Nostalgic six minute Apple and Cinnamon Tea Cake

 

This classic Apple Tea Cake was perfect to bake one wet weekend, and is a cake I've been meaning to make again for quite a while. It doesn't need to be raining either by the way to bake this one. Tea cakes are meant to be made very quickly, in 6 minutes in fact, when visitors are on the way, popped into the oven for 30 minutes and be ready to enjoy with them while still warm. Once again, apple and cinnamon are an amazing combination. If you have apples in your crisper, this cake isn't far away.

Baked Granny Smith Apples

Baked apples for dessert can be cooking away while you are eating your main course, and can be prepared well in advance. It is the perfect dessert, as it not only ensures that you eat at least one serving of fruit in your day, but apples are also a great  dessert for the whole family, healthy and delicious. Baked apples are quite the old-fashioned sweet, and our Grannies, even our Great Grannies, back in the day, were happily baking apples with various fillings to stretch the budget and present a delicious and welcome dessert for everyone. Desserts with every meal were the norm in my Grandmothers day. Back then, the cavity was sometimes just filled with sugar, and cloves were placed around the apple for spicy flavour, or a date or a few raisins or sultanas could be placed in the base of the apple, before filling it with sugar. They knew how to make the most of what they had on hand in the pantry. All that sugar and no guilt. They probably served them with custard or homemade ice-cream if they had an icebox, and everyone was happy.  

I've taken the dried fruit ingredient to the next level in this recipe, as I baked my Fruit Mince Teacake a couple of weeks ago, and had a quarter of a large jar of fruit mince leftover in the frig. It is the perfectly spiced fruity filling for baked apples. Apples are such a ubiquitous fruit, that so many wonderful dishes can be cooked with them, however when it comes to baking, the Granny Smith apple performs the best. Did you know about 60,000 tons of Granny Smith apples are harvested in Australia each day?

Legend has it that Maria Ann Smith, also know as Granny Smith, was an Englishwoman who emigrated to Australia in the mid-1800s with her husband Thomas. She was doing some weeding one day in Tasmania, and was composting I like to think, and dumped a crate of old rotten Crab apples from their orchard at the back of their garden. Many months later she noticed a sapling growing, which subsequently produced the green and slightly sour fruit,  which became known as the Granny Smith apple. I'm really pleased that the botanists haven't decided to change it's name. Granny Smith lives on, but she died never knowing that the apples she discovered would be popular the world over, thanks to their resilient qualities. There are many versions of the origin of the Granny Smith apple but they all agree that Granny Smith was responsible. 

 I enjoy eating fresh apples, but these baked apples exceeded my expectations, especially with fresh cream.

 Ingredients:

4 large Granny Smith Apples (the green ones)

80g unsalted butter, diced and softened

1/3 cup (65g) brown sugar, firmly packed

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup fruit mince or mixed dried fruit

Pure (thin cream) to serve

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 deg. C

Find a baking dish that the apples fit snugly into.

Core the apples. To prevent the apples bursting during cooking, cut a thin line around the circumference of each apple with a sharp knife.

Mash the softened butter and brown sugar together in a bowl with a fork until combined. 

Then add the fruit mince and the cinnamon until well combined.

Spoon the fruit mixture into the cavity of each apple, and press it down well.

Pour 1/4 cup water (60ml) into the base of the dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbling and until the apples are just starting to soften.

Place the apples on 4 serving plates, small or large, and drizzle the juices from the baking dish over the apples, and top with a lot of cream.

 Serves 4

I have Granny Smith apples in my frig crisper, and some dried fruit in packets, so dessert is sorted for tonight.  We'll be very happy to enjoy a rerun of this dessert, whilst there is still a hint of cool weather left, however this dessert is still light enough to be eaten in Summer.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. 

