Fall Apple Cake

One of my overriding goals for this blog is to be aware of limitations that college students face who might be interested in cooking for themselves without stretching cost or needing to buy a lot of single-use equipment pieces.  I am trying to keep ingredients common, and equipment limited to the items you already own or would use for multiple recipes and other purposes.

Nothing is simpler than this recipe for a quick dessert.  No, it's not extravagant, but it is so easy.  The house smells warm, inviting, comforting.  You don't need a mixer or any funny shaped cake mold--just your ability to stir, peel, and chop, and pour into the pyrex dish you have already been using in other dishes.

(Found on Pinterest)

Equipment:

9" x 13" Pyrex Dish, greased

Large mixing bowl

Spatula

Whisk

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups apples, peeled and chopped

Topping:

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 Tablespoon butter, diced

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands.

2. Preheat oven to 325F degrees.

3. Mix ingredients step-wise, IN ORDER except for the Topping ingredients:

--Combine brown sugar & oil

--Add one egg

--Add buttermilk

--Add soda

--Add vanilla

--Add flour gradually.

4. Peel, chop and dice apple (approx 1 1/2 apples ).  Fold into the batter with a spatula.

5. Pour into greased pyrex dish

6. Make the topping using a fork to combine ingredients into a coarse meal 

7. Sprinkle topping over the batter.

8. Bake for 40 minutes.

9. Add ice cream or whipping cream or just have it plain with a cold glass of milk.

Ultimate Pumpkin Bars

Nothing says comfort like coming home to the smells of cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin.  And nothing tastes like the Ultimate Pumpkin Bars--warm, moist, and covered in cream-cheese frosting.

No need to talk a lot about this dessert. 

However, when it comes to desserts, I am trying to post recipes that don't require special equipment.  Because, that's the problem with desserts and baking--some things you will either need to invest in purchasing or do without.  I will try to list alternative options if other pieces of equipment can substitute.  In the following recipe, a sifter and mixer would be ideal, but if not, use a whisk and upper arm strength.

(Adapted from The Breadman's Wife blog recipe)

Equipment:

9" x 13" Pyrex Dish, greased

Large Mixing Bowl (for wet ingredients)

Medium Bowl (for dry ingredients)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 tsps baking powder

2 tsps cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1 tsp of baking soda

4 eggs

1 and 2/3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 can (15oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

Frosting:

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup softened butter

3 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 Tbsp milk

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands.

2. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

3. Grease your pyrex dish and have butter and cream cheese already at room temperature.

4. In the medium bowl, whisk (or sift) dry ingredients together: flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt.

5. In the large bowl, use a fork (or a mixer) to combine eggs and sugar until smooth.

6. Add oil and pumpkin and stir until smooth, light and fluffy.

7. Add the dry ingredients in three parts to the wet ingredients and stir until smoothly.

8. Pour everything into the pyrex dish.

9. Bake at 350F degrees for 25-30 minutes until knife or toothpick comes out clean.

10. While that bakes, make the frosting:

--Once softened, combine the cream cheese and butter until smooth.

--Add the sugar and milk and beat (or with a mixer) with your upper arm and a fork until smooth and creamy.

13. Once cake is baked and cool, spread the cream-cheese frosting evenly over top.

14. Clean up short and sweet.  Enjoy your bars and eat them too.

No Fuss Cinnamon Apple Crisp

Winter is winding down in Chicago, but the chill of Lake Michigan still lingers walking home from school.
Nothing quite defines comfort and warmth like apples, sugar and spice...all baking together and welcoming you as you walk thru the door

But, rather than tackling pie crusts, and other advanced level baking skills, let's keep it simple and keep it all about the comfort and flavor.

If you like other fruits, give it a shot and experiment. This recipe is about as foolproof as they come...unless you walk away and burn the whole thing to a crisp. No pun intended.

(Adapted as posted on Epicurious from Bon Appetit 1993 by Fran Love. Raleigh, NC)

FYI-most cooking from North Carolina tastes really good.

Equipment:
13" x 9" Pyrex dish
Mixing Bowls
Pastry blender (or your hands and a fork)

Apple Corer (or simple paring knife to halve, quarter, and "eigth")

Ingredients:

3 1/2 lbs of Granny Smith Apples, or a mix of any other apples
1 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbls ground cinnamon
1-2 Tbls lemon juice

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled, diced

Instructions:
1. Wash hands.
2. Preheat oven to 450F degrees.
3. Butter the Pyrex dish.

4. Peel apples, core, and chop into equal pieces into a large mixing bowl.  Toss in lemon juice.
5. Add granulated sugar.
6. Add cinnamon and stir to coat all apples.
7. Pour apples into prepared Pyrex dish.

8. Combine flour, brown sugar, and butter
9. Use pastry cutter, or your hands to mash everything into a clumpy, coarse meal.
10. Sprinkle on top of apples

11. Bake crisp @ 450F degrees for 20 min.
12. Reduce temperature to 350F degrees and bake for another 30 minutes.
13. Let cool for 15 minutes.

14. Serve with vanilla ice cream and/or whipping cream.