Friday, August 7, 2009

Fresh Apple Cake




Fresh Apple Cake


Years ago I was given a church recipe book that was put together by some wonderful Italian ladies. There is a recipe in this book for Fresh Apple Cake that I love to make. You decide if you want to use sweet or tart apples when making this Apple Fruit Cake Recipe. It is a simple Fresh Apple Cake recipe that requires little time. It is perfected by the fast, easy topping that you add right before baking. Go ahead and give this Fresh Apple Cake recipe a try. This Apple Cake recipe tastes great with a side of Vanilla Ice Cream. I like to serve it when it is still just a tiny bit warm.


Fresh Apple Cake
2 cups sugar
2 eggs (beaten)
½ cup oil
2 cup flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup raisins
1cup nuts
4 cups sliced fresh apples


Mix all ingredients well and put in greased 13X10 inch pan. Before baking, top with the following:


½ cup brown sugar
2tsp. flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup nuts
3 tbsp. melted butter


Bake 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Allow this Fresh Apple Cake to cool a bit and then serve with a side of Ice Cream.

Key words-Fresh Apple Cake, Apple Cake Recipe, Fruit Cake Recipe

Saturday, August 1, 2009

The Perfect Apple Pie Filling With a Flaky Crust

I love making delicious flaky crust pies and flaky crust Apple pie seems to be the pie of choice for many people. One of the reasons I like the fall season in Ohio is the abundance of delicious apples that are available at local orchards, grocery stores, and farmers markets. I got my love of flaky crust pie baking from my mom. Growing up there was always a fresh flaky crust pie on our kitchen counter. My mom was well known for her delicious pies and her flaky pie crusts. Mom used many different kinds of apples in her pies. Cortland, Winesap, Jonathan, McIntosh, and Granny Smith were the most common apples she used when making her pie fillings. Now that I make Apple pies of my own my favorite apple pie filling comes from using the Granny Smith Apple.

I like the tartness of this apple. Granny Smith apples make delicious pies. Using these apples when they are fresh is a treat but don’t think that slicing and freezing these apples will take away from their wonderful taste. Freezing is a simple process and
frozen apples sure come in handy when you want to whip up a pie in a hurry.

Please try this simple easy Granny Smith Apple pie filling and wake up your friends and family’s taste buds by using this wonderful tart apple.

6-8 Granny Smith apples peeled and sliced
1cup of sugar
¼ cup of flour
1teaspoon cinnamon
½ stick of butter

In a large skillet melt a ½ stick of butter and sautee the sliced Granny Smith apples for a few minutes to soften the apples before adding the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Put filling mixture into pie crust and top apples with a few tabs of butter before putting on the top layer of crust.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 -35 min. until crust is golden brown.

Monday, July 27, 2009

How To Make A No Fail Flaky Pie Crust

I grew up eating homemade pies. I always thought they tasted good but didn’t realize just how good until I got older and began to taste the pies made by others. I quickly decided my mom was a pie baking queen and must have a secret that no one else knew about. I told my mom that her crusts were the best and the most flaky crusts around and I wanted to know how she did it. She shared with me that it was all in the recipe and the oil was the secret. Looking back I can remember my mom baking pies as gifts for her friends that also realized her pies were something special. They began looking forward to birthdays and requesting pies instead of gifts. Our entire family gave up birthday cakes. It was common practice to have birthday pies. One day my mom walked me through the pie baking process so that I too could be a master of the much sought after flaky crust. It really wasn’t that difficult, she was right the oil is the secret. Today I am also known as a great pie maker and I too give them as gifts. When I ask the question “what do you get for someone who already seems to have everything?” The answer is simple, a delicious homemade pie. Besides the oil, my mom had a few more simple tricks up her sleeve. One was the way she rolled out her crust from keeping it from sticking to the rolling pin. It is a simple solution that once again requires an inexpensive store bought item.

If you are reading this you must want to learn how to make a delicious pie with a flaky crust so let’s get started.

First you need the following ingredients and tools. The tools are another important part of the process.

You will need the following tools: glass mixing bowl, measuring spoons, measuring cups, wooden spoon, wooden rolling pin, glass pie pan, pastry brush, a roll of saran wrap, large skillet and a warm oven

You will need the following ingredients for the crust:

2 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup of Wesson oil
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon milk and ½ teaspoon sugar (to use on the top of the crust)

In a glass bowl mix flour and salt together until blended. Add Wesson oil and water stir until mixed well and let sit for 5 min. Divide your crust mixture in half. Take a 12 in. sheet of Saran Wrap and lay one half of the crust mixture onto it. Take another 12 in. sheet of Saran Wrap and lay it onto the top of the crust mixture. Proceed to roll ½ of the crust mixture in between the two sheets with your rolling pin. You want to roll out your crust enough so it will have a bigger diameter than your pie pan. Take off the top sheet of Saran Wrap. Pick up the bottom sheet of saran wrap with the crust still on it and flip in into your pie pan. Peel off the saran wrap and proceed with crimping your edges to finish off your bottom crust. Now pour in a pie filling of your choice. Take the other ½ of the crust mixture and repeat the process with the saran wrap. With a knife slit three 2 1n. lines in the crust before flipping it on top of the filling. This allows your pie to breathe while baking. Crimp top and bottom crust together.

One more thing to do and you are ready to bake. You now need to take the teaspoon of milk and brush over the top of your top crust. Next take the ½ teaspoon of sugar and sprinkle it over the top of the crust. Add the pie filling of your choice. Bake at 400 degrees until crust is light brown in color. It takes approximately 30-35 minutes. Let cool before cutting. Serve with vanilla ice cream on the side. You will LOVE it! Enoy!