The holidays are about many things: family, friendship, faith . . . and of course, food! For me, the traditional dishes I make every year encompass all those other aspects of the season—they’re my family’s favorites that I cook for dinner with friends, and they remind me of my aunt and grandmothers and great-grandmothers who are no longer with us, but who left behind their wonderful, hand-written recipes as a legacy.This is also a beautiful time of year for romance, to snuggle up by a roaring fire with a mug of hot chocolate, dazzle each other with thoughtful, meaningful gifts, and sneak in a couple of kisses under the mistletoe! And speaking of gifts, books make great presents. Especially complete trilogies like my three contemporary romances, Can't Stand The Heat, On the Steamy Side, and Just One Taste, which follow the culinary and romantic adventures of a kitchen crew at a trendy Manhattan restaurant! And if they don’t suit anyone on your shopping list but sound like fun to you, remember it’s not healthy to be totally selfless.
I’m just saying.
My gift to you this year is this recipe for Fresh Apple Cake (warm comfort food from my grandmother and perfect for fighting off winter’s chill). Have a delicious holiday season. And if you have a book you like to read each holiday season, please share!
Fresh Apple Cake
1 cup vegetable or other neutral oil
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 heaping cups Granny Smith, Gala, or Pink Lady apples, peeled and chopped
2 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (optional)
Preheat oven to 350˚ F. Prepare a tube pan by covering the inner surface with a thin layer of butter or shortening, then dusting enough flour to coat the interior of the pan. Knock pan against counter and shake to remove excess flour.
Cream oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Sift together soda, salt, cinnamon, and flour. Add to the creamed mixture, stirring several times to combine. Then add the apples and nuts, mixing well. Pour batter evenly into prepared pan.
Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Enjoy with whipped cream (you could add a little Calvados for an adult treat) or ice cream!
To learn more about Louisa Edwards and her books, visit her at http://www.louisaedwards.com/.
6 comments:
Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe. I love baking things like this because not only does my family get a wonderful treat, the house smells heavenly! I'll be making this for a family get together this weekend. :)
Great, Leslie! If you do end up baking the cake, I'd love to hear how it turns out. You can email me at Louisa@louisaedwards.com. I had one reader who made the cake for Thanksgiving and said her family raved about it--my mom got teary-eyed when I told her. : )
I've got a meeting Friday and I was planning on making a chocolate sour cream pound cake but I'm going to make this instead! Thanks for the recipe. As much as I read (and re-read) books there's not a special holiday book that I re-read each year. However I do try to catch the movie "Snow" with Tom Cavanagh and Ashley Williams when it's on TV. Okay, okay. Partly because of my crush on Ashley Williams but it's still a cute movie.
Louisa, what a great recipe! I'll definitely be trying this one out. As for holiday reads, I don't have a favorite--yet. I'm always on the lookout for a good Christmas romance.
I need to come up with a few options when I host x-mas next weekend. This sounds like a perfect Non -Chocolate option!
thanks for sharing!
I love apple cake. I will try your grandmother's recipe. I use one off my MIL's which has a yeast dough base and then it is topped with a yummy streusel mixture.
Favorite Christmas stories:
Movies: Prancer and Miracle On 34th Street
Books: Bluebird Winter by Linda Howard and Miracle on I-40 by Curtiss Matloch.
johnslake at usa dot com
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