Mad About Maida

Apple Cake from the Catskills Source:  Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.) , pg. 121 . Well, I blundered a bit on this recipe but it did not affect the deliciousness of the cake. I was getting ready to put the batter in the pan and I realized that I had not used the reserved sugar and spice mixture. I quickly looked over the recipe but could find no mention of what to do with the reserved sugar mix. Thinking there was a mistake, I just added the sugar mixture to the batter and mixed it in. Sloppiness on my part, I confess, because after I looked at the recipe a third time, there it was - the sugar mix was supposed to have been sprinkled over the layer of apples in the pan. Oh well, like I said, the cake was wonderful anyway. This does bring up an important step - read the entire recipe before you begin. I read the recipe about a week before I made it and should have re-read the thing before starting.  I used Granny...

Budapest Coffee Cake  Source:  Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.) , pg. 72. Maida Heatter states that she once received a marriage proposal over this cake and I am not surprised. It is wonderful and reminiscent of what you would find in a bakery. This is one of the recipes that I have long wanted to try and am just now getting around to it. It is simple to make and the batter is lovely (silky smooth).  As is often the case with me, despite going over the recipe beforehand and checking my ingredients, I somehow overlooked the fact that I only had 1 stick of butter. Since I needed 1/2 stick more, I substituted canola oil. If you decide to use oil instead of butter in any recipe, know that the equilvalent will not be the same - you will not need as much oil. The general rule is to use 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil for every 1/4 cup butter. Some sources I read say that this is not recommended for cakes but it turned ...