APPLE CINNAMON WHITE CAKE

I love apples. And even further, I love apples and cinnamon together. Now, if you also add delicious things like rich organic brown sugar,  and pecans, you have yourself a pretty sweet topping for all kinds of baked goods. Making this mixture also allows one to savor the delectable fragrances of the apples themselves, and the utterly sweet and delicious spice and sugar.

I've been working on this recipe for a month or more, and I love this latest iteration. I think I'm going to edit this again soon, because I am thinking I'd like to try putting the topping into the loaf pan first, thereby maintaining the moisture in it as the cake bakes, much like an 'upside-down' cake. More about that later!

APPLE CINNAMON WHITE CAKE

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup organic brown sugar—packed

2 tsp. cinnamon

¾ cup chopped pecans

1 large organic apple (or two small), peeled, cored, and chopped finely…about 2 cups.

2/3 cup organic regular sugar

1 stick butter, softened

2 large eggs, (organic)

1 ½ tsp vanilla

1 ½ cups flour (all purpose, organic)

1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder

¼ tsp salt

½ cup milk (I used almond/coconut milk)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

·      Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans, and apples in a bowl. Set aside.

·      With an electric mixer, beat together the softened butter and the organic sugar until smooth and creamy.

·      Beat in eggs, one at a time.

·      Add vanilla

·      In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

·      Mix the flour mixture into the butter, sugar, and egg mixure.

·      Add milk and blend until smooth.

·      Spoon half of the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

·      Top with half of the apple-nut topping, covering evenly.

·      Spoon the remainder of the batter over the topping, and top with the remainder of the apple-nut topping, again, spreading evenly over the top. Pat down firmly.

·      Be sure to leave some room for the cake’s raising during baking.

·      Bake for 50 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

PEANUT BUTTER GRANOLA

If you read my blogs or recipes, you probably already know that I play with recipes a lot when I'm cooking. I experiment a lot, hoping to find new, tastier, healthier foods, and to keep my diet dynamic and fun. 

Granola is one of those enigmatic foods that are, of course, purported to be "healthy." Unfortunately, the commercially-made ones are often fat-laden, and not with good fats, and otherwise full of chemical preservatives, color-enhancers, and anti-caking agents. And like many processed foods that I really like, I've decided to make my own, from scratch, and with organic and/or non-GMO ingredients. 

After some research, I settled on one recipe as a 'base.' I then modified it to include the organic ingredients, the flavors of which I was sure would compliment each other. By the way, this recipe uses something called organic peanut butter powder. It's the BOMB! Got it at Costco!

 PEANUT BUTTER GRANOLA

Ingredients
3 cups organic rolled oats
3/4 cup chopped raw organic almonds
3/4 cup chopped raw organic cashews

3/4 cup chopped raw organic pecans

3/4 cup shredded organic sweet coconut
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons organic brown sugar
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons organic maple syrup
1/2 cup organic coconut oil

1 cup organic peanut butter powder
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup craisins

3/4 cup raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, and coconut. Mix well.

In a saucepan, combine the brown sugar, the maple syrup, oil, peanut butter powder, and salt. Heat on medium, stirring until melted and blended well. Remove from heat and pour over the oat-nut mixture. mix until all is coated evenly.

Pour onto 2 parchment paper-lined sheet pans. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.

Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add raisins and mix until evenly distributed.