Apple Cake

Apple Cake

4 large apples

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 cups plus 5 tablespoons sugar

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

¼ cup orange juice

2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a Bundt pan.

2. Peel and slice the apples. Mix the cinnamon and 5 tablespoons of sugar. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the eggs; add the oil, 2 cups of sugar, the orange juice and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and beat a low speed just until mixed.

5. Spoon one third of the batter into the prepared pan. Top with half of the apples and half of the cinnamon sugar. Cover with another third of the batter. Add the rest of the apples and cinnamon sugar. Top with the remaining batter.

6. Bake for 1 ¼ hours or until the cake shrinks slightly from the sides of the pan. Remove from the pan and cool on a rack.

Sara Foster's Cranberry Apple Pie

McIntosh or Empire apples are best for this pie.

Recipe by Sara Foster

MAKES: 1 (9-inch) pie (about 8 servings) PREP: 40 minutes CHILL: 10 minutes BAKE: 1 hour STAND: 1 hour Easy Piecrust (below) 2 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained 3 large apples (about 1 3/4 pounds), peeled and thinly sliced (I put more for a really tall pie) 1/4 cup apple cider (used apple-cranberry juice, because that's all I had) 2 tablespoons dark rum (omitted) 1 cup sugar 3 tablespoons cornstarch 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger Pinch of ground nutmeg Pinch of ground cloves 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces Egg wash (1 large egg beaten with 2 tablespoons milk) Pinch of sugar (optional) Garnish: Spiced whipped cream or vanilla ice cream 1. Roll half of Easy Piecrust dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface (about a 13-inch circle). Fold in half, and transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Unfold and drape over pie plate, pressing bottom and sides into pan. Roll remaining dough about same thickness and size; place on a baking sheet. Chill both piecrusts in freezer 10 minutes. 2. Preheat oven to 375°. Combine cranberries and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl, and toss to coat. Add 1 cup sugar and next 5 ingredients, and toss to coat. Pour mixture into chilled piecrust in pie plate; dot with butter. 3. Cut chilled dough on baking sheet into 3/4-inch strips. Place 5 to 7 strips over filling in one direction; add remaining strips in perpendicular direction, folding back alternating strips in a crisscross fashion. Trim strips even with edges of crust; fold edges under, and crimp. Place pie on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet; brush pastry with egg wash, and sprinkle with sugar, if desired. Bake at 375° for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until filling is bubbling and crust is golden brown. (If top is browning too quickly, lightly shield with aluminum foil.) Let cool about 1 hour before slicing. Garnish, if desired. Easy Piecrust With minimal ingredients and fuss, you can make your own crust in less time than it takes to go buy one. MAKES: 2 (9-inch) piecrusts or 1 double-crusted pie PREP: 10 minutes 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes 1. Combine flour and salt in a large mixing bowl, and cut in butter with a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) until dough resembles coarse meal. Add 3 tablespoons ice water, and stir, adding 2 to 4 more tablespoons water until dough forms a ball and leaves side of bowl. 2. Form into 2 flat, round discs (or balls), cover with plastic wrap, and chill until ready to use. Adapted from Cottage Living Magazine

Fresh Raspberry Cream Cakes

This recipe is adapted from Cottage Living magazine. This is a pretty simple recipe, and it never fails to impress guests. Great presentation. Saucy Sally prefers it with strawberries replacing the raspberries.

Rating: 4
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Prep: 20 minutes
Freeze: 3 hours
Stand: 15 minutes

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups fresh raspberries, washed and drained
1 (8-ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups fresh whipping cream

1. Insert cupcake liners into 12 muffin cups; set aside.

2. Stir together graham cracker crumbs and butter in a medium bowl. Spoon about 1 tablespoon mixture into each liner, pressing down firmly with fingers to form crust.

3. Reserve 12 raspberries for garnish. Place remaining raspberries in food processor; pulse 10 seconds or until smooth. Reserve 1/2 cup for filling. Press remaining puree through a fine, wire-mesh sieve over a small glass bowl, using back of a spoon to squeeze out juice. Discard pulp and seeds. Cover and chill raspberry juice.

4. Pour whipping cream into a chilled bowl, and use clean beaters to beat at medium-high speed with an electric mixer for about 3 minutes or until soft peaks form.

5. Beat cream cheese at low speed with electric mixer until creamy. Add sweetened condensed milk, and reserved 1/2 cup pureed raspberries, beating until just combined. Fold in 1 1/2 cups whipped cream. (Save remaining cup of whipped cream for garnish.)

6. Top each crust with about 1/3 cup of mixture. Cover with plastic wrap, and freeze 3 hours or until firm.

7. Remove cakes from freezer; peel away cupcake liners, and place cakes on serving plates. Let stand 15 minutes before serving. To serve, dollop remaining whipped cream evenly onto each cake. Drizzle with reserved raspberry juice, and top with reserved raspberries. Store ungarnished, covered with plastic wrap, in freezer up to 2 weeks.