Warm wishes,

Pauline

Turkey Pie, Cherry and Apple Crumble, and Takarakka Bush Resort at Carnarvon Gorge

 

We camped at Takarakka Bush Resort for two nights last week. Takarakka is used as the base for those wanting to experience the Great Walk through the spectacular Carnarvon Gorge located in the rugged highlands of Central Queensland. The Gorge is about 35 km long, created mostly by very significant water erosion, where many natural features exist such as the dripping Moss Gardens and the cavernous Amphitheatre. There are many examples of impressive red ochre rock art painted by the local Aboriginal tribes, thousands of years ago, which are still in remarkable condition in the "Art Gallery". Local Aboriginal peoples such as the Garingbal, Gayiri, Gungabulla, Nguri, Wasjigu and Yiman  have all believed through time that the Rainbow Serpent, Mungagudda, began its movement through the landscape here and formed the waterways including the sandstone gorge itself. 

Most people access Carnarvon Gorge via Rolleston to the North or Injune to the South. This is a rough terrain walk, best attempted during the dry Winter months, however we gave it a go in November, it was quite the challenge for me. Walking poles were my saviour, that's for sure, and I've never used them before, but keen bush walkers swear by them.There are about 13 creek crossings across strategically placed rocks to the top of the walk, I think I crossed about 7, and emerged with dry feet. A real test of balance was that little exercise.

The wildlife in the Takarakka Bush Resort are quite comfortable with having people nearby. Mr. HRK and I were taking a rest in the afternoon in the shade of the large Mango Tree as you do, and these kangaroos thought they would join us. I've never seen such tame Kangaroos.

We took a walk around the perimeter of the Takarakka grounds where Mr. HRK was on the lookout for native birds, like this beautiful and very elegant brolga.

This big guy is the chief, so we gave him plenty of room.

Birdwatching

A small echnida posing for a photograph

We're having a bit of fun here, so we can send this photo to our wonderful grandchildren.

We stood very quietly by the Platypus Pool late one afternoon for nearly an hour, but unfortunately those little mammals weren't interested in gracing us with their presence that afternoon. A kookaburra in a tree nearby was laughing at us.

Glamping in these huts is also available, if tenting or caravanning isn't your thing.

The Carnarvon Fan Palm below is the only Palm found in the park, one of the last places in Central Queensland where they grow. A grove of them is quite spectacular.

The Carnarvon Gorge Great Walk begins at this sign, which is about 10 minutes drive from Takarakka.

This is the first of the creek crossings on the Great Walk and was the easiest to cross. Things got serious and uphill after that.

Photo below taken up at the beautiful, cool and serene Moss Gardens.

We left Takarakka and drove from Carnarvon National Park to Rockhampton to visit family, along the Capricorn Highway for most of the drive, past the Blackwater Coal Mine, which brings millions of dollars to the region. This drive which surprisingly we have never done before, was quite a revelation about the two main industries which make Central Queensland a very lucrative region for Australia. Beef cattle and coal mining. We followed cattle trucks, all transporting beef cattle to the Lakes Creek meat works in Rockhampton. Seeing so many cattle trucks never used to affect me, but when I could see a couple of the Brahmans looking soulfully at me out of the back of the truck, well, let's just say I couldn't face a steak for lunch. The distinct aroma  of cow manure which hovers around these cattle trucks is very memorable. However it is one of the best fertilisers for home gardens when diluted.

Photo of a cattle truck on the Capricorn Highway taken from our car.

Coal trains run back and forth along the railway tracks beside the highway transporting coal from the Bowen Basin to Hay Point and Dalrymple Bay terminals near Mackay, for export.

Coal carriages neatly loaded with coal

A cattle truck ahead of us in the distance, and a coal train on the track beside us. That's Central Queensland, busy busy.

Empty coal train carriages below on their way back to be refilled.

