Apple Tartlets

They don't look very nice but they are delicious.  Even better - they are a snap to make!

The shells are puff pastry (looks messy because I did not cut the pastry into rounds! too lazy I guess) placed in muffin tins.  Chopped apples are added to the shells and a tablespoon of cream in spooned over the apples.  Cinnamon-sugar was sprinkled on top and off it went into the oven!  Bake at 350F about 20 to 25 minutes or until the pasty is browned.

Apple Caramel Tart

Hubby and I went to a baking fair about a month ago and (no surprise here) we came home with a few finds, one of which was this rectangular tart pan (with a removable bottom).  The first thing I wanted to bake in it was apple tart!

To make it easy, I used (1) puff pastry for the crust, (2) mandoline to slice the apples [2 pieces largish Fujis) and (3) honey, butter and apple pie spice for the "caramel" [mix together 1/8 cup honey, 1/4 cup softened butter and 1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice then dot over the sliced apples arranged in the puff pastry crust].  

Leave to bake at 375F for about 30 minutes (or until puff pastry edges turn golden).  Serve immediately.

Easiest dessert ever!  And delicious, to boot!!!

Apple Cake

When I was a little girl, I loved apples.  I remember eating at least one each day.  And I loved the tart green apple best of all.

But my love for apples were only for the chilled fresh fruit.  I distinctly disliked apples in any other form except fresh, chilled and without the skin!  So while my mom's apple pie was possibly the best, I ate little of it (although to be fair, it was the only apple pie I would eat).    I did not like apple cake at all, although last year, I decided I liked this Apple Upside-Down Cake.  

As I grew older, I grew less fond of apples.  But this did not mean that I did not try to use them for baking!  Especially since we (usually) get a lot of apples in December.  So I baked a lot of apple desserts... mommy's apple pie (at least trying it), apple tarts, apple muffins, apple cakes... all of which everyone else would eat, not me.

Then last week, I discovered Dorie Greenspan's recipe for Marie-Helene's Apple Cake.  I loved it!  And it was rather easy to make.

As usual I made little changes... like using a mandoline to slice the apples instead of slicing them into chunks (it was really faster to use the mandoline!)... adding apple pie spice...  reducing the sugar and using light brown sugar (and then sprinkling the top with more light brown sugar and more apple pie spice)... and finally, using 2 6-inch Springform pans instead of a single 9-inch.

I used a mix of Fuji apples and Gala apples, although I think I might have overdone the apples.  Dorie Greenspan's recipe called for 4 apples (varying kinds).  What I had was 1 medium Fuji apple and about 6 small Gala apples.  I thought 2 small apples would be equivalent to a medium one...

I love, love, love this cake!!!  It's more apple than cake, I would say, and I really like that the apple slices still have a crunch to it!  And the brown sugar on top added more crunch too.

Hubby had his cake with vanilla ice cream and he was so happy with it that he got second and third helpings!

Apple Beignets

I still had a couple of small Fuji apples in the fridge and I wanted a way to use them, without using the oven.  I didn't want to eat them plain either!

So off I went to find a recipe and I found these beignets.  Of course I didn't have pears so I doubled the apples instead.  I also added cinnamon and nutmeg (a "simple" form of apple pie spice).  Then I didn't have a vanilla bean so I used cinnamon sugar instead, although I didn't dip the beignets in the cinnamon sugar, I just placed it on the side as an optional "dip"

They were yummy, but I discovered that little balls of dough were better... they cooked faster too!

How I made them -

Melt 1/2 cup butter (I used salted butter) and 1 cup water; bring to a boil.  Remove from the fire then add 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 cup all purpose flour; stir at once to incorporate.  Place the pan back on the stove on low fire and continue stirring, less than a minute or so, until the dough thickens (dough should "come away from the sides of the pan").  Transfer the dough into a mixing bowl and let it cool several minutes.  Add 3 eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition until no trace of the egg can be seen (I used a hand mixer).  Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg.  Fold in apple cubes (small cubes from 2 small Fuji apples).

Using half a tablespoon or a tablespoon measure, drop into super hot oil and deep fry until the the balls puff up and "crack" a little.  Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.  Serve with cinnamon sugar on the side.

To make cinnamon sugar, mix together 1/4 cup fine granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon powder.

Upside-Down Cake, Apple

There's always an abundance of apples when it's Christmas.  And, while I am ready to try my mom's apple pie again, I'm waiting for a more leisurely time to do so... definitely after the "baking storm", which means not until next week, at least!

But I am okay with trying out something else with the apples... like an apple upside-down cake... or 2 small ones...

one for us and one for my mom...

As a child, apples were a great favorite.  But in the years that passed, apples became less and less of a favorite, except perhaps for my mom's apple pie, which only made an appearance once a year... yes, at Christmas time.

This cake, however, is sooooo delicious that it's got me eating apples again.  And I've had three slices already! 

I used to have a favorite recipe for upside down cake, a versatile one for almost any fresh fruit but I couldn't find it so I went looking for another one...  out of all the cookbooks I had, I chose a recipe from this book (image courtesy of Google images)...

The recipe is really for Pineapple Upside-Down Cake but I thought I could use apples instead of the pineapple.

Basically I followed the recipe, except...

1.  I used apples, of course!
2.  I used 2 smaller pans instead of 1 big pan
2.  I used all the schmear in the 2 smaller pans (it's really delicious, but I might have over-done it, seriously...).
3.  I sprinkled apple pie spice over the "schmear" before putting in apple slices.

By the way, I used Fuji apples... and they were still crunchy!

The recipe (and hence, the cake) was absolutely spectacular!  A tad bit sweet for me but otherwise, super yummy!!!  So from now on, this is my go-to upside down cake recipe!

Dexter's Chicken and Apple Biscuits

In another attempt to find a doggie treat that Dexter will like... this time with the little girl helping me out (I sure hope she doesn't get tired of helping me...)

I found a recipe in one of my doggie cookbooks and made some major adjustments.  The original recipe called for ground beef and diced carrots.  While Dexter likes carrots, he can't have beef - for some reason beef makes him ill, seriously so.  The last time (years ago) that we made the mistake of giving him beef, he was hospitalized for a week and the vet was afraid he wouldn't make it (I was worried out of my wits!!!)  Anyway, since then his diet is largely vegetable with chicken meat, or sometimes (not really that often) minced pork.

I also omitted the baking powder and salt (vet orders - Dexter is on a no fat, low salt, low carb diet) and and substituted whole wheat flour for the plain flour. 

What I did -

1. Preheated the oven to 325F.

2. Sifted 1¼ cups fine whole wheat flour and ¼ cup skim milk powder together.

3. Added an 1 egg white and 3/8 cup cooked ground chicken and 1/4 cup diced apple (diced in very small dices).

4. Mixed the mixture with my hands.  The goal was to have the mixture resemble pie dough.  Not too dry but not wet either, just moist enough to roll out.  (I thought the mixture was a bit dry so I added about 1 to 2 tablespoons chicken broth and mixed until I got the consistency that I wanted.)

5. Rolled the mixture out to about 1/2-inch thickness (use a floured rolling pin on a floured surface) and used my doggie bone cutter to cut into shape.  The little girl placed the cut out dough shapes onto a paper-lined cookie sheet.  We actually stuck the pieces very close together since they wouldn't be expanding anyway.

6. Baked them for about 22 to 25 minutes until the cookies were dry.  Dexter prefers chewy over crunchy so we baked them just about 20 to 22 minutes.  For a crunchy cookie, bake a little longer.  Take care not to burn them though.

7. Cooled the cookies on a rack.

Dexter loved them!!!