By Andy Bedwell
This week I am continuing some great apple desserts. About the best call to breakfast on Sunday morning, or any day, is the spicy aroma of an apple coffee cake drifting through the house. Cinnamon and nutmeg are two of my favorite spices especially during the fall.
Apple Pudding Cake
3 1/2 cups apples,
diced and set aside
2 sticks margarine
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon soda
Cream margarine and sugar. Blend in eggs, one at a time. Sift dry ingredients together and mix into batter, along with vanilla. Fold in apples. Pour into a greased 9 x13-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.
Andy’s Note: I have just made this delicious apple cake and hope all of you will like it, too. Be sure to let your margarine and eggs come to room temperature before you put it together. Also, you must let this cake cool before you begin to cut into squares. Of course, I think most apple desserts deserve a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Henry’s Apple Cake
1 1/2 cups Crisco oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups peeled and chopped apples (I always use Granny Smith for cooking)
1 cup chopped pecans
Sauce:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 stick butter
For cake, mix together all ingredients (except apples and nuts) in a huge bowl and mix well. Do not use a mixer. The batter will be stiff. Spoon into a greased and floured tube pan (or two loaf pans) at 350 degrees for one hour and 10 minutes.
For sauce, mix all ingredients and cook for three to five minutes. Pour over cake when you take it out of the oven. Let it set for two hours before removing from the pan.
Andy’s Note: This cake is much like a fruitcake but much better because of the apples. I can not begin to tell you how many of these I have made in my lifetime. My uncle, Henry McCleskey, loved this cake! When I would ask him what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, he always said, “That cake with all of the pecans.” He kept me in pecans because of this cake. I just had to name this cake in memory of my Uncle Henry. This cake is so dear to my heart.
A big Roll Tide and War Eagle!
Happy Apple Cooking,
Andy Bedwell
“Southern Cooking with Andy Bedwell” can be purchased at Alabama Gift Company in downtown Gadsden and The Messenger on Rainbow Drive.