Thursday, February 17, 2011

Apple Streusel Cake


I was wondering what makes a cake called streusel cake instead of the word cake alone. So when I came across a recipe with this particular word, I paid attention to the kind of ingredients it required and its baking method. Thereafter, I did what I normally do everyday : I googled for this word. According to thefreedictionary, streusel simply means a crumblelike topping for cakes. Well, that was exactly what the recipe was asking me to do. In addition to that, this recipe was somewhat like a carrot cake recipe where I need to grate the apples. Naturally, the texture of the cake is not fine nor soft and fluffy. I found myself scrapping the top to eat rather than eating the cake itself because I simply love crumble. However, this cake is a fantastic way to showcase the apple's delicious flavor. It's also best served warm and with a dollop of cream but of course for me, I omitted cream entirely. If you're not a fan of such texture of a cake, then refrain from baking this.


Here's the recipe which I adapted form Latest Recipes:

Ingredients:
3 small  fuji apples ( 3 small ones) , grated1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar ** (I reduced to 3/4 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/4 cup oil ( canola, corn or any vegetable oil)
1 egg



Method:
Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease the bottom of a medium loaf pan and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In another mixing bowl, combine the grated apples, egg, sugar and oil, mix well and pour this mixture to the flour mixture. Using a wodden spoon, stir to combine. Don’t be alarmed if the batter is too thick, it’s suppose to be like that.

Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Top with streusel and slices of apples; bake at 350F degrees for 50-60 minutes, or until bread is golden brown and or when the toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before inverting into a rack to cool completely.

Streusel topping:
1/8 cup ( 2 tablespoons) butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
dash of cinnamon powder ( optional)
Mix flour and sugar in a small bowl, add cinnamon if you like. Using your fingertips or fork, work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumb.

Sprinkle on top of the apple cake batter.

My cooking tips : Dont' be overly greedy by grating more apples or huge apples. Your cake will be very lumpy with no room for flour. Cake will be dense, heavy and slightly coarser.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

coz of the stoppings called streusel or crumble cake here in germany: