Apple Dip

I've seen these recipes all over the internet ... had to try it.

'twas tasty.

I think I used this recipe ... but I didn't do the whole recipe ... as you can see.

The full recipe is ... 

1 (8oz) package of cream cheese, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract.  

Mix all ingredients together with an electric mixer.

Dip into it with apple slices.

mmm. mmm. good.

Apple Coffee Cake Streusel

I've long been searching for a recipe to make a cake I remember from my childhood. It was a coffee cake. It was cake on the bottom with buttery, brown sugary, crumble stuff on the top. I've never found what I was looking for. This morning, I came pretty close. The one I remember didn't have apple in it, but this filled the craving I have had for many many years to eat this cake again !!

I took elements from a couple of recipes I've tried recently and came up with this. There are three layers ...

For the Cake Layer:
2 tablespoons canola oil (I think you could probably use whatever oil you like)
1 & 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Place rack in center of oven, and heat oven to 160C/325F degrees. Spray a 9-by-12 & 1/2-inch baking pan with oil, lay baking paper on top of that and push it into the corners and up the sides to flatten it. (leave a little excess up the sides to easily remove the cake at the end) Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a second bowl, whisk together egg, milk, canola oil, and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients.

Spread batter evenly into prepared baking pan, and set aside.

For the Apple Layer :
2 apples, peeled, cored & thinly sliced.
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Mix all ingredients in medium sized bowl. I used my fingers to rub the sugar and spices into the apple sliced. Cover cake batter with apples.

For the Streusel Layer :
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup butter, softened

In small bowl combine all ingredients and sprinkle on top of apples.

Transfer pan to oven, and bake, rotating pan every 10 minutes. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 30/40 minutes. (this will depend on your oven ... I tested mine every 5 minutes after the first 20)

Transfer cake to a wire rack to cool. I actually pulled the cake out of the pan, using the excess baking paper ... it took two people to do it.

Let cool for a couple of minutes, then serve it up and enjoy ! Rory and the kids (and our friends who live next door) had creme fraiche with theirs but I just ate it as it was ... mmmmmmmm.

Fruits of the Forest Streusel

I saw a Blueberry Crumble recipe on line the other day and wanted to try it. But, I didn't have all the ingredients, blueberries being one of them and the crumble topping seemed a bit weak. So, I decided to make something up. Sort of. I used the filling recipe from the recipe I'd seen ... but substituted for the blueberries and then used the streusel topping from that magnificent apple cheesecake streusel

Here's what I did :

Filling:
1 box frozen Forest Fruits - no, I didn't bother to thaw them, I just used them frozen
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornflour
a drizzle of lemon juice
a pinch of salt

Mix together ingredients from above and set aside.

Base and Topping:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup butter, softened

Mix together all ingredients. Push 1/2 (or maybe not quite half) of the streusel mix into the bottom of a springform pan, forming a very thin base. Top with berry mixture and then the rest of the streusel mix.

Bake in preheated oven on 180 til fruit is bubbling through the top edges and streusel topping is golden brown. I wasn't sure how long it would take so didn't set a timer and forgot to look at the clock .... but my best guess is that it was between 40 and 50 minutes.

Let set for a bit before trying to remove it from the pan !

Serve with a dollop of freshly whipped cream. (no sugar, just a spot of vanilla needed in the whipping !)

Cheesecake and Apple Crumble ? Together ? OH YEAH !

This is insanely delicious ! It's like cheesecake (my all time favorite dessert!) with apple crumble (a close second !!) on top !! It's supposed to also have caramel on top but I didn't do that on mine ... I think it was plenty rich without it.

I got this recipe from Mari ... who got it from Paula Deen.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
(Paula Deen)

2 cups flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup softened butter
2 - 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons divided
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, cut and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Streusel topping - recipe follows
1/2 cup caramel topping

Streusel topping
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup butter, softened
In small bowl combine all ingredients

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mix is crumbly. Press evenly into a 9x13 baking pan lined with heavