Making an Apple Cake!!!!!! :)

This time, in the recipe book, "Country Kitchen Collection: Fruit Basket" by Anna Nicholas, from a wide variety of different kinds of recipes, I have decided to make an "Apple Cake." The book states that, “This type of cake is most popular in Scandinavia and produces a wonderful moist fruitiness because the raw apples are enclosed and cooked within the cake mixture ensuring that the maximum flavor is retained. It keeps well but is guaranteed to fly off the plate so fast that the probable of keeping it is never likely to arise.”

The recipe from the book is:

            “Core, peel and thinly slice 2lbs (1&1/3 quarts) cooking (baking) apples. Gently melt 8 oz (1 cup) butter and 8 oz (1 cup) castor sugar over a very low heat. Allow to cool slightly then gradually add 8 oz flour, stirring thoroughly all the while, and then 2 eggs. Mix in 4 tablespoons of sultanas and spread two-thirds of the mixture into the bottom of a well- greased cake tin. Place half the sliced apples on top of this, sprinkle the powered cinnamon, ginger, lemon juice and brown sugar. Cover with the remainder of the apples, a handful of chopped nuts and the rest of the cake mix. Bake in a moderate oven for about 1&½ hours, then test with a skewer. Bake a little longer, if necessary” (Nicholas 14).

            I’ve never really made an apple cake, so this was a new and great experience for me, though I didn’t know there was lemon juice in apple cake. I really enjoyed making this and would try it again, and it also tasted quite delicious. The part I most enjoyed was peeling the apples because of the satisfaction and the fact that I love apples. My question for you: Do you think it would be best to try and partake in new things more commonly or rarely?

This is me peeling the apple and also the first instruction of the recipe

This is me stirring in the flour into the butter, what I did after peeling and cutting the apple

This is the final step, heating and placing inside of an oven, serving after

Nicholas, Anna. "Pumpkin Pie." Fruit Basket. London: Grange, 1996. N. pag. Print.

Making a Pumpkin Pie!!! :)

  In the recipe book," Country Kitchen Collection: Fruit Basket" by Anna Nicholas, has a wide variety of different recipe to make and try. There were some other options I was thinking of doing, but I ended  up making the decision to make the "Pumpkin Pie." This recipe states that," this dish is always connected with the United States and is regarded as being so American, like the Thanksgiving turkey, that it is almost a national dish."

This a picture of my product in an oven that is baked and done 

The recipe from the book is the following:

  You will need sufficient flaky pastry, either bought or made in the usual way, to line a 9-inch (23cm) flan tin. Either way, it must be well chilled right up to the last minute you need to use it. Halve a 3-lb pumpkin and remove the strings and seeds. Place cut sides down on a baking sheet and bake in a moderate oven until the flesh is soft (1 hour). Remove the cooked pumpkin from the oven and turn up the temperature to 400 degrees F. Puree the pulp in a sieve or blender and combine 3/4 pint of it with 5 oz brown sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, a half-teaspoon each of ground ginger and salt and 1/8 teaspoon each of nutmeg and cloves. Mix thoroughly and incorporate 12 fl oz double cream and 3 tablespoons of rum. Line the flan tin with the pastry and pour the mixture into it. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean when inserted into the pie, Serve either chilled or at room temperature, on its own or topped with lightly whipped cream. 

This is the end product with a piece on a plate

This recipe involves actually using a pumpkin and cooking it for the pie, and I don't usually make pumpkin pie, but I've had it beforehand and wouldn't think an actual pumpkin flesh was used in the process, so i learned something new and made something delicious! Do you think that experiencing new ideas and things can make a major impact on our lives??

Nicholas, Anna. "Pumpkin Pie." Fruit Basket. London: Grange, 1996. N. pag. Print.