Now for some cooking, thank you for your patience. Our Irish Brother in Law, Jim, lives in Rockhampton and when we called him we discovered that Mr. HRK's cousin and his wife were there for dinner, and Jim said I'm making Fowl Pie, come and join us. Lynette, who is another lovely cousin, also arrived. Jim is an amazing person, and is completely blind, and has been for many years. His sense of  humour has inspired our family through many difficult situations. He lives independently, and loves to cook. His Fowl Pie was the Turkey pie that we ate for dinner. So the night we arrived he had two sous chefs at his disposal, Annette and I, and he cooked up a storm. I was so inspired by his cooking expertise, and I hope you will be too.  He obviously has these two recipes down to a tee, cooked from scratch though, knows where everything is in his kitchen, but he also makes the family gluten free Christmas Cake each year, and loves to have people for dinner. He's a writer, enters short story competitions, has published a book of poems and is a qualified social worker. He has also been a very active campaigner in Rockhampton for people with disabilities.

Unfortunately I don't have any photos of the Turkey (Fowl) Pie. I was too busy cooking and laughing with Jim and Annette while Mr. HRK and his cousin Ross, caught up on old times. I thought I could make the pie again so I could post some photos, and I might still do that but not in the next few days. I really want to post this now, so please try and imagine a long pyrex baking dish with a filling of delicious cooked turkey mince, and a topping of creamy potato with a golden grated parmesan cheese topping. I know you can imagine such a pie very well.

Turkey Pie with creamy Potato topping

Ingredients:

500 g Turkey mince

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons dried mixed herbs

3 large carrots, finely chopped

3 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 cup hot water

2 teaspoons Gravox thickener

8 large potatoes, peeled and sliced

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup milk

Grated parmesan cheese to cover the potato

Method:

Lightly saute the onion in oil, add the carrot, celery and garlic and saute until slightly softened. Add the turkey mince to the saucepan, then the herbs, and cook until the mince and vegetables are cooked. Add the gravox to the hot water to dissolve, and add this liquid to the mince mixture.

Cook until slightly thickened. This is the easiest way for Jim to thicken the mince mixture.

Add a good teaspoon of salt to a large saucepan of boiling water, and boil the potatoes until soft but not falling apart, and ready to be mashed. Drain the potatoes, and add some butter and the milk and mash the potatoes until smooth.

Grease a large baking dish with butter, add the turkey mixture, cover evenly with the mashed potato.

Rough up the surface of the potato with a fork. Jim was very specific about how this should be done.  Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top of the potato, and place the baking dish in a preheated moderate oven. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden on top. (Then we had a well deserved glass of red wine.)

When I make this pie again I am going to add fresh herbs instead of dried mixed herbs, such as finely chopped parsley and thyme, and a tablespoon of finely chopped tarragon. The fresh herbs will take the turkey to a whole new tasty level.

Now for dessert. Annette and I had peeled and cored the apples for which Jim was very thankful, and he located the bottled cherries in his pantry.

Cherry and Apple Crumble

Ingredients:

8 Granny Smith cooking apples

2 x 680 g jars of Pitted cherries

1 tablespoon sugar (optional)

1/3 cup water

Let's cook the apples

1.  Peel and core apples and slice thinly.
2. Place in a saucepan with water (not too much), add sugar, and simmer gently until they are soft but slices still retain their shape.
3. Allow to cool then pour into a pie dish.
4. Add the cherries
5. 

For the Crumble:

1 cup plain flour (wholemeal is preferable)
3 tablespoons butter 
3 tablespoons brown or demerara sugar
3 tablespoons coconut
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon Rolled oats optional (use a little bit less flour)

Method:

1. Place flour in a bowl then rub in butter with the fingertips.
2. Add sugar, coconut, rolled oats and cinnamon and mix well until a good crumbly consistency.
3. Sprinkle lightly on top of apples.
4. Bake in a moderate oven until lightly browned on top.
5. Serve hot or cold with boiled custard.

(Jim used a variation of this crumble recipe which was delicious.  He used Honey and Nut Granola cereal for crunch, add this after the flour, butter and demerara sugar are rubbed together into a crumbly consistency).

