I’m a pretty sentimental little bastard, and food ties in
nicely with my Sheldon-Cooper-esque, nostalgia-driven obsession with days of
yore.
Years ago my parents had one of those old-school dishwashers
that you had to roll across the kitchen, and attach it to the kitchen sink in
order to kick off the wash cycle.
Later on when they replaced the Mesozoic appliance, my Dad harvested the
wooden top, and re-purposed it into a ginormous cutting board, and gave it to
me. It remains one of my most
prized possessions, despite the fact that it’s an absolute bitch to clean, as
it doesn’t even come close to fitting into the sink. It has also served well as an ersatz baby gate when friends
with kids have visited.
Despite the fact that it’s so gargantuan, and could likely
serve as the barrier door on a nuclear bunker, I’m highly protective of it, and
God help anyone who thinks they can use it without my express
permission/supervision.
While I’m talking about sentiment (and neurosis), I also
have a mug from my late grandparents.
Technically it’s a coffee mug, but since my grandparents were very
English, and rather proper, we only ever had tea in their company. As such, the mug may only contain
tea. In the years since, I’ve
managed to find more pieces in the same pattern, and I will allow other
beverages to be served in the mugs.
EXCEPT the one from my grandparents. Yes, I’ve memorized the position of the manufacturers mark on
the bottom of the mug, and know which one is sanctified.
So yes, I’m a bit psycho.
However, in amongst the random synaptic firings in my brain
I did manage to get one oddity which has proved quite useful: a pretty damned
fine memory, if I do say so myself.
And it is that oddly-honed attribute which is responsible for this
recipe seeing the light of day.
I remembered this cake showing up in my school lunches a
couple times back in elementary school (we’re talking mid 80’s here, people). At the time it wasn’t so much the cake
itself I was in love with, but the caramelized coconut topping.
I called my Mom to ask for the recipe,
“Do you still have the recipe for French Apple Cake?”
“The what?”
“You must remember.
The one with the coconut on top…?”
We went back and forth for a while, and over the course of
several phone calls. My vague descriptions
of the recipe card in her handwriting, clearly saying “French Apple…”. Her phone calls back with random
recipes for carrot cake, coffee cake, and then eventually we both gave up, even
though it was driving us both crazy by this time.
Ten minutes after we’d hung up, my phone rang again, and I
answered, hearing two words that made these wistful little toes wiggle “Got
it!”.
Apparently I inherited my obsessive nature from my Mom, as
she pretty much conducted an archaeological dig on her vaults of recipes until
she found this misplaced (but not forgotten) gem.
French Apple Pie Cake
For the cake:
·
4 cups chopped apples
·
2 cups brown sugar
·
1 cup oil
·
2 eggs (beaten)
·
2 tsp vanilla
·
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
·
2 cups flour
·
2 tsp baking soda
·
1 tsp salt
·
2 tsp cinnamon
For the topping:
·
½ cup melted butter
·
2/3 cup brown sugar
·
¼ cup cream or milk
·
½ cup shredded coconut
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease & flour a 9x13 pan.
In a large bowl mix the brown sugar with the chopped
apple. Add oil, eggs and vanilla,
and stir/fold mixture until evenly dispersed.
In a separate bowl sift together flour, soda, salt and
cinnamon.
Add to apple mixture, folding immediately until
blended. The batter will be sticky
and somewhat stiff.
Pour batter into prepared pan, using a spatula to push
batter to edges and corners, and bake for 40-60 minutes. Test with a toothpick for
doneness. No batter on the
toothpick? It’s done.
Meanwhile, mix topping ingredients.
When the cake comes out of the oven, switch on the broiler
(leaving rack in the middle of the oven).
Spread topping ingredients on the warm cake, and place under
the broiler. When mixture is
bubbling and bronzed, remove and allow to cool before cutting and serving.
It turns out my memory did fail me somewhat on this
one. The actual cake is
delightful! Carrot-cakey in
texture and moistness. Capped off
with the coconut, DAMN! Fine
little piece of baking it be!
