Wow, two new posts in one night?! I must be procrastinating! Actually, I’m still thinking about that article about Vancouver housing costs….
Last month, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported that the average sale price of a single-family home was $705,141. Townhouses averaged $397,214 and condos sold for an average of $321,151.
Yeesh, I guess Cornelius and I won’t be owning a home ever in this city! Even most 1 bedroom condos are out of our price range. Instead of crying in my beer, this evening I decided to console my pain in some cake that I adapted from the New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant cookbook. And man, what a cake! Moist, flavourful and absolutely fantastic! So what if we will have to be renters forever, at least we have the best tasting cake…right?
fresh apple cake
Recipe adapted from New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant1 1/3 c vegetable oil
2 c brown sugar
3 eggs
3 c flour (half whole wheat & half unbleached white flour works well)
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
¼ t ground cardamom
1 t cinnamon
2 t pure vanilla extract
3 T rum (the original recipe called for apple juice, milk or water)
3 cups chopped apples
1 cup chopped walnuts (pecans, or almonds could be used instead)
2 T sesame seeds1. Butter a 10-inch bundt pan, two 9-inch round cake pans, or one 9X13-inch sheet pan. Sprinkle the bottom and sides with the sesame seeds. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. Beat the oil and sugar and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, leavenings, and spices together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture along with the rum and vanilla, mixing well. Fold in the chopped apples and nuts.
3. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30 to 45 minutes, depending upon the size of the pan, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
yum! i never thought about sesame seeds in cake before.
As a resident Californian, I understand your cost-of-housing woes. We left San Francisco for just that reason. And by George, that cake looks good!
We are so with you on the homeowning depression…. At least once a week we debate leaving this beautiful city for more affordable pastures….
The sesame seeds were such a nice touch, Rachel! Who knew?
Rorie, yeah SF prices are insane…I can understand the need to move away…sigh.
Linda, everyone I know seems to be in the same boat. We are also talking about moving eventually….who knows!
woah! i totally made apple cake last sunday too! yours looks delish and i will try it out for sure. i will post mine soon as well. take care!
oh!! those prices HURT! thats just oputrageous, i though toronto was bad.
:(
hope that yummy cake helped!
Thanks Debs, there must have been something in the air that screamed out apple cake!
Tania, youch indeed! And yes, temporarily, the cake took the pain away…but I keep peeking back at MLS and get sad again. Grrrrr!