Applesauce Loaf

Applesauce Loaf (Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed., pg. 255).

This recipe is very similar to the one I just posted - the Blueberry Applesauce Loaf. Since I wasn't too happy with the taste of that one, I decided to eliminate the whole wheat flour and use all-purpose flour (so I used 2 cups of all-purpose flour and no whole wheat flour). This is a matter of personal preference. I thought it tasted much better without using the whole wheat but using either method will work fine for the recipe. 

I still have applesauce left from the Chunky Applesauce I made earlier so I'm still using that. I was looking through her books again last night and noticed that I haven't made the Chocolate Applesauce Cake yet! A serious omission and one that I must do soon! 

1 cup raisins
1 cup sifted all-purpose white flour (or 2 cups if you want to use instead of the whole wheat flour)
1 cup sifted all-purpose whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups walnuts, halves or large pieces
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. powdered instant expresso or coffee
4 oz. unsalted butter
3/4 cup light or dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sweetened or unsweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 350. Butter (or spray) a 8 cup capacity loaf pan and dust with fine, dry bread crumbs (or flour).

Add two tablespoons of white flour (reserving the rest) and toss it with the raisins and nuts. Set aside.

Sift the reserved flour with the salt, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and powdered instant coffee.

Beat the butter until soft, add the sugar and and eggs and mix well. 

Add the applesauce. 

On low speed, add the whole-wheat flour (or do like I did and use white flour).

Remove the mixer bowl and stir in the raisins and nuts. 

Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and smooth the top. With the spatula, form a shallow trench down the middle lenghtwise. This will keep it from rising too high in the middle. 

Bake for 50 -60 minutes until a tester comes out the center clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight before slicing.

Blueberry Applesauce Loaf

Blueberry Applesauce Loaf (Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed., pg. 270).

I wanted to make something with the applesauce that I just made so I decided to try the Blueberry Applesauce Loaf since I had some blueberries in the freezer. I have to say that this was far from my favorite. I believe that it is the whole wheat flour that I did not like. The cake is very dense and bakes beautifully. The blueberry flavor is very nice and intense but the flavor of the cake was lacking. I plan to make the Applesauce Loaf (a very similar recipe but without the blueberries) next and I'm going to use all-purpose flour and omit the wheat flour and see how it turns out. Tune in later for that!

1 1/2 cups pecan pieces, toasted
2 cups fresh blueberries
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup sifted all-purpose wheat flour
1 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp mace
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup plus 2 TBS sugar
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp. lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter (or spray) 2 loaf pans that have a 4 or 5 cup capacity.

Wash the berries and let them drain.

Finely grind 3/4 of the pecans (reserving the other 3/4 cup) and dust the buttered pans with them.

Remove 1 tablespoon of the flour. Sift the remaining flour, the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and mace and set aside. 

Beat the eggs slightly. 

Mix in the oil. 

Add one cup of the sugar, reserving 2 tablespoons. 

Add the applesauce

Add the lemon juice

On low speed, add the sifted ingredients

Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the nuts. 

Add the reserved tablespoon of flour to the berries and toss gently.

Fold the berries into the batter. 

Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops. Sprinkle the tops with the reserved sugar and additional nuts if desired. 

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. 

Chunky Applesauce

Chunky Applesauce

Source: Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 388.

It is apple time again and our tree is loaded although, judging from some of the apples, I need to treat it as most of the apples are blemished inside. There are plenty good ones for our needs. In addition to making a cake or crisp, I decided to try applesauce. I never knew it was so easy!

Maida Heatter recommends Granny Smith apples. I am not sure what ours are any tart apple should work fine.

3 lbs. (about 9 medium) firm and tart apples
2 cups apple juice, apple-raspberry juice or water
Optional: 1/3 cup honey, maple syrup or sugar

The most time-consuming part of preparing this is peeling and cutting the apples. 3 pounds is about 9 or 10 apples. Since I was having to pick around the bad areas of mine, it took a while to get them ready.

After peeling and slicing the apples, put them in a large saucepan and add the apple juice or water. I used apple juice.

