{Food} Apple Cake

I know that apples are best in the fall, but I had been craving apple cake recently. A few weeks ago I made an apple cake that turned out light and airy – perfect served alone or with vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, room temperature (not melted)
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 7 medium-sized apples, peeled and diced (I used Gala apples)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• a few pinches of sugar for topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease 9×13 pan.
3. Mix together sugar and butter until smooth.
4. Add vanilla and eggs. Stir well.
5. Gently stir in apples.
6. In separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and cinnamon.
7. Add half of flour mixture to apple mixture. Stir until mixed throughout. Add rest of flour and stir well.
8. Pour batter into 9×13 pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle sugar on top.
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Cake will be golden and starting to pull away from edges of pan.
10. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

{Food Friday} Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Bread photo via King Arthur Flour

This is a delicious looking pumpkin bread recipe from one of my favorite baking brands, King Arthur Flour. Dessert breads like this are wonderful because they are flexible – Add, subtract, or replace nuts, chocolate chips, or even raisins until it’s just right for you. (The King Arthur website is also nice because you can change the recipe from cups to ounces or grams, depending on how you bake!)

Note, this recipe yields 2 loaves.

{Food Friday} Acorn Squash Mac and Cheese

Acorn Squash Mac & Cheese, step-by-step (WYWU photo)

I made this a few weeks ago, thanks to a wonderful friend who shared the recipe. It was inspired by a How Sweet Eats recipe, but we simplified the process and replaced the cheeses with ones that were more accessible to us.

Ingredients

• 1 lb cut pasta, such as penne or elbows
• 1 acorn squash, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• olive oil
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 3/4 cup vegetable stock
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to pot.
2. Heat another big pot over medium-low heat. Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil, then add squash, some salt and pepper, and the nutmeg. Stir well.
3. Pour in vegetable stock, stir again, cover and cook until squash is falling apart (20-30 minutes). When done, turn heat off. Mash squash mixture with potato masher.
4. Add milk. Stir well. Add both cheese, a little at a time, while stirring constantly.
5. Pour squash mixture over pasta. Stir really really well and serve!