Apple Cake for Breakfast

Baking for Friday is the best.

It's not too early to start the weekend treats because you've got three days to finish them, right? You wouldn't want to waste any, that would be a collosal travesty.

I love apples. Can ya tell, from the large percentage of recipes that appear here?

I store mine in the crisper, and the apples I used in the cake have been there since October.

You really don't need to feel bad about this one either, it's pretty healthy as cakes go. A lot of baked things are passed off as something other than 'cake' to trick the consumer (ahem, muffin), a wolf dressed as an innocent little sheep.

I will not try to pull the wool over your eyes, but if there ever was a sheep dressed up in a wolf suit, this is it. Though it's healthier, I wouldn't bust it out on a Tuesday. It's still a special Fri-Sat-Sun thing.

The batter looks and smells a lot like pancake batter. You want to try not to overmix; I barely combined the dry and wet ingredients before adding the diced apples in a few more stirs. Use a folding technique (~'down the middle and over, down the middle and over'), and I try to stick to 10 folds which keeps me from overmixing.

If you can't wrap your brain around cake for breakfast (Iadmit that's how I feel most of the time), serve it for tea or after dinner.

The crowd I run with doesn't shy away from cake for breakfast. . .or icing, or gummy candy for that matter. Sorry honey, you know I've caught you with a bag of Gushers before 9:00am on more than one occasion.

The whole wheat pastry flour gives you that great healthy whole grain feeling without sacrificing your cake to something heavy and dense. You could sub all-purpose, but do yourself and the daily food pyramid a favor (at least 3 ounces of whole grains a day per http://www.mypyramid.gov/), and buy a bag of whole wheat pastry flour to keep in your fridge for some good baking.

Gack!! I really need to buy cinnamon. I put it in everything, so this photo makes me nervous.

Oh, and one more thing: please note the requirement for diced AND sliced apples here. That's one of those things that I'll miss on a recipe until I've prepped and it's too late.

You want the diced apples for adding to the batter, and the pretty sliced ones to decorate the top. If you screw up and diced them all it's not the end of the world, but then you wouldn't be able to craft the 'ridiculously-easy-topping-that-looks-like-a-professional-baker did it.'

Apple Cake for Breakfast

serves 6

1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
1 large Pink Lady apple, peeled and sliced thinly
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 1/4 tsp cinnamon, divided
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup plain applesauce
1 cup nonfat or soy milk
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease an 8x8 glass baking dish.

In a small bowl, toss the diced apples with 1 tsp cinnamon and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, the ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the applesauce, milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and the diced cinnamon apples. Fold together with a whisk lightly- sort of like pancake batter, try not to overmix. Pour the batter into the baking dish and smooth with a spatula. Arrange the sliced apples as prettily as you can on top. Combine the tablespoon of sugar and remaining 1/4 tsp cinnamon and sprinkle on top of the apples.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes before slicing. This cake can be served warm or at room temperature.

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Still adoring the new set-up in my kitchen, especially the awesome new cooling station. Before my baked goods took up all available counter space. Now they can stay as long as they want and not be bothered.

I think my kitchen helper likes it too.

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