Serving up the Cherry and Apple Crumble

Serve the Cherry and Apple Crumble with homemade custard. Jim made custard by hand on his stove top using Uncle Toby's custard powder. He just knew which ingredients to measure out, how long to stir it and it was a perfect consistency. If he can do it, well so can anyone.

It was a great family night, and Jim's love of food and cooking shone through. 

Happy thanksgiving holiday to my readers in the United States. I expect you will be very busy in the kitchen today. I had my Turkey dinner with family a week early.

Thanks for dropping by and take care.

Warm wishes,

Pauline

Country Style Green Apple And Walnut Cake

 

I like to have fresh cake made for the weekend, such a treat don't you think to eat cake on Sunday with a nice coffee, and this one ticks all the boxes. No icing on this one though, just sifted icing sugar, but you could ice them if you really must. This recipe, was adapted from a school recipe book in Western Australia by Matthew Evans, of Gourmet Farmer fame. These aren't fancy cakes,  they are low cost country style apple cakes, moist and crumbly, and taste even better the day after they are made. Matthew Evans lives in Tasmania where apples are plentiful, and I always have apples in the fruit bowl and walnuts in my freezer staying fresh, so it is easy to make this cake. Apples and walnuts should always be together.

Granny Smith green apples are the best kind to use for this cake. Those of you of my generation might remember Roger Miller's famous song "little Green Apples, from his 1968 album "A Tender Look at Love", which he wrote for his wife. It has been covered many times by various artists and even though I have to say it wasn't an actual favourite of mine, the song bounced into my head as soon as I started thinking about green apples.

"God didn't make little green apples

And it don't rain in Indianapolis in the Summertime

And when myself is feelin' low

I think about her face aglow and ease my mind" 

And if that's not lovin' me, then all I've got to say, .........

Written by Roger Miller. 1968

After that moment of self indulgence, back to the cake. The consistency of this cake mixture reminds me of a mixed fruit cake mixture, where there is a minimum of cake batter and maximun of fruit, and where the mixing spoon stands up by itself in the centre, a sure yardstick of a good fruit cake.  The first time I made these cakes, the mixture makes two 20 cm cakes,  one was eaten very quickly, and the other one sat in the refrigerator for over a week and still tasted perfect, like any fruit cake should. I was pretty thrilled with this recipe. The bonus with making two cakes, is that if you need one for an occasion, pop that one in the frig, leaving the other one to be eaten by the family. 

My 4 year old grandson living  in the Falkland Islands is invited to a lot of birthday parties, in fact in Stanley it seems that everyone in the class is invited to every birthday party always held at a large venue in the town with jumping castles etc, so that means a lot of parties and a lot of cake. Because the population there are basically British, and we know they have a sweet tooth and love cake, well they do in the Falkland Islands anyway, (hope I'm not generalising too much),  I am told there is always a predominance of cake over savouries and healthy food, at the children's parties. Some of the parents, including my son and his wife worry about the amount of cake the children are eating, and when I made this cake I thought this would be the perfect kind of cake for a children's party. Sweet enough, or the sugar can be halved, and there is plenty of fruit in the mixture. That's what I told myself anyway as I ate a second slice. It could be iced and decorated and still be much healthier than a bought one.

Ready to be iced if you wish.

Dusted with icing sugar

This recipe will make 2x20 cm cakes and this time I made a loaf cake and a round one, I have also made a large 23 cm cake, and a couple of muffin size cakes which can be frozen. Whatever works for you will be fine.

Ingredients:

6 large apples, or 8 small, preferably Granny Smith or some other sour variety

200 g (1 cup) demerara or raw sugar (or use a mixture of brown and caster sugar)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

few drops vanilla extract

125 ml (1/2 cup) Extra Virgin Olive Oil

200 g very fresh walnuts, broken up

250 g (2 cups) self-raising flour

pinch salt,

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon mixed spice or baharat

Icing sugar and thick cream to serve

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180 deg. C. Grease and line two 20 cm round cake tins or use loaf tins. 

