Lazy

I am a little behind time with my studies. Exams are coming up, and I have been spending my time playing computer games (I heart Maple Story!), working late, reading books, baking….. and a little bit of studying. My bad. I will study tonight. Really. After dinner. Been raining quite a bit this few days, and I feel lazy. Rainy days always have this effect on me and my kids (ie pets). We like to curl up in bed and snooze. Zzz ZZZz. But I will study. Tonight. Really. After dinner.

This apple-in-the-middle cake is quite something. I love the apple pieces cooked in rum and sugar. The cake has a tight crumb and is great as an afternoon tea snack. Best eaten warm, the browned crust will be slightly crunchy. Wrap  

Apple Surprise Cake

(Adapted from Teacher Meng’s 100 cake recipes)

 

For the apple filling

2 ½ apples (I use 3 medium size Fuji apples)

70g sugar

3 tbsp dark rum

 

For the cake

270g butter, softened

240g sugar

3 eggs

370g cake flour

¾ tsp baking powder

½ an apple

 

1.     Peel and cut the apples into small cubes. Leave half an apple aside for later use. Put the apple cubes into a sauce pan. Add in sugar and rum. Simmer at low heat until the apples are translucent. Leave aside to cool.

 

2.     Preheat the oven to 175C (350F). Sift together the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Whisk thoroughly. 

 

3.     Cut the butter into cubes and with the mixer attached with the paddle attachment, beat the butter to break up the pieces. Add sugar and beat until mixture is light and fluffy.

 

4.     Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each addition. Scrape down once to ensure that the eggs are thoroughly combined.

 

5.     Fold in half the dry ingredients. Using a ginger grater, grate the apple into the mixture. Add in 1 tablespoon of the rum sauce from the cooked apple pieces. Mix until just combined. Folding in the remaining dry ingredients. Batter will be thick.

 

6.     Scrap half the batter into a greased 9 by 5 loaf pan. Add in the apple cubes, and then top with the remaining batter. With a rubber spatula, smooth and even out the top. Bake in the oven for 60 – 65 minutes, or until a stick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before unmolding. Serves 8. To keep, wrap tightly and it can be kept at room temperature for 2 days.

Good Morning…..Not

I am a night owl. I detest waking up in the morning. When I was a kid, I have morning school sessions in alternate years. I HATE HATE HATE morning sessions. Waking up at 5.30am in the morning was a torture to me. I wanted to die. I stood there staring at the dark sky (the sun had yet to rise), and wondered (many times) why is there the need for mornings. There should only be night and darkness. I should stay in alaska. I would be happy there, at least, during the period where there is no sun.

Anyway, since I was never a morning person, I was not a breakfast person either. However, when I reached junior college, my dad and I developed a habit of having breakfast before I go to school. I am proud to say that even now, we have breakfast together every morning before work. Now, I am a believer of having a good breakfast to start my day off. Thanks dad!

This is yet another scone recipe I have here. Yep, I am a scone person. I adapted it loosely from Dorie’s Apple Cheddar Scone. I did not use buttermilk as I had a bottle of cream in my fridge to use up. I don’t think this is a favourite recipe of mine, and I find the cornmeal in it unnecessary. A little disappointed with how it turned out, probably because of the rave reviews I have seen from others who have tried this. Perhaps I will try it again in future with fresh apple bits and buttermilk. If the dough is too wet, add a tablespoon of flour. Alternatively, you can also put it in the freezer for 10 minutes before shaping them.

Apple Cheddar Scone

1 large egg
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornmeal

2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely diced dried apples

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to  205C (400 F). Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

2. Stir the egg and cream together.

3. Whisk the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl. Drop in the butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You’ll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces the size of everything in between – and that’s just right.

4. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir with a fork just until the dough, which will be very wet and sticky, comes together. If there are still some dry ingredients in the bottom of the bowl, stir them in, but try not to overdo the mixing. Stir in the grated cheese and dried apple.

5. Still in the bowl, gently knead the dough by hand, or turn it with a rubber spatula 8 to 10 times. Then, because the dough is very sticky, the easiest thing to do is to turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface, pat it into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick and, using a dough scraper or a chef’s knife, cut it into 12 roughly equal pieces; place on the baking sheet. Alternatively, you can just spoon out 12 equal mounds onto the baking sheet. (At this point, the scones can be frozen on the backing sheet, then wrapped airtight. Don’t defrost before baking – just add about 2 minutes to the baking time.)

6. Bake the scones for 20 to 22 minutes, or until their tops are golden and firmish. Transfer them to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before serving, or wait for the scones to cool to room temperature.

Is it fall already?

Good question. Not that the changing seasons made much of a difference here. During fall and winter, our weather here ranges from 28 – 33C, which is pretty similar to spring and summer (although summer can sometimes climb up to about 35C). Still, we can detect the changing season through the different types of seasonal produce available in the market. Chinese restaurants would start to offer hairy crabs, a small furry crustacean with a belly full of deep orange roe. They are only available once a year, and is considered a delicacy. Japanese restaurants are seeing the arrival of Hokkaido crabs and fat sardines. The summer berries at the grocers are slowly being replaced with late season plums, chestnuts and rosy apples. Of course, we will always have our tropical fruits in abundance. Lucky us!

My dad will give me an apple every day to bring to work. I guess he believes in the term ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’ . Fall brings the freshest and fattest apples, which are most suitable for cooking. I guess it is only fair to start of fall with an apple cake (I was too lazy to do up a pie.) from one of my favourite sites, Smitten Kitchen. My cake was done a little before the stipulated 1 1/2 hours, so do watch it closely a little after an hour. The only change I made was to use 1 1/3 cups of sugar (instead of 2) in the cake, half brown sugar and half white.  We don’t wear bulky clothes here during fall and winter, so I still got to watch my weight eh?

Apple Cake

(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

6 apples, (I used 4 medium and 2 large Fuji)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
4 1/2 tablespoons sugar

2 3/4 cups flour, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 175C. Grease a 9 or 10 inch tube pan. Peel, core and chop apples into chunks. Toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.

2. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones, then add eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.

3. Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 hour and 20 mins, or until a tester comes out clean.