Great Grandma’s Recipe Goodness!

May 16, 2011 at 3:51 pm (Uncategorized) (apple cake, apple muffins, apple recipe, baking, cooking, cranberries, family recipe, recipe)

I’m a bit of an amateur foodie.  I’d like to keep my “amateur” status, as I’m sure if any real chef had to eat my food, they’d give me the old “Gordon Ramsay” and call me a Donkey!    But I do love to cook, and bake, and one of my very favorite things is making something delicious from a family recipe.  It’s a special feeling to pull a worn notecard, stained and smudged out of your recipe box.   You read the recipe, written by a hand that’s long-since departed, but for a moment as you run your thumb over the words, you feel a little closer to the past.  This is my Great-Grandma Vivian’s Apple Cake Recipe.  She’s not with us anymore, but I love this cake, it was the first recipe I ever received, when I was 12 years old, and it’s still one of my favorites today. This works as muffins or as a cake, and you can make it as fancy or as plain as you’d like (note all the optional mix-ins).  Enjoy, and if you like, write it down, and pass it along, and maybe someone will remember you the next time they pull a card out of their recipe box. 

Great Grandma’s Apple Cake

2 C. peeled, diced apples (Fuji, Granny Smith, Braeburn all good)

1 egg,  unbeaten

1 C. Brown Sugar

1 C. Flour

1Tsp. Baking Powder

1Tsp. Baking Soda

1Tsp. Cinnamon

(OPTIONAL)

¾ C. Chopped nuts

¾ C-1C. dried sweetened cranberries

¼- ½ Tsp. Nutmeg

¼ Tsp. Cloves

¼ Tsp. Cardamom

Combine all ingredients, mixture will be dry until apples start to release some of their juices from stirring.  Pour into muffin tins or 8×8 inch baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes for cake, 25 minutes for muffins.  Can leave plain, top with powdered sugar, or top with whipped cream.  This cake is very versatile, feel free to toss other stuff in or leave any of the optional stuff out.  I’ve also added some rum extract to the cake itself or to the whipped cream and that’s also a nice addition.