Apple pie, apple pie, or apple pie is always a great dessert choice. Maybe that's because there are so many types of apple pie. You've got your apple crumb,

your double crust, your caramel. But for those of you who might prefer cake or other apple sweets, there's a treat waiting just for you in . . .

Topsy-Turvy
Apple Ring

Apple Cobbler Pie

This super easy pie is reminiscent of a cobbler.

filling:

4 cups pared and sliced apples

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

dash salt

1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon butter 

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon water

crust:

1/2 cup unbleached flour

dash salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup oil

1/2 cup sour cream

1 egg

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Place apples, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and 1 tablespoon water in a covered saucepan over low heat. Simmer the fruit until tender. Add the butter. Stir cornstarch into the tablespoon of water. Add the cornstarch mixture to the fruit and its juices, and stir just until thickened. Set aside.

Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and sugar in a small bowl. Combine oil, sour cream and egg in a separate bowl. Stir the sour cream mixture into the flour. Spread 2/3 or so of the batter to line a 9-inch pie plate. Pour the cooked apples over the batter. Drop teaspoons of the remaining batter over the fruit.

Bake about 20 minutes, or until the "crust" is golden. Cool 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Yield: 6 servings

― cb 1990

Chunky Apple Cake

If you can keep it around long enough, this cake tastes better the next day. Try a slice slathered with cream cheese. Yum.

3 cups unbleached flour

1½ cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

dash mace

1/4 cup oil

3/4 cup applesauce

2 eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon molasses

3 cups pared, chopped apples

1 cup chopped pecans

Yield: 12 servings

― cb 1990

Apple Pie

This traditional pie starts in a hot oven, then the heat is reduced.

 ―Jones,1990

Golden Delicious Apple Cake

Dorothy's son likes this cake so much that he submitted her recipe.

3/4 cup shortening

1½ cups sugar

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3/8 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 cup of warm coffee

2 cups pared and diced Golden Delicious apples

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

― Dorothy Jarrett,1990

Topsy-Turvy Apple Ring Cake

Is the top on the bottom or the bottom on the top? Topsy-turvy means an impressive display of fruit presented on the top of the cake but cooked at the bottom of the cake pan.

cake:

1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
dash ground cloves
2 teaspoons baking powder 
1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon yogurt
1/2 cup molasses, warmed 
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg

top:
3 medium tart apples
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon molasses
1 tablespoon chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir in milk, yogurt, molasses, butter, and egg with an electric mixer on low speed. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is smooth. Cover bowl and set aside.

Core, pare, and slice the apples into rings, and sprinkle lemon juice over the rings. Swirl the melted butter so that it covers the bottom of a 10-inch, ovenproof frying pan. Sprinkle sugar, molasses, and pecans over the butter. Then arrange the apple rings on top of the sugary topping. Finally, pour the batter evenly over the apples.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until cake is done. Allow the cake to cool for about five minutes, then invert cake onto a dish or platter larger than the shape of the pan. Serve warm.

Yield: 6 servings

 ―cb 1990

Cocoa Apple Cake

Besides apples, is their anything better than chocolate? So why not combine chocolate and apples. The result is a simple yet very tasty cake.

1½ cups flour

2/3 cup sugar 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

5 tablespoons cocoa

1/3 cup pared, chopped apple

1 tablespoon chopped pecans

1 tablespoon dried raisins

1 cup water

1 tablespoon oil

1/4 cup applesauce 

3/4 teaspoon vinegar

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Using a whisk, stir the flour, sugar, salt, soda, cinnamon, and cocoa together in a medium-sized bowl. Stir in the chopped apple, pecans, and raisins, and set aside.

Measure 1 cup water into a 2-cup measuring cup. Add the oil, applesauce, and vinegar to the water. Using the whisk, stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients just until smooth. Pour the batter into an ungreased, 9-inch square cake pan. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and place pan on a rack to cool. Cut into 9 squares and place the squares on a serving dish. Dust the squares with the powdered sugar. 

Yield: 9 servings

 ―cb 1990w

Stirring Solutions

What is the solution
for the right-side up/upside-down blues?

by Chef Betty Cooker

 How do you ensure the top of your upside-down cake stays intact as you invert the cake? Inverting the cake can be a little scary, especially if you are trying for a great presentation for your guests. Here are a few tips to make the job easier.

