Apple Cake

Summer is on its last leg and autumn is almost upon us. The children are back in school and I have nothing much to do all day. Except try out all the recipes that I brought with me to Dubai. If I was back home in Scotland, it would be apple picking time. There would be big bushels of apples on our kitchen table and the children would always get an apple with their school lunch.

But what do you do with all the apples that are far from perfect, the result of windfall or careless hands? That is when my mom’s apple cake comes handy. All the damaged parts would be cut off and the rest would be used for pies and cakes. The kitchen would be awash with the scent of fresh apples, cinnamon and nutmeg for weeks. 

Although it has been many years since I have been home during apple picking, the autumn season always takes me back to those innocent times. And I bake an apple cake in the memory of those times. Along with slices of cake, I regale my children with tales about growing up on a farm and they always pretend to be interested. (I repeat the same stories every year. I wonder when they will tell me to keep quiet.) 

So here is my apple cake in memory of my childhood. 

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup butter at room temperature
1½ cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
4 cups peeled, finely chopped apples

1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds or pecan)

Preparation

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Keep aside.

Cream the butter and sugar well till light and frothy. Add the eggs and beat again. Fold in the cinnamon and nutmeg and mix gently. Toss the apples with a handful of the flour mixture to prevent them from sinking, then add the rest of the flour to the dough. Fold well, and then add the apples and mix gently. Pour into a greased pan and bake at 180^o Celsius for 45 to 50 minutes or till a wooden skewer comes out clean. The cake is supposed to be a bit moist, so don’t overcook it.

You can replace white sugar with brown sugar for a more earthy flavour.

You can have apple cake with fresh cream, ice cream or just plain with a cup of tea or coffee.