Chris's Week Forty Recipe: Fresh Apple Cake

You've been asking yourselves, "When is Chris ever going to make a recipe from her rare, first-edition copy of the 1972 Favorite Recipes compiled by the Guild for Christian Service of the First Reformed Church of Meservey, Iowa?"

Well, you're in luck! I had lunch with my parents on Sunday and volunteered to bring dessert. Mom requested 'something fall-like... pumpkin or apple'. This was a great chance to bring out one of the old church cookbooks I got from my Grandma Jacobs.

I love church cookbooks. You know the recipes in them are the tried-and-true favorites of the people who submitted them. The recipe that I found for Sunday lunch was intriguing because it used 1/2 c coffee in the batter. It was also intriguing in that it didn't list measurements for all the topping ingredients, nor baking temperature or time. I guessed on the measurements and employed the magic '350F for 25-30 minutes' and here is:

Fresh Apple Cake

1 c sugar

1/2 c butter or margarine

1 egg

2 c apples, peeled and diced

1/2 c warm coffee

1 t baking soda

2 c sifted flour

1 t cinnamon

scant 1/2 t salt

Topping - mix together:

1/2 c brown sugar, packed

1/3 c chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

1/2 t cinnamon

Cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the egg. Add the soda to the coffee. Add with dry ingredients. Add apples. Pour into a 9x9 in pan and sprinkle on the topping. Bake for 25-30 min at 350F.

Would I make this recipe again? Well... not verbatim. The cake was nice and moist and my parents loved it, but I did not like the slight aftertaste of coffee. Oddly enough, my parents say they can't taste the coffee at all. I think this must be because I don't drink coffee and they're used to it! I might try 1/2 c of apple juice or cider next time, though.

Addendum: Mom thought there should be less sugar in the topping. Dad thought it was perfect. I actually thought it was just about right, too, but might lower it to 1/3 c of brown sugar the next time around.