Bring it to a boil and reduce the heat. Cover the pot and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Mash the apples with a potato masher or similar tool.

This bit is optional but if you adding honey, syrup or sugar, mix it in. Allow the mixture to sit. It will thicken up as it cools.

The applesauce can be frozen.

Poppy Seed Cake

Poppy Seed Cake (Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed., pg. 27). Also in Maida Heatter's New Book of Great Desserts (Alfred A. Knopf, 1982, pg. 118).

I have made poppy seed cakes in the past but for some reason, I had never tried Maida's recipe. It is good but tasted a bit bland so I added a lemon frosting to give it a bit of oomph. Actually, a lemon glaze might have worked best, but this was good and got some raves from the folks at my workplace. 

This recipe was given to Maida by the chef of Chocolat bakery in San Francisco.

2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

8 oz unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

5 large eggs, separated, plus 1 additional white 

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup poppy seeds

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350. Use a plain tube pan (the kind that comes in two pieces) - do not butter or line the pan.

Sift together the first three ingredients and set aside. 

Cream the butter. Add 1 1/4 cups of the sugar (reserving 1/4 cup) and beat several minutes until light and creamy. Add the egg yolks and beat for 2 or 3 minutes, scraping the bowl as necessary.

In a small bowl, stir the sour cream, poppy seeds and vanilla together.

Beat about 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter. Add the sour cream mixture, beating only until incorporated. Add the remaining flour mixture.

In a separate mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the 1/4 sugar. 

Fold 1/4 of the whites into the batter but do not mix it thoroughly. Fold in another 1/4. Add the batter to the remaining whites and fold together until blended. 

Turn into the pan, rotate it briskly to level the batter and bake for 50-55 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.

After removing it from the oven, turn it upside down on a wire rack to cool completely. After cooling, it is best to freeze the cake before removing it from the pan. After freezing, use a sharp knife to score around the sides of the pan and the center tube. Carefully remove it from the pan. 

Glace au Chocolat

Glace' au Chocolat 

Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 223.

Summer is here and what better way to celebrate it than with ice cream. Actually, any time is good for me when it comes to ice cream. I love it and remembered reading in one of Maida's books that it was her favorite dessert as well. 

This is a French ice cream which means that it is made with eggs. It is easy to make and does not require an ice cream freezer. There were several times during the making of this that I thought I had done something wrong but it turned out well. For one thing, she says that after bringing the mixture to a boil, it will become very thick. I didn't notice a thickness at all - in fact, mine was very thin, almost watery. I thought I had perhaps added too much water but after double-checking the recipe, it was correct. You will need to freeze the ice cream for at least 3 or 4 hours before it firms up but after it does, it is very hard and kind of difficult to remove from the pan. 

This is very rich and just a small portion will satisfy any serious chocolate lover. The type of chocolate you use is variable. I used semi-sweet just as it is listed in the recipe.

6 oz. semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar

I used semi-sweet chocolate, chopping it in very small pieces. 

Beat the heavy cream until it holds a shape. I find the whisk attachment is the best for whipping cream. I always chill the bowl and the whisk - it only takes a few minutes.

The egg yolks should be beaten for several minutes until they turn a soft yellow color. 

The sugar and water is boiled for 3 minutes without stirring and then the chocolate is added to the mixture. This is where she says that it turns thick. It didn't thicken for me - it was very thin.

The chocolate mixture is added to the egg yolks gradually and then the whipped cream is added in small increments by folding it in. 

Doesn't it look great?

She recommends freezing it in a loaf pan or ice-cube tray (I thought this was odd at first, then realized she was referring to the old-fashioned types that had the perforated inserts laid in them). Cover it with foil and freeze. I kept testing it and it does not begin to harden until at least 3 hours, more like 4 hours. The next morning is was rock hard and I even had difficulties removing it with a scoop. It is best to let it sit for a while and soften a bit, otherwise it tends to flake off in slivers when you are trying to scoop it out. This is very rich and decadent!

Yum