider, too. Instead of all white flour, I substituted some with whole wheat pastry flour. 

The original recipe suggests dipping the muffins first in cider, than in cinnamon sugar. I found that sprinkling the sugar works better.


APPLE CIDER DONUT MUFFINS  (10 pieces)

 125 g tart apples, peeled, cored and finely cubed (about 1 1/4 large apple, like Booskop, Granny Smith or Pink Lady)
1/2 cup/120 ml cider (or hard cider)
  57 g butter, softened (1/2 stick)
  45 g white sugar
  35 g brown sugar
   1 ½ eggs *)
  2 tbsp. vegetable oil
 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup/60 ml milk
130 g all-purpose flour
  35 g whole wheat pastry flour
¾ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
¼ tsp. ginger
¼ tsp. cloves
cider for dipping (about 1/4 cup)
cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling

*) To halve an egg, place a cup on a scale, break the egg in the cup, and measure the weight. Then beat the egg lightly, and take half of it for the batter.

Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Grease 10 cups of a muffin pan.

In a small sauce pan, bring apple cubes and cider to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, until apple pieces are soft, but not completely disintegrated.

Whisk dry ingredients until well aerated

 
In a medium bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices, until well combined and aerated.

Mix wet ingredients separately

In a mixer bowl, cream together butter and sugars, until fluffy. Add eggs, and beat, until well combined. Mix in oil, vanilla and milk, until well blended.  

Dry and wet ingredients are briefly mixed

Add flour mixture in 2 portions. Mix only, until all just comes together. Then fold in the cooked apples with the juices.

At last fold in apple pieces with the juices

Distribute batter evenly over the 10 muffin cups. Bake muffins for 15 minutes, until they are lightly browned, an needle comes out clean, and the tops feel elastic if you press them lightly with your finger.

The batter fills the cups to 3/4

  
Let muffins cool for 5 minutes in the pan. In the meantime, place cider and cinnamon sugar in two cups or small bowls.

First dip muffins in cider, then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar

  
Remove muffins from the pan, and place them on a wire rack (set it over a baking sheet or large piece of paper for easier clean-up!) First dip each muffin top quickly into the cider, and then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Per's little kitchen was well equipped for Mom's baking

APRICOT-PLUM GALETTE - A CURE FOR "PIE ANXIETY"

Apricot-Plum Galette, juicy and tangy

Apricot-Plum Galette, a fruity, tangy dessert, was our Avid Bakers' Challenge for August. It came just right for these hot summer days.

Abigail Dodge, author of "The Weekend Baker", calls a galette the "friendliest of all pies": ideal for people suffering from "pie anxiety". There is no double crust to deal with, no complicated lattice weaving, no edge crimping - not even a pie plate is needed.

Though I like the combination of plums and apricots - and both were available  in our supermarket - I didn't suffer so much from pie phobia, as from filling anxiety. Apricots and plums are usually only half ripe when you get them, and you never know whether they will soften into juicy goodness or mealy sourness. 

I bought my two pounds of fruit, and placed them, together with an apple, in a brown bag, hoping they would ripen in time for the challenge. 

Making the crust was no problem. Following Hanaâ's advice, I froze the cubed butter, instead of just refrigerating it. I substituted a fifth all-purpose flour for spelt flour, to have a little bit of whole grains in the crust.

Rolling the dough, transferring it into the sheet pan - no great challenge there, and no slightest twinge of pie anxiety. 

After their three days of hobnobbing with the apple, I found the apricots and plums softer and sufficiently sweet, so I didn't add any additional sugar. I forgot the lemon juice in the mix, so I belatedly drizzled a bit over the top.

The galette looked very appetizing when it came out of the oven - only the crust had cracked in several places and the pie sat in a puddle of juice!

And then came the only glitch - Abby Dodge wants you to lift the slightly cooled galette with two spatulas on a plate. This action, exercised with a metal peel and a bench knife, ended in a broken pie. 

The congealing juice stuck to the parchment paper, and the sticky surface made easy gliding impossible. The parchment paper was pushed together in wrinkles, and the galette broke apart.

Re-assembled galette, the damage is hardly visible

 I got the pie out, don't ask me how, and assembled the broken pieces on the plate, so that the galette looked almost like new. I didn't attempt to glaze it, not wanting to disturb my poor pie anymore.

But, in the end, who cares, when the the taste is right. And it WAS right! Plums, apricots and ginger made an awesome combination, and the crust was delicate and flaky. 

You'll find the recipe in "The Weekend Baker", by Abigail Johnson Dodge. She calls her recipes "irresistible" and I wholeheartedly agree. And to make this galette entirely "stress-free for busy people", I would next time line the baking sheet with aluminum foil, and move it with the pie to the platter.

And, after reading other Avid Bakers' posts, I realize that leakages rather seem to be the rule in rustic galettes, not a failure. Even master baker Joanne Chang commented in Fine Cooking: "It’s all right if some of the juices escape from the tart and seep onto the pan." 

But I still thought about how to minimize those leaks, and asked my knowledgeable daughter Valerie  what she would do.

It's great to have a chef in the family

She recommended "Bakers' Secret Weapon" - a layer of cake crumbs on the crust to soak up excess juice. Or mix the fruits with the sugar several hours before using, strain them over a bowl, and then cook the juice in a sauce pan until reduced to syrup. 

Another way to achieve a leak free crust is a French pastry bakers' technique, called fraisage. After transferring the dough to the work surface, you smear the crumbly mass repeatedly with the heel of your hand, until it is cohesive. Cook's Illustrated explains that this procedure creates long, thin streaks of butter between layers of flour and water, resulting in a sturdy, but very flaky dough.

If you would like to join the Hanaâ's Avid Bakers, take up the monthly challenge, and have the fun - here is your link:

SCHWÄBISCHER APFELKUCHEN - SWABIAN APPLE CAKE

Hier geht's zur deutschen Version dieses Posts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wanted to make a seasonal, early spring cake - with fruit. Apples were the obvious choice. You can use them the same day you buy them, unlike pears, you don't have to wait days for them to ripen, or even longer to turn dark, like bananas. 

They are always aromatic, even if they are imported, unlike the sour, tasteless strawberries from California, or the bland, watery blueberries from South America. 

I have no shortage of apple cake recipes, even one cookbook solely dedicated to them, but this time I wanted something fancy, not just Grandmother's homey kuchen, but a real Konditor piece (Konditor is a German pastry chef.)

How beautiful can apples look in a cake? 

 

SCHWÄBISCHER APFELKUCHEN 

Short Crust:
230 g/8 oz. all-purpose flour
70 g/2.5 oz. whole wheat pastry flour (or all AP flour)
75 g/2.7 oz sugar
200 g/7 oz. unsalted butter, cut in pieces
1 pinch salt
1/4 vanilla bean (or 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract)
1/4 lemon, zest
1 egg yolk

Filling:
1 - 1.25 kg/35 - 45 oz. baking apples (small ones look nicer)
100 g/3.5 oz. ladyfinger biscuits (good quality or homemade*)
100 g/3.5 oz. unsalted butter, melted, for brushing
40 g/1.4 oz. raisins, soaked in 1 tbsp. Calvados or apple schnapps

Sauce:
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
400 ml/13.5 fl. oz. whipping cream
40 g/1.4 oz.  sugar
30 g/1 oz. corn starch
1/2 lemon, zest
20 g/0.7 oz. almond slices or chopped walnuts

Glaze:
ca. 1/4 glass apricot jam, put through a strainer
10 g/0.35 oz. Calvados or apple schnapps

*) You can find an easy ladyfinger recipe in "The Joy of Baking" or here.

How to make: 

For the short crust, make a ring of flour on the counter top. Place sugar, butter, salt, vanilla, lemon zest and egg yolk in the middle. Knead together by hands. (Or, alternatively, mix all other ingredients in mixer until well blended, then transfer to flour ring and incorporate by hand.) Pat dough into flat disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 180ºC/355ºF. Peel, halve and core apples. With sharp knife, cut round side with parallel cuts, ca. 1/2 cm/0.6" deep.

Pat (or roll out) short crust to cover bottom and up sides of a 30 cm/12" springform pan. Cover crust bottom with ladyfingers. Place apple halves over ladyfinger layer, and brush with hot butter. Sprinkle with soaked raisins and nuts.

In a bowl, whisk together sauce ingredients until smooth. Ladle over apple layer.

Bake cake for ca. 50 minutes.

Remove cake from oven, and glaze with apricot glaze. Let cool on wire rack. Cake has to be completely cooled before removing it from the pan.

 

(adapted from Karl Neef: Sonntagskuchen und Festtagstorten - Konditorrezepte zum Selbermachen). 

I reduced the sugar a bit, soaked the raisins in Calvados, added almond slices, and glazed with apricot jam instead with store bought glaze.

A bag full of apples, a dreary day and German Apfelkuchen - Eine Tüte voller Äpfel, ein trüber Tag und Apfelkuchen

Last week we bought a bag full of assorted apples from a farmer. Not only the bag was huge, the size of some of the apples (Macoun) was gigantic, too. What to do with all these beautiful apples? A dreary day makes you think of comfort food, and there's that old saying: "Life is uncertain - eat the dessert first". I'm never one to resist the craving for dessert, anyway, and the oven was still warm from baking bread in the morning.

Among my cookbooks is one exclusively on apple cakes (Dr. Oetker: "Apfelkuchen"). I made already a few of them, but wanted to try something new. Many of the cakes are baked on a sheet pan, the kind Americans call "bars" and Germans "Schnitten". I wanted it to be simple, with a lot of apples, some nuts and, preferably, some liquor in it.

Since I don't have to feed a big family I divided my chosen recipe by half, added more apples and, also, different kinds for a more complex taste. The original calls for Amaretto, but I didn't have any, and my husband doesn't care too much for it, either. Also, I liked the idea of an additional apple flavor, so I took the Apfelkorn I had in my cupboard (I'm sure Calvados would have been a great choice, too). I used brown sugar instead of white, and, also, reduced the overall amount of sugar - it's still sweet enough.

It turned out really nice, with a fresh, strong apple taste - and just a hint of booze:
Apple Cake with Almonds and Apfelkorn Cream.

Letzte Woche haben wir eine Tüte mit verschiedenen Äpfel vom Bauern gekauft. Nicht nur die Tüte war riesig, auch die Grösse einiger der Äpfel (Macoun) war gewaltig. Wohin nun mit all diesen schönen Äpfeln? Ein trüber Tag wird durch leckeres Essen erträglicher, und ausserdem gibt es den alten Spruch: "Das Leben ist ungewiss - iss den Nachtisch zuerst!" Ich gehöre sowieso nicht zu den Leuten, die einem Dessert widerstehen können, und ausserdem war der Ofen noch warm vom Brotbacken am Morgen.

Eins meiner Kochbücher ist ausschliesslich Apfelkuchen gewidmet (Dr. Oetker: "Apfelkuchen"). Ich hab schon ein paar davon gebacken, aber ich wollte etwas Neues ausprobieren. Viele der Kuchen sind Blechkuchen von der Art, die Amerikaner als "Bars"(= Riegel) und Deutsche als "Schnitten" bezeichnen. Ich wollte einen einfachen Kuchen, mit vielen Äpfeln, einigen Nüssen, und vorzugsweise auch etwas Alkohol.

Da ich keine grosse Familie ernähren muss, halbierte ich das Rezept meiner Wahl, nahm mehr Äpfel, und dazu unterschiedliche Sorten für einen komplexeren Geschmack. Im Original steht zwar Amaretto, aber ich hatte keinen da, und Richard mag ihn sowieso nicht besonders. Ausserdem gefiel mir die Idee von noch mehr Apfelaroma, daher nahm ich den Apfelkorn, den ich im Schrank hatte (Calvados wäre sicher auch eine gute Wahl gewesen). Ich benutzte braunen Zucker anstatt von weissem, und reduzierte den Gesamtzuckergehalt um Einiges - der Kuchen ist auch so noch süss genug.

Das Ergebnis war wirklich lecker, mit einem frischen, intensiven Apfelgeschmack - und einem Hauch von Schnaps: Apfelkuchen mit Mandeln und Apfelkorn-Creme!