German Apple Cake

This morning, I woke up at 7:30. That's early for a Saturday, I know, but I was promised lots of relaxing fun time with Nick today so I didn't linger in bed. However, I didn't so much as get breakfast with him due to the large amount of work he has had recently, and had to work on this morning. So, I cleaned the house and finished the book I had been reading. Then, while standing in the kitchen wondering what I was going to do next, my new cookbook, Rustic Fruit Desserts by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson, stared at me from its shelf. I had made no plans to bake today, so I wasn't sure if I had enough ingreditents to make anything. I glanced through the cupboards and fridge and then read through the book for a recipe that fit those.

As it turned out, only one recipe fit what I had, so that is the one I made. It is Mimi's German Apple Cake (page 124) and it was yummy. The cake was crumbly like a coffee cake, it was sweet, light and fruity. However, I don't think it looked as nice as it could have, and certainly didn't come out looking like the picture. Since taste is more important than looks, I feel it still made for a nice treat, and a good spring one though it was listed under the Fall recipes in the book.

I used Pink Lady apples, rather than the Macintosh the recipe suggested. I figured they were similar enough to be ok.

The batter seemed a bit thick, as you can see from the big glob in the middle of the pan.

With the batter how it was, I was a bit worried it wouldn't flow under the apples.

The brown sugar didn'tlook as nice as I am sure the turbinado would've. But, I didn't know what turbinado sugar was, let alone have any in my pantry.

I was excited to use the vanilla I just made with a recipe Katie gave me: Soak about 5 vanilla pods in brandy or vodka (I used brandy, but think vodka might be a better choice as it just tastes like vanilla brandy to me, compared to the stuff she served me - made with vodka) in a sealed container for a couple of weeks. If there is not enough vanilla flavor, place more (new) pods in a soak for a couple more weeks. However, be sure to remove the pods after a few weeks though because they will start to break down.

By the time I was done baking, Nick was just about done working. So, we did get to have some fun time going out to lunch and the zoo. We made sure to eat a peice of cake before we left though, and ate one as soon as we got home too :)

Picture Day: Banana Cream Pie

I have many pictures I keep meaning to post blogs about, but just haven't gotten around to. Yesterday, when I told my friend Katie - who is involved in some of the baking I have un-posted pictures of - this, she suggested that maybe I just post the pictures, without trying to write a full blog entry about them. That way, my friend Claire said, "others can see that you are baking and learning, etc. more than just once a week, even though that (and sometimes less) is how often you post." So, here are pictures from one, and in the future, I will post more so I have something a bit more regular for my readers. And, let me take this opportunity to thank my readers for encouraging me to keep at it - Thank You!

Banana Cream Pie With Chocolate (late Jan. 2010)

Making the pie crust:

Making the bananas:

And the custard:

Putting it all together (see the chocolate in the bottom?):

Katie provided the recipe (from her newly acquired Williams Sonoma cook book) and a lot of the knowledge on this one. It was the first time I made a homemade crust, the first time I attempted custard, and the first time I'd used gelatin in anything other than Jello. We added our own little touch by melting some chocolate chips in the bottom of the crust before adding the rest of the pie filling. The crust was not very hard to make, and neither was the custard. I am not sure I liked the consistency of the chocolate, as it was much harder than the rest of the pie components once it cooled. But, the pie turned out very well, and was a nice addition to our weekend in the country get-away (thank you in-laws for having us house sit!). This was mine and Katie's first attempt at baking together, and it has lead to more great baking adventures so stay tuned!