First, a nonstick, oven-safe fry pan or omelet pan makes easy work of upside-down cakes.  It's also a lot lighter than a cast iron skillet!

Set the pan on a rack to allow the cake to cool. Let the cake cook at least 5 minutes. 

Carefully insert a thin spatula between the cake and the pan to loosen the cake from the sides without cutting into the cake.

Invert the pan over a flat cake plate larger than the diameter of the  pan. If the cake does not drop out, place a cool, wet cloth on the bottom of the pan.

 Patience, they say, is a virtue. But the best tip is to invert the cake in the kitchen, alone—no one but you will know if a piece of fruit or sugar doesn't loosen just so. And if the cake isn't picture perfect, you'll have time to camouflage the damage. (Have I told you about whipped cream? It works wonders and tastes good, too.)

Easy Apple Cake

This simple, delicious cake is just as the title advertises: easy. Since it can also be served warm, it is a great recipe for a last-minute dessert. A dusting of confectionary sugar, a dollop of whipped cream, or a dip of vanilla ice cream makes it even more scrumptious.

1½ cups unbleached flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon wheat germ

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/16 teaspoon ginger

dash ground cloves

3/4 cup applesauce

1 tablespoon oil

3/4 teaspoon vinegar

1/4 cup apple juice

Preheat oven to 350º F. 

In a medium sized bowl, stir the dry ingredients together with a whisk and set aside. Combine applesauce, oil, vinegar, and water in a small bowl. Stir the applesauce mixture into the flour mixture until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter into an ungreased, 9-inch square cake pan. Bake about 25 minutes, or until done.

Yield: 9 servings

―cb 1990

Apple Crumb Pie

The Eckerts have been growing apples since 1837, says Jane Eckert who recommends Jonathan apples for her pie.

4-5 Jonathan apples

1 unbaked pastry shell

1 cup sugar, divided

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup flour, scant

1/3 cup butter

Preheat oven to 450º F.

Peel and slice apples. Arrange the slices in the unbaked pastry shell. Combine 1/2 cup of the sugar with the cinnamon, and sprinkle the mix over the apples. Sift the remaining 1/2 cup sugar with the flour. Cut the butter into the sugar and flour mix until very crumbly, and then sprinkle over the apples. Bake in a hot oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350º F, and continue baking for 30 minutes or until the apples are tender.

Yield: 8 servings

― Jane Eckert,1990

Emily's Fresh Apple Cake

This recipe is a favorite at Graves' Mountain Lodge.

2 cups sugar

1 cup oil

2 eggs

2 ½ cups sifted flour

1 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups chopped apples

6-oz package butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease a 13x9x2-inch cake pan.

In a large bowl, blend the sugar and oil together. Beat in the eggs. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Combine the flour mixture with the oil mixture. Stir in the apples. Pour the batter into the cake pan. Sprinkle the chips over the batter. Bake for 45 minutes, or until cake tests done.

Yield: 12 servings

― Jim Graves, 1990

Lemon Apple Squares

The ingredients in this sweet dessert are layered.

First layer:

1/2 cup margarine or butter

1 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

Second layer:

1 large apple, grated

juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 egg, beaten,

1/2 cups sugar, divided

Third layer

2 cups shredded coconut

1 egg, beaten

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon margarine or butter

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Combine margarine, flour, and brown sugar, and pat into a 9x9x2-inch ungreased pan.

In a saucepan combine apple, juice, zest, egg, and sugar. Cook until thickened. Spread over first layer.

 Top with mixture of coconut, sugar, egg, and butter.  Bake about 20 minutes.

Yield:  9 servings

Jones Farm & Country Store, 1990

Date-Apple Goo

2-3 medium apples

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1/2 cup chopped dates

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg, unbeaten

Preheat oven to 350º F. Greased an 8-inch baking pan.

 Pare and dice apples, fine. Add remaining ingredients in the order listed, mixing well after each addition. Pour into the baking pan. Bake 20 minutes until top is golden. Serve with cream or ice cream.

Yield: 8 servings

―Jones Farm & Country Store,1990

Apple Date Nut Cake with Broiled Icing

cake:

1 cup chopped apples

1 cup chopped dates

1 cup boiling water

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shortening

1 egg

1 ½ cups sifted flour

1 cup chopped nuts

1 teaspoon vanilla

icing:

4 tablespoons salted butter

1 cup coconut

1/2 cup brown sugar

  2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350º F.  Grease a 9x13x2-inch pan.