This is a sit down job. Peel and core your apples. Cut and dice into pieces the size of a 5 cent piece. 

Place the apple into a large mixing bowl and add the sugar, eggs, vanilla, oil and walnuts.

Sift in the flour, salt, and cinnamon, and stir to make a smooth batter.

Divide the batter between the tins, then bake for 40 minutes. Test to see if it is cooked by inserting a skewer into the mixture and if it comes out clean, voila the tins are ready to place on a cooling rack. 

Cool the cakes in the tins for a few minutes, then turn them out onto your wire rack to cool.

To serve, dust with icing sugar and serve with a dollop of thickened cream or yoghurt. 

I hope you are enjoying a relaxing weekend, wherever you are.

Warm wishes,

Pauline

Apple and Sour Cream Cake Slice

I had a busy day planned and I needed a slice on the table for morning tea. I've been wanting to make this one ever since Mr. HRK's sister Suzanne, who lives in Toowoomba baked it for afternoon tea for us. We stayed for a couple of nights with Sue on our way through at the beginning of our long road trip, only a few months ago. It was so delicious, not overly sweet, and very much appreciated after a long drive that day, so I wrote down the recipe for when we came home. I'll admit that I had to call Sue when I decided to make it to clarify a few finer details, and voila, here it is.

I don't take many shortcuts with cooking now, however using a bought cake mix for the biscuit base does the trick here. Sue used a gluten free one for hers which made no difference to the result. I was quite intrigued by this recipe because of the stages involved.

When Julie and Dave arrived we ate it warm from the oven after leaving it to sit for 15 minutes for the topping to firm up, so it was slightly messier to slice, which doesn't matter at all. It still tasted great.  However the following day after sitting in the frig overnight, the biscuit base had stayed crisp, and it was very easy to slice. Mr. HRK loves it.

This could also be eaten as an easy and warm dessert for the family.

Just have faith, and follow this recipe and I assure you it will work a treat.

Let's Cook:

Turn on your oven to moderate or 180 deg.

Base Ingredients:

1 packet vanilla cake mix (gluten free if necessary) I used a White Wings packet mix. (Disregard cooking instructions on the cake mix box, and follow this recipe adding coconut and butter to the dry cake mix.)
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup or 4 tablespoons melted butter

Topping Ingredients:

250 g or 245 ml from a (400-440 ml) tub sour cream depending on brand (you might need a bit more so that the apples are covered)
385-400 g can of pie apple fruit slices
nutmeg

Method:

Mix together the ingredients for the base in a bowl.
Spread into a well greased rectangular non-stick slice tin and press it into the tin. I often use a bottle to smooth it out by rolling the bottle along the cake base.

Bake for 20 minutes in a moderate oven.

Remove tray from the oven and leave the oven turned on.
Mix the sour cream with the pie apple in another bowl, and spread onto the biscuit base.



Sprinkle with nutmeg, and I add some flaked almonds for some crunch and texture, however this isn't essential. Remember your tray will still be warm when you pick it up to place it back in the oven.

Bake for another 20 minutes at 180 deg. C or in a moderate oven.

You know, whilst I try to cook mostly from scratch, I realise it just isn't feasible for a lot of people. I really started thinking seriously about this when we were travelling and staying with our family and friends along the way. How do families with both adults or parents working manage to get a good meal on the table each night, or produce something special on the weekend without resorting to taking short cuts occasionally? I know I did when I was working. I think that including fast foods too much in our diet  is where the real danger lies to our health. So I am pursuing inventive and delicious ways of including fruit and vegetables into our diets and those of our children and grandchildren, and perhaps some partners and husbands LOL:) Watch this space. Any ideas?

I hope you can try this slice and I would love to hear from you as to how it goes.

Hoping you all have a fabulous week.

Best wishes

Pauline