I'm not really sure what made me think of this, but I randomly remembered today that I "made up" a word in fourth grade. It was "awesomelycool." I remember seriously believing I made this word up, that nobody had been as clever as me to do so, and that I, myself, was awesomelycool. I mean, it was such an innovative term, such an expressive adjective, that I couldn't describe it as anything else but awesomelycool.
And then I had this really annoying classmate, Bill, who tried to convince me I didn't make it up.
But, I knew I had… (Bill was wrong) I had never heard the word before, or had I? Such confusion. Anyways, this apple cake is awesomelycool.
Apple cake
Adapted from the Joy of Baking
Makes one 8-inch square cake
Ingredients
¾ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1 lb apples (I used a combination of gala, granny smith and yellow delicious)
1-2 TBSP fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tp salt
6 TBSP (¾ stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
½ tsp vanilla exract
Glaze (opt):
⅓ cup apricot preserves or jam
Preheat the oven with the rack in the middle to 350F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
Peel, core, and coarsely chop the apples. Toss with the lemon juice and set aside.
In the bowl of your stand or hand mixer, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add in the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat until well combined. Fold in the nuts and chopped apples. If the batter is too thick, add in a tablespoon or two of milk.
Spread the batter evenly into the greased pan and bake in the preheated oven for 35- 45 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
If making the glaze, place the preserves in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat until liquid while the cake is still warm. Remove from heat and strain the jam through a fine strainer to remove lumps. Using a pastry brush, spread the warmed preserves over the cake.
Note: the original recipe recommends keeping the cake in the fridge.
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