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?...

Honey-Nut Cake

Today I had the day off, so I decided to bake something. It was either that or go for a bike ride, I chose the sweet treat!



I wanted to try a new recipe from my favorite baking book, looked through and decided to go for this cake. It sounded really nice, different, and I had all the ingredients on hand. Even the skim milk powder!! I bought it months ago, thinking it would be good for shakes, but it sat in the pantry for a long time until now. This recipe calls for only 2 Tablespoons of it but hey, now that the bag is open I WILL use it in shakes..!
In this recipe there's a lot of honey, and that flavor comes out so nicely! The ground ginger tones it down a bit, but the honey!! It's beautifully sweet and it makes the cake nice and yellow.
Okay, so here's what you'll need:

Dry ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour, sifted.
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground ginger
pinch of salt

Wet ingredients:

3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup low-fat milk
1 egg
2 egg whites
2 TBSP instant skim milk powder
1 TBSP canola oil
1 TBSP vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Turn the oven on at 350F, set the rack in the middle.
Mix all the dry stuff and set aside.
Mix all the wet stuff until frothy, pour in the dry stuff, add walnuts and mix until just combined.
Pour in an oiled 8-inch square pan, smooth the top and bake for 35-40 minutes.

When it's done, the top will spring back when you press on it gently in the middle.
Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, on a wire rack.



Unmold and cool completely on a rack.
.......................................

Enjoy with some frozen yogurt or ice cream!



I decided to leave the cake dry but a nice lemon or orange glaze would be really nice with this. Or a berry coulis of some sort...