One of my go-to dessert recipes is a sour cherry cake published in the Washington Post for Thanksgiving in 2002. I have a well worn photocopy of the original article that I keep on a magnet on the side of the fridge.
Over the years, I have riffed several variations on that cake, including a peach version with chili and lime, which is a delicious finale to grilled fajitas in the summer. One thing I have never done, however, as much as I love that recipe, is bake the second cake from the same piece. But all that changed yesterday when a neighbor put out an SOS because she had five pounds of apples she couldn't use.
We immediately came to the rescue. My first thought was apple sauce, but I decided that I wanted to make something a little more satisfying, since we are, y'know, stuck at home indefinitely. I considered apple pie or galette, and then briefly considered an apple version of the cherry cake, until it occurred to me that there was actually an apple cake on the same page, just waiting for a try. And when I read the recipe? I was sold!
A "cake" in name only, it has a pastry bottom, enriched with egg yolks and a crumbly streusel topping. In between, you boil the apples with vinegar and sugar that bakes into a sweet and sour filling. It's delicious! And, it was fun to make and more than big enough to share with the neighbors.
Satisfying, indeed.
Over the years, I have riffed several variations on that cake, including a peach version with chili and lime, which is a delicious finale to grilled fajitas in the summer. One thing I have never done, however, as much as I love that recipe, is bake the second cake from the same piece. But all that changed yesterday when a neighbor put out an SOS because she had five pounds of apples she couldn't use.
We immediately came to the rescue. My first thought was apple sauce, but I decided that I wanted to make something a little more satisfying, since we are, y'know, stuck at home indefinitely. I considered apple pie or galette, and then briefly considered an apple version of the cherry cake, until it occurred to me that there was actually an apple cake on the same page, just waiting for a try. And when I read the recipe? I was sold!
A "cake" in name only, it has a pastry bottom, enriched with egg yolks and a crumbly streusel topping. In between, you boil the apples with vinegar and sugar that bakes into a sweet and sour filling. It's delicious! And, it was fun to make and more than big enough to share with the neighbors.
Satisfying, indeed.
Pastry bottom? Crumbly streusel? Sweet and sour? Yes, please! Are you buttering up (literally) your new neighbors before you ask them to turn the music down?
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