An apple cake to mark the date, October being filled with family birthdays to the brim


My posts are big. They're huge, actually. Lots of stories, plenty of opinions. A mirror of my own self, my thoughts, my feelings, my mood at the moment of writing - which may not even be the mood I'm in when the post finally gets published. Tons of photos. Some good, some bad, some ehhhh... But what's the point of having a blog if you do not put yourself into it and use it only to cater to others'? I could hardly ever come to do that, as this is such a bui part of my personal self, my true being. It is as it is, and I am sure not everyone will have the imense patience to read a post to the full. I know I don't, when it comes to certain blogs, so how can I even presume to want folks to read all through the millions of paragraphs my verboseness forces me to write down? Is verboseness even a word?


Today I'm rather pressed for time, so I'm sure not many words will be written. Maybe I'm wrong, here... so, apples. It's October, finally, my month, my favourite month of the year - August and December come very close - as it sees my birthday, my husband's birthday and Halloween. Yeah, I know, I'm no longer a child and Halloween is not even a portuguese tradition. Who cares, ever since I was a kid I've been fascinated with this date, with its history and its story, with witches and demons and ghouls and vampires and zombies and werewolfs and all. I'm pretty sure I am about to pick up one of two particular books to re-read this month, as they are so spot on for Halloween, and I always do, come this time of the year. So, apples. Because October is the month for them, not only pumpkins, and we got that one covered last post, didn't we?


Yes, it's an apple cake recipe! See, I was a very late bloomer when it comes to cooking. I only started experimenting with culinary when I decided to stop eating meat. I was in college by then, and if I wanted to nourish myself, I had to cook for myself, as my  mother and my sister were having none of that shizz - my father had already passed away by then, or else he would call me nuts. So I really started cooking by that tim. But I had tried my hand with desserts before, and with pies. Made my first pie when I was seventeen, I did. A veggie pie, for Christmas. It was gone in five seconds. And I had been making the chocolate mousse around the house ever since I was fourteen. STill, I only ever baked my first cake when I was fifteen, sixteen. This cake.


It came about to be because my highschool friends, we had this tradition of getting together during the Christmas holiday and have an afternoon where we would give Christmas presents to one another and have tea and each one would bring something to eat. I always brought coconut bonbons, which I must repeat soon, as I haven't made those ever since I started dating Hugo, in the long gone past of 2000. One of my friends brought an apple cake, once, that her sister had baked. I just couldn't stop eating that cake, it was so good! The sugary coating of apricot jelly, the melting apples, the cinnamon... it was all I could do to prevent my mouth to gobble down the entire thing! I immediately demanded the recipe and as soon as I got my hands on it, it was ready, set, go. My go to cake, I mean. For yearas and years, this was the cake I would resort to when in a hurry or in a jiffy.


Of course things have changed over the years, and as I discovered new things, new ingredients, new methods, this cake has since lost its place as a Fall staple in my kitchen, and it had been a while since I last baked it. But reverting to it is always a good thought, so here you go!
  • 150 gr sugar
  • 250 gr flour
  • 100 gr unsalted butter
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • six small apples
  • cinnamon
  • apricot or quince jelly
Start by turning on the oven, at 180º and lining a baking trey with baking parchment. Separate the egg whites from the yolks and cream the latter with the butter and sugar untill you have a creamy, fluffy, light mixture. Add the cinnamon to your liking, but beware of making it too overpowering. Beat the egg whites into soft peaks and add to the previous mix, alternating with the flour and the baking powder. Pour into the baking trey and place it in the oven. Peel, core and slice the apples, or just cut them up the way you prefer, depending on what type of baking trey you're using, and after five minutes, take the cake out of the oven and place the apple slices over the batter, sprinkling them with sugar and cinnamon. Bake for 35 minutes, and once it is done, let cool for five minutes over a cooling rack and then take it off the baking trey, and brush the whole cake with the jelly of your choice. Apricot works really well, but I find that quince is the best one, it complements the apples to perfection. Have a slice when it's just slightly warm, and a cup of coffee, and you're in for a treat, a real simple one, but a good one nonetheless. Hope you enjoy it!



Comments

  1. Os bolos de maçã são dos que eu mais gosto!

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  2. Deixa-me dizer que gosto imeeenso da segunda foto, está com umas cores mesmo bonitas :) Bolo de maçã com canela é tradição em casa da minha avó, da minha tia mais velha e na minha também, cada uma com a sua versão mas há muito pouca coisa que bata esta combinação - desde purés, strudels (que é o meu on the go cake) e bolos. O que achei mais piada no teu foi a forma que usaste, nunca uso formas quadradaa! A minha avó usa sempre a forma com buraco mas na minha casa é sempre bolos redondos! Mas vou usar esta receita e vou usar outra forma - se ficar bonito tiro foto ^^

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    Replies
    1. oh eu então não gosto nadaaaaa, acho que ficou muito pouco convidativa em termos gastronómicos eheh, como a percepção das pessoas é uma coisa diferente. Nunca tinha feito bolos em formas quadradas, mas este foi em S. Martinho, e lá não tenho formas de bolo, só de assados, de modo que tivemos de usar esta mesmo.

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  3. Wow, great photos and interesting post! (:

    www.caterina-m.blogspot.com

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  4. assim que vi a primeira foto lembrei-me logo da branca de neve e das maçãs no cesto da casa da bruxa! está fenomenal! e o bolo de maça na forma quadrada - amei! deve ter ficado uma delícia a julgar epla aprência super gulosa!
    gostei tanto deste post!

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  5. Bem, quem segue blogs e não gosta de ler, paciência. Tu sabes que eu adoro a tua escrita. Primeiro, tens sempre a TUA opinião e sempre bem fundada, depois forças-me a ler em inglês!!!
    Bolo de maçã e canela é a minha definição de outono no estômago

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