Combine apples, dates, boiling water, and baking soda. Set aside to cool.

Cream sugar, salt, and shortening. Beat in egg.   Alternately, add portions of the apple mixture and portions of the flour to the creamed mixture. Add vanilla and chopped nuts, and pour batter into pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until the cake tests done.

Cook the butter, coconut, brown sugar and milk over low heat until brown sugar bubbles. Spread on hot cake. Place the cake under the broiler just until slightly brown, about 2 minutes.

Yield: 12 servings

―Arlene Kober, 1990

Fall Fruit Cobbler

Filling:

2 peeled, sliced cooking apples

2 peeled, sliced pears

2 peeled, sliced, peaches

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon orange juice

topping:

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon grated orange rind.

Preheat oven to 425º F. Grease a 1½ quart baking dish.

Combine fruit. Combine cinnamon, flour, brown sugar, and orange juice, and mix with fruit. Turn into the baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes.

While fruit is baking, mix flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Beat in egg, milk, butter, and orange rind, and stir into dry ingredients. Spoon batter over baked fruit, and spread evenly. Bake 30 minutes longer or until topping is golden brown.

Yield: 6 servings

―Jones Farm and Country Store, 1990

Cobbled Apple Pie

pie filling:

6 large cooking apples, such as Granny Smith

2/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

pie dough:

2 cups unbleached flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg, slightly beaten

3/4 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 cup oil

Preheat your oven to 400º F.

Peel, core, and thickly slice apples into a covered 4-quart saucepan. Combine the sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the apples, and stir the apples until they are coated. Add the 1/4-cup water. Place the pan over medium heat, cover, and simmer the apples until they are tender and the juice comes to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

When the apples are tender, stir the cornstarch into the 2 tablespoons water,  then stir the mixture into the hot apples. Continue to cook and stir just until the juice is thick and bubbly and the apples are coated.

While the apples simmer, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl. 

Brookfield Orchards Apple Dumplings

  Cortland apples are a good choice for this recipe according to the people at Brookfield Orchard. These dumplings also freeze well, they say. The recipe is simple: a formula for one dumping.

―Brookfield Orchards,1990

Apple Cake

"Good to make a day ahead," says Jane Eckert.

2 eggs

1 ½ cups sugar

1 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups diced apples

1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

Beat eggs. Add sugar, and continue beating until mixture is thick. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together, and add to egg mixture. Fold in apples and nuts. Pour into pan, and bake for about 45 minutes. Cool in pan. Serve plain or with whipped cream topped with cherries.

Yield: 4 servings

 ―Eckert's Country Store & Farms,1990

Chocolate Apple Cherry Cake

Ice this cocoa cake with Favorite White Icing and decorate with dried cherries, finely chopped almonds, and a few slivers of dark chocolate.

3 cups flour

1½ cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon allspice 

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup cocoa

1 cup pared, chopped apple

1/3 cup dried cherries

1 cup water

1 cup apple juice

2 tablespoons oil

1/2 cup applesauce 

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.

Sift together the flour, sugar, allspice, salt, soda, baking powder, and cocoa. Stir the chopped apple and cherries into the flour mixture, and set aside.

Combine water, juice, oil, applesauce, and lemon juice. Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Pour the batter into the pans.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until done. Remove from oven and place pan on a rack to cool.

Yield: 12 servings

 ―cb 1990w

Favorite White Icing

1 pound box powdered sugar

6 tablespoons butter, softened

4 tablespoons milk

1/2 vanilla bean

Heat milk in microwave at high for 20 seconds. Place vanilla bean in milk to steep. Strain the milk when it is cool.

Place strained milk, softened butter, and sugar in a mixing bowl.  Beat until smooth and fluffy. (If the icing is not at spreading consistency, slowly add a few more drops of milk.)

Yield: icing for 9-inch, two-layer cake 

Mom's Apple Pie

8 medium apples, pared and sliced (about 6 cups)

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon molasses

1 tablespoon butter

1 recipe Mom's Apple Pie Crust

1 teaspoon sugar mixed with dash cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Line a glass pie pan with pastry as directed in crust recipe. 

Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, allspice, and salt, and stir into apples. Sprinkle molasses over apples, and stir. Pour apples into the prepared pie pan. Dot butter over apples.

