Apple Walnut Coffee Cake

Well, I wanted to make muffins last sunday, but since Halloween kicked my butt this year, I was in NO shape of baking on that day. The couch was my haven and could not move. So my lovely Cortlands were still sitting in the fruit bowl, and today on my day off, on this gloomy rainy friday, I felt like baking something more comforting than muffins.



This coffee cake comes from the "Taste of Home-Fall Baking Issue" magazine. Not at all "healthy oven"...no butter in here but LOTS of sugar.
The almond extract in this cake is really delightfull. Different from the ol' vanilla. And the recipe called for only cinnamon but I added cardamom, my new favorite spice, and it's a-ma-zing with the almond flavor!

Ingredients:

4 cups chopped peeld apples
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp almond extract

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

In a big bowl, mix the apples and sugar and let it stand for 20 minutes or so.
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, oil and extract. Add to the apples and mix well until the apples are all coated.
In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Stir into the apple mixture until just combined, and fold in the walnuts.
Pour into an oiled 11x7in. baking pan, smooth the top and bake for 40-45 minutes, until a knife inserted in the middle will come out clean.
Let cool in the same pan. No need to unmold!



I love how this cake is so moist inside thanks to the apples, and I LOVE how the top becomes slightly crunchy.

It's good as it is...:


Or with a big serving of homemade applesauce on top!:


Did I ever mention how much I love apples?...

Homemade applesauce

Applesauce is so easy to make, and yet I always somehow buy it in jars at the store. Kinda dumb, since I use a lot of it in baked goods and I eat it often before or after working out, or simply as dessert. I figured it would be a good idea to start making my own, especially since apples are still cheap! I don't know why I haven't done that sooner. Laziness I guess...
Anyway, so I got a 5 lbs bag of Cortlands for very cheap, and as much as I love biting into an apple and just eat it raw, 5 lbs is a lot for a single person. Originally I wanted to make muffins but realized I was out of baking powder and didn't have time to get to the store. So I opted for this. I'm glad I did. AND...I still have a lot of apples so I'll make muffins on sunday.
Here's what you'll need for about 2 cups of applesauce:

5-6 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
2 TBSP water
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Put all the ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer on medium heat until the apples are soft.
Turn the heat off and let cool a bit.

Before:


After:


Mash with a potato masher, or blend with a hand blender if you like it smooth.
(I chose to mash it so that it's still a little chunky)



So simple...

Apple-Berry Maple Crunch

I love fall. I love the fruits and vegetables of fall, like apples. I grew up in a very "orchard rich" area, and I remember going apple picking every year as a kid. Now I live in the city but still, in autumn, when apples are in season, I eat so many of them. They just taste so much better! And I always have tiny flashbacks of when I'd pick apples with my parents or with school trips...Now I don't go pick them myself, though...that's what farmer's markets are for..!!
Today I got a big bag of MacIntosh, one of my favorites. I love Lobos best but they are very juicy so not the best for baking...Macs are good for pretty much everything!

So with all those nice apples I had to bake something. I thought of a pie, or a cake...but I love crumbles and cobblers and things like that, so I looked through Ms. Philips' healthy baking book(which I'm slowly baking my way through, for real...it's awesome.), and found this amazing maple crunch. Apples, berries AND maple??? Yes please!!

You'll need:

5 big or 6 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced about 1/3 inch thick.
1 cup frozen or fresh berries (I used raspberries and blueberries).
1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 1/2 cup quick oats
1/3 + 1 TBSP all-purpose flour
1/3 + 1 TBSP pure maple syrup
3 TBSP lemon juice
1 1/2 TBSP canola oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1 TBSP sugar

-Turn on the oven at 350 and set the rack in the middle.
-Spray a 13x9 (or a 11x7 for thicker pieces) ovenproof glass dish with oil.
-Put the apples and berries in the dish, and spread the applesauce on top.



-In a medium bowl, mix all the other ingredients except for the sugar until well combined.
-Crumble the mixture over the apples, and sprinkle the sugar on top, along with a bit more cinnamon if you're like me and LOVE cinnamon...



-Bake until the apples are cooked and the top is golden brown,about 40-45 minutes

-Eat warm with some vanilla frozen yogurt!!



Oh, yummy apples how I love thee...