Apple Sharlotka

I made this beauty last year during the middle of apple season. An easy but impress-your-friends Apple Sharlotka! It works for dessert. Or breakfast. Or a (several, ahem) snack(s)! Dusted with a little powdered sugar or a dollop of whipped cream, this sweet treat is a great alternative to the tried-but-true-but-sometimes-boring apple pie.

Apple Sharlotka

Ingredients:
butter to grease a 9" springform pan
6 large apples
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
cinnamon and powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line the bottom of a 9" springform pan with a circle of parchment. Butter the sides and bottom.

Peel apples. Cut in half, core and chop into fairly thin (1/4 inch) pieces. Pile into pan.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until thick and ribbons can form on the surface of the eggs. Beat in vanilla, then add flour. Stir gently with a spoon until the batter is just combined. The batter will be thick!

Pour batter over the apples and use a spatula to squish down/spread it into the apples. Smoosh it/press down into the cracks until the batter is level with the apples in the pan.

Bake 55-60 minutes until a tester comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes on a rack, then flip the cake out onto another rack, take off the parchment and flip onto a serving plate. Dust with cinnamon and powdered sugar when ready to serve. I enjoyed this both warm and chilled :)

oh, cinnamon!

I always have good intentions when I pick out a pumpkin. "This year I'm going to make pie! And bread! And toast the seeds!" Usually it never comes to this. For a girl who loves winter squash more than any one person probably should admit, how can this be? It all changes this year, I declare. And probably with this recipe.. 

*We've got longneck pumpkins at the stand right now that make the best pumpkin pie! Look for super-long-necked-butternut-squash-shaped-pumpkins. Please do me a favor and wear it round your neck like an ox's yoke when you come to the register.

Thank you, Alton Brown :)

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups shredded fresh pumpkin
1 cup toasted pumpkin seedsDirections:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.

In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Combine both mixtures and fold in the shredded pumpkin and pumpkin seeds. Once the ingredients are all incorporated pour into a non- stick 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. If your pan is not non- stick coat it with butter and flour.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. At this point a knife inserted into the middle of the loaf should come out clean. Cool for 15 minutes and turn out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely. For muffins temperature should also be 325 degrees F., but bake for 30 minutes.