Autumn Apples
It’s hard for me to imagine
living in a warm climate without the dramatic shifting of seasons. Here in Colorado, it won’t be long before there’s
a nip in the morning air and we’re putting the blankets back on the beds. With autumn just around the corner, I notice
that the more substantial foods of fall are starting to sound appealing, too.
I especially love the crisp apples
of autumn. My father’s apple tree is loaded with fruit this year, and when the weather cools off a bit we’ll pick
apples and make this cake:
Apple Walnut Cake
With Apple Cider Glaze
1 ½ cups
vegetable oil
2 cups granulated
sugar
3 eggs
2 cups unbleached
all-purpose flour, sifted
1/8 teaspoon
ground cloves
1 teaspoon
ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon
ground ginger
1 teaspoon
baking soda
½ teaspoon
salt
1 cup whole-wheat
flour, sifted
1 ¾ cup
coarsely chopped walnuts
1 ¼ cups
peeled, cored apples cut into ½ inch cubes
3 tablespoons
apple brandy
Apple Cider
Glaze (see below)
Preheat
oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat vegetable oil and sugar until thick
and opaque. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together flour, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, baking
soda and salt, then stir in whole-wheat flour. Add to oil and egg mixture and
mix until well blended. Add walnuts, apple chunks and apple brandy all at once and stir batter until pieces are evenly distributed.
Pour batter
into a greased 10-inch round cake pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until
cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.
Apple Cider
Glaze:
4 tablespoons
Sweet butter
2 tablespoons
brown sugar
6 tablespoons
granulated sugar
3 tablespoons
apple brandy
4 tablespoons
apple cider
2 tablespoons
fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons
heavy cream
To make the Apple
Cider Glaze, melt the butter in a small saucepan and stir in both sugars. Add
the remaining ingredients, stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat slightly and
cook for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Pour while still warm
over warm cake.
This article
originally appeared in the August 2001 issue of Log & Timber Style magazine.
