APPLE NUT CAKE

I had my heart set on apple picking this fall and trying some new recipes along with making one of my favorite fall dinners;  pork chops with apples and onions, apple sauce on the side and apple nut cake for dessert. An apple lovers dream! I will have to wait until next year to pick my own, but lucky for me supermarkets stock locally grown varieties in abundance and for a reasonable price. Each apple has is own unique qualities depending on what you want to make with it. So, after a trip to the supermarket and 3 varieties of apples ( Cortland, Empire & Granny Smith ) I decided to make mom's fall favorite:  Apple Nut Cake. The cinnamon and nutmeg flavored batter combined with fresh apples and nuts makes for a super moist cake. I usually bake it in a 9x13 pan and cut large squares, douse with powdered sugar and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to complete. Although this cake tastes great warm right out of the oven, I think it is best eaten a couple of days later when the apple flavor and moistness is at its peak. 

Did you know that New York grows more apple varieties than any other state? In fact, there are approximately 10 000,000 apple trees that produce enough apples to bake 500 million apple pies! The New York Apple Association's website is a good resource to familiarize yourself with the varieties and what they are best used for.
 http://www.nyapplecountry.com/




Cortland

This all-purpose apple was developed at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, New York, the USA in 1898. It is a juicy, sweet apple with a hint of tartness. Excellent multipurpose apple for eating, baking, sauces and salads. Freezes well. 

Empire

A cross between McIntosh and Red Delicious. Firm textured and sweet-tart makes this apple a great all purpose apple good for juice, sauces, pies, baking, and eating. 

Granny Smith 

One of the most popular apples, Granny Smith's are a bit sour but a good all-purpose baking apple. Is best when paired with sweeter spicier varieties to create a balanced pie.

Tips for Baking with Apples

Select apple varieties that are in season. If the apples are out of season, they may have been in storage and will not be as flavorful and juicy as fresh-picked apples. Look for firm apples that have no bruises or bug holes. Choose apples that look fresh, are bright in color and have a fresh apple aroma. Don’t choose unripe apples that are hard and have too much green or yellow color for their variety. If you're slicing apples and don't want the exposed pieces to turn brown, dunk the slices in a bowl of three parts water to one part lemon juice. When baking a pie, use a mix of sweet and tart apples to ensure a balanced flavor.

Mom's Apple Nut Cake

1 cup butter

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

3 cups sifted flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon ( I always add more - I just love cinnamon!)

2 tsp vanilla 
3 cups peeled chopped apples

1 cup chopped nuts 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 baking pan. 

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Gradually add sifted flour, baking powder,salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir in vanilla. Fold in apples and nuts and bake for one hour or until toothpick comes out clean from center of cake. 

SNOWMAN DESSERT

It has been a busy December and after looking through holiday cookbooks to decide what to make for this months blog, I stumbled upon a cute snowman dessert. Leave it to Martha Stewart. A snowman made out of vanilla ice cream, rolled in shredded coconut with a marshmallow top hat and 2 eyes made out of licorice. So cute and perfect for a winter holiday dessert. I examined the recipe and decided to go for it. How hard could it be? I have most of the ingredients at home. I'm all set.

 I decided to bring the supplies I needed to make this dessert to the library so I could put it together, show everyone the masterpiece and then taste test it. I guess our freezer here was not cold enough even though I tried to turn it up. To add to the frustration, my marzipan was as hard as a rock and would not mold whatsoever. Luckily my friend had an extra tangerine so I cut the peel and used that for the nose. I did not have Sen Sen candies and decided to use some black licorice and cut into small button like pieces. A bit tricky. Another challenge was that I only had a barbecue lighter to roast my marshmallows. Consequently, putting together Mr. Snowman was quite the feat!  Maybe that is why my snowman didn't quite look like Martha's. Ok, I admit it. It wasn't even close. I was defeated. So much for the masterpiece. I tried my best but  I think if I had the perfect conditions and practiced a few times that I would eventually make one that could possibly resemble Frosty's half brother?

There is a youtube video of Martha making these on her show with 2 celebrity guests; Susan Lucci and Susan's daughter Liza Huber. Both Susan and Liza mentioned that they had a difficult time putting their snowman together. Martha makes it look so easy. I'm guessing that she has a team of people helping her, all the needed supplies,a freezer that will keep the ice cream coconut balls from melting and perfectly roasted marshmallows. I hope you have better luck than me. I suggest using this dessert as a centerpiece. Making one for each guest would be so time consuming and would take up too much space in your freezer! Just keep in mind that if you want only one snowman to divide this recipe by four. Good Luck!

COCONUT SNOWMEN - makes 4 snowmen

You will need three ice cream scoops in varied sizes. Shoestring licorice cut into pieces that can also be used for the buttons, eyes and mouth.


2 1/2 pints best-quality vanilla ice cream
2 packages sweetened shredded coconut (7 oz each)
Orange food coloring
1 Tbs. marzipan
40 Sen Sen Licorice candies
4 marshmallows
4 chocolate wafers
Sifted confectioners sugar

Line a baking pan that fits in your freezer with parchment paper. Scoop vanilla ice cream, rounding scoops as much as possible until you have 4 of each size and place in prepared baking pan. Transfer to freezer to harden 15 minutes.

Spread coconut onto a plate. Remove ice cream from freezer and roll scoops in coconut. Return to pan, then return pan to freezer. Add food coloring to marzipan until carrot color. Shape marzipan into small carrot shapes using a paring knife to make ridges. Remove one small scoop of ice cream at a time from freezer and make faces using Sen Sen for eyes and mouth and marzipan carrots for nose. Return to freezer.

Remove middle-size scoops from freezer one at a time; place Sen Sen in row down front for the buttons. Remove remaining scoops from freezer and stack to create snowmen, pressing slightly to adhere. Return snowmen to freezer.

Make top hats by roasting marshmallows on skewers over a gas burner or on a baking sheet under the broiler until browned, rotating every few seconds. Place toasted marshmallows on chocolate wafers and dust with confectioners sugar. Place hat on snowmen just before serving.

THE MARTHA STEWART LIVING CHRISTMAS COOKBOOK

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