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Monday, October 4, 2010

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.

2 comments:

  1. That would be exactly why you did not like it! If Chad and I were to taste it, I would probably say "There's coffee in this?" and Chad would say "Ugh, there's coffee in this!"

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  2. I use to have this cookbook and used it all the time but it somehow was lost in all the moves. I keep wishing I could find another copy of it because it has a lot of family recipes in it that are absolutely delicious. The potato chip cookies, sugar cookie recipe by Berniece Pals, the pecan log and all the wonderful casseroles.

    Glenda

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