Virtuous Apple Cake

Here's a humble farmhouse cake I've been making for H. ever since we were dating. It was the featured recipe for September in my 1990 calendar, and I pulled out the page and kept it. I don't have a specific source to attribute it to.

I doubled it tonight to make a 9 x 13 inch cake, but you can halve the ingredients and make an 8" square. You could probably also bake this larger batch in the 8" for a thicker cake, though I haven't tested that. H. and I love it, Punchy only liked it. I tweaked the recipe. It's low in sugar.

Virtuous Apple Cake

No sticks of butter or mountains of sugar, so you can feel good about eating this. The fragrant walnut oil and toasted walnuts elevate a simple cake to something special.

Butter to grease pan
Cooking oil
1 cup chopped walnuts
4 medium apples [2 red, 2 green or whatever you have], peeled and finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons sugar [1/4 cup]
2 cups all-purpose flour [next time, I will use 1.5 cups white and .5 cup whole wheat]
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup walnut oil [original recipe calls for veg oil but walnut oil is a delicious indulgence, though pricey]
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon high-quality vanilla extract [Madagascar bourbon]

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease bottom of 13" x 9" pan with butter. Line bottom with a piece of parchment paper. Grease paper with butter. 
3. Toast walnuts over medium heat in skillet with a little cooking oil. Stir nuts often and watch closely until lightly browned and fragrant. Remove from heat.
4. In large bowl, mix apples with 1 tablespoon sugar and the cinnamon. 
5. In medium bowl, combine flour, remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder and salt.
6. Stir walnut oil, eggs and vanilla into apple mixture. Add flour mixture and stir just until ingredients are moistened. Batter will be stiff. Stir in walnuts.
7. Spread mixture in pan using back of spoon and bake 45 to 55 minutes until golden brown and apple pieces are tender when poked with a toothpick.

Nice with a glass of milk!

Note: The original recipe says to cut in squares and serve warm with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce, which I'm sure would be divine but that's not the point here. I cut it into squares and packed it up for car ride to Maine and for eating up there.

TCOY

1. Boot camp in the park. Hard.
2. Met friend Maria.
3. Salon blowout.
4. Made mushrooms, steamed asparagus and chicken cutlets for dinner.