Cover with top pastry, and trim edges,  shape, and vent as directed in crust recipe. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over top crust.

Bake about 1 hour or until the crust is golden brown.

Yield: 6 servings

Mom's Apple Pie Crust

This makes enough pastry for a double crust pie. For a single crust pie, cut the ingredients in half.

2 cups unbleached flour

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small chunks

2 tablespoons shortening

4 to 5 tablespoons ice cold water

Combine flour, salt, sugar, cinnamon, butter, and shortening in a mixing bowl and mix with an electric mixer on low until the mixture is crumbly. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and mix just until the pastry forms, about 15 to 20 seconds. Shape the pastry into two balls.  Wrap the balls tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

When you are ready to roll out the pastry, lightly flour your work surface and your rolling pin. Roll each ball into a flat circle, then continue to roll the pastry from the center to each edge until you form a 12-inch circle for a 9-inch pie pan. Move the pastry slightly as you work, adding a little flour to prevent sticking, as needed.

 Line a glass pie pan with bottom pastry. Trim pastry to rim of pan. Fill pastry with pie filling. Cover with top pastry, and trim edge so that it extends about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch beyond rim. Lift the edge of the bottom crust at rim just enough to fold the extra top crust under the bottom crust edge. Crimp the edges by depressing the back of a teaspoon repeatedly around the crust edge. Use a sharp knife to cut slits in the top crust to vent steam. Bake according to pie recipe.

(For a single-crust pie, cut bottom crust so that it extends about 1/2 to 3/4 inch beyond rim. Fold extra pastry under to build up the edge and crimp.)

Stirring Solutions

How do you know
when hot syrup is actually candy?

by Chef Betty Cooker

Homemade Candy Apples are an impressive Halloween treat for kids and grownups alike. For a perfect ending to a Halloween party, surprise your guests with this candy treat that is usually hard to find outside of circuses and carnivals.

To make candy apples at home, treat yourself to a good candy thermometer to help you gauge the necessary "hard crack" stage which is 300ºF to 310ºF. 

You can also use the cold-water test by dropping a small amount of the syrup into cold water and checking the consistency with your fingers. At "hard crack" the syrup separates into hard, brittle threads.

When you make a sugar syrup candy, use a heavy pan deep enough to allow the candy to boil up the sides of the pan without boiling over.

And remember that something that can boil over is really hot, so keep the children away from the stove and be careful as you dip the apples.

If you wish to add red food coloring, look for natural vegetable food colorings available at specialty shops to color the candy red.

With just a little practice at candy making, you can make candy apples with a sweet, hard, candy coating over a crunchy, juicy apple that children of all ages will love at Halloween.

Candy Apples

10 medium apples, unblemished

10 popsicle sticks

3 cups sugar

2/3 cup water

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon whole cloves

butter, to grease baking sheets

Wash and dry apples, and remove the stems. Insert a popsicle stick into stem end of each apple. Set aside.

Combine sugar, water, lemon juice, cream of tartar, and cloves in a heavy saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring gently, until sugar dissolves. Cover pan and cook about three minutes or until sugar crystals on sides of pan dissolve. Uncover, and increase heat to medium. Without stirring, continue to cook the syrup to hard crack stage or 300º F on a candy thermometer. Remove cloves.

Dip an apple into the syrup, then hold it over the pan to allow excess syrup to drip off for a few seconds,  twisting the apple as it drips. Place each finished apple on a lightly buttered baking sheet to cool. When cool, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

 Yield: 10 goblins, uh er, I mean servings

―cb 1990

Danish Pie

1½ cup sugar

1 cup flour

2 eggs, beaten

2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup nuts, chopped

2 cups apples, diced

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9x12x2-inch pan.

Mix all ingredients, and pour into pan. Bake 30 minutes. 

Yield: 6 servings

―Jones Farm & Country Store,1990

Apple Caramel Pie

"This is a family favorite," says Barbara Yowell. "Nice to fix when fresh apples are not available for pie."

1½ cups sugar

5 eggs

2 cups applesauce

2/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 tablespoon vanilla

dash nutmeg

2 unbaked pastry shells 

  Preheat oven to 400º F. Beat sugar and eggs together until fluffy. Combine remaining ingredients, and beat into sugar mixture. Pour mix into pastry shells. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. 

Yield: 16 servings

―Barbara Yowell,1990