I should be feeling on the crabby side of the morning spectrum. I was woken up extra early this morning and I was out of my milk for my morning coffee. Yet, because it was the deep, repeated bellow of fog horns that kept me from sleep, I’m feeling okay about things. And coffee-wise, I made do with almond milk. It worked out okay.
It’s kind of like this snack cake. It’s a Martha recipe and she calls them brownies. These are not apple brownies. I repeat, THESE ARE NOT BROWNIES. It’s some damn fine marketing though – who wouldn’t want to eat apple brownies? The name sold me, but the texture is more light cake than deep, dense brownie. Also, wouldn’t a yellow batter make a blondie? No matter.
But the name alone isn’t the issue. This cinnamon-heavy, sweet, apple snack cake was crumbly. It was a little disappointing….until I ate my first bite. After that, I couldn’t care less. It was my kind of apple cake – chock full of apple goodness, but also buttery and sweet enough. Also, the next day, after a sit in the fridge, the cake was fine. No crumbs, ma. It held up and tasted better with age.
Also, as a total aside, I’ve been listening to the song Children’s Story by Slick Rick on the reg. The best part is when at the end of the track, he says “Crumbs!” which I totally dig (it’s at 3:46 if you wanna listen and you most definitely should). Also, the video on youtube skips the outro and the whole crumbs business, but it should be noted that his back up dancers are wearing turtlenecks. Ah, 1988, what different times you were!
Since it’s January and you might be craving a little happiness, might I suggest you bake this apple snack cake. And just for fun, put on a little Slick Rick and slip on a turtleneck. It’ll all work itself out in the end.
cinnamon apple snack cake
(adapted from Martha Stewart)Martha calls these Apple Brownies, but don’t be confused. These aren’t dense or brownie-like in anyway, but each bite is super delicious. I found the cake a little bit crumbly on day 1 (they get less so as they age), but it’s an issue I can happily live with.
1/2 c unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for dish
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c spelt or whole wheat flour
1 heaping t ground cinnamon
1/2 t freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 t baking soda
3/4 c brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 c chopped walnuts
2 large apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I used Pink Lady apples)
1 T white sugar + 1 t cinnamon, mixed, for toppingPreheat oven to 350F. Butter an 8×8 pan and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Using your mixer, beat together butter, sugar, and egg for 2 minutes. Add in the walnuts and apples, and stir by hand until combined. Add in the flour mixture and slowly mix until just combined. Spoon batter into the prepared pan, smoothing out the top and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until the centre is done. Cool on wire rack before slicing into squares. Keep in an air tight container for up to 5 days, if they last that long.
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I could eat cake like this every day! SO delicious!
These are just the kind of cakes I love – kind of rustic and simple to make. I can’t imagine how a slice of this with a hot cup of coffee (regular milk or almond) wouldn’t make a January day better!
This is actually exactly what I need right now…
yep…exactly
Tell me you wrote this post for me 😉 I’ve been feeling the doldrums lately. Can’t seem to get my game on…feels like the needle is stuck on the record…progress just isn’t happening…yadda yadda. Anywho, I really need to get myself back into the kitchen and start baking now that I have an abundance of time, just like the good old days. This apple brownie/blondie/snacking cake sounds really good. I have plenty of apples in the fridge and a new supply of cinnamon. No excuses. Hey, when are you heading on out for down yonder? I suspect it should be soon.
I’ve seen many a blondie/brownie recipe that was actually cake misnamed like that. It’s slightly frustrating. But often still yields delicious results. Case in point!
I love the term snacking cake! Brownie??! Oh Martha! This looks delicious. And kudos to you on using almond milk for your coffee. I still can’t get into that jam.
Katrina, me too. Man, wouldn’t that be a good world?
Amanda, I’m in!
Good to see we’re all in agreement, RMW!
Man, I know those feelings all too well, Joanne. I haven’t been doing a whole lot of baking either. Even making lunch seems like a stretch. sigh. January, right?
Joanne, yeah, what’s up with that. Don’t mix cake with brownie, such different beasts!
Tracy, snack cake. Say that 5x over! Tracy, the almond milk was desperation. I lived to tell the tale. Not my first choice, but it’ll do.
I love apple cake-brownies, snacking cakes whatever as long as there are apples, its all good!
Easy and delicious. Love the abundance of sizeable apple pieces and the chewey texture that the cinnamon sugar creates. It seems necessary to use a good tasting apple since it’s the predominate feature. I used Johnathons.
These are the kinda cakes that never get old. You can’t go wrong with apples and cinnamon! I’m def. trying this recipe. 🙂
looks delish! but did you not peel the apples? I am usually too lazy to take the 30 seconds to peel apples for cakes/pies/various baked goods, so if it isn’t necessary, even better!
Thanks Cheri!
Kathleen, glad you enjoyed these. Yes, good apples are best 🙂
Thanks Tiffany!
Eileen, I never peel apples 🙂 Lazy for the win!!
Reminds me of my favorite simple apple cake, Marie-Hélène’s Apple Cake, http://www.pbs.org/food/recipes/marie-helenes-apple-cake/. I love an apple cake that is packed with apples, I must make one soon.
What a wonderful cake, we made it this afternoon (& added 1grated apple along with the chunks, even better. Yes, it is crumbly. This is not a problem. The 14-y-old just polished off the last piece. Instead of cinnamon (all of the French people around me have a weird cinnamon phobia) I sprinkled the batter with lemon juice & sugar. I imagine it would also be wonderful with ground almonds replacing some of the flour. And yes, more often than not, i find Martha Stewart a little off-base. Apple brownies, honestly!!!
Light and tasty, the cake pieces held together for me just fine. The abundance of apples make it SEEM healthy. By the way, the nutmeg isn’t in the recipe.
Thanks Robert for the catch, the nutmeg has been added 🙂