Old-Fashioned Fresh Apple Cake

Are you sick of apples yet? Well, shockingly enough, I'm still going strong. At the end of August I picked up The Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts.

The Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, NY is known for its creative vegetarian cooking. I've had delicious meals there, but after tasting the best brownie I'd ever eaten (well, close tie between this one and Fat Witch) I knew that I couldn't leave there without this book. I've had it sitting on my shelf for a good month. Since I couldn't decide which recipe I wanted to try first, I just left it sitting there, spine uncracked and lonely, until I had a crisper full of locally grown apples crying to be baked with.

 

Old-Fashioned Fresh Apple Cake

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups peeled, chopped apples (Recipe suggested MacIntosh or Granny Smith; I used an Empire, a Cortland, a Golden Delicious and a Macoun. I told you I had a lot of apples).
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice>
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated lemon

Directions:

1. Prehead the oven to 350F. Oil or butter a 9-inch square baking pan.

2. Combine the melted butter and brown sugar, beating well by hand or using an electric mixer. Add the vanillla, then beat in the eggs one at a time.

3. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Fold the flour mixture into the butter mixture - batter will be stiff. Fold in chopped apples, lemon juice and lemon peel.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until the cake is golden and a knife comes out clean.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Garnish with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream if desired.

Recipe is said to serve 9; I managed to cut 16 brownie-sized pieces.

Comments

[Amy]

do you love the moosewood cookbooks? (do you have others?) I love cookbooks, and have always thought I should pick up a couple moosewoods.

[Mom]

Ohmygoodness save me a piece. That looks soooo good!

[Anna]

Mmmm...that looks delicious!

[Sarah]

Hi! this cake looks so delicious!

Hope your still interested in submitting a recipe to my blog.

Thanks!

Sarah

[Sarah]

***you're

hahha sorry for the typo

[Stacey Snacks]

Maris,
Your cake looks yummy too, and I love Moosewood cookbooks.
I would've added the lemon juice/zest, I love apples w/ a bit of citrus!
Maybe I will try this.....like you said, if we aren't sick of apples yet!!

Stacey Snacks

[alexandra's kitchen]

No way! the apple madness is just beginning. for me at least. I love apple cake and I love the Moosewood cookbooks. I got the new one for my birthday. love it!

[maris]

Amy - The Mooswood cookbooks are great. Some of the recipes in their standard cookbooks are a little too exotic for me, but I love the dessert book and will eventually look for a good one for meals. I like that all of the recipes are vegetarian - I feel like you can be more creative with vegetables, pastas, cheeses, etc than you can with meat. Plus, I'm not a big meat eater so i"m little biased :)

Sarah - I'll definiitely send you a recipe! I'll make a note this weekend.

Stacey - I'm not big on citrus desserts, that's the only reason I left it out. I didn't know if the lemon and the cinnamon/nutmeg would taste funny together and I really wanted to add that.

We still have a ways to go in apple season so I'm going to try to pace myself : )

[AshleyD]

Wow. I wish you were my roommate. I would loooove trying everything you make. :)

[Maris]

Ashley - believe me, I would love having someone to help me eat everything I make. Me + a whole cake is not something that needs to happen, ever! Haha. Luckily, I put my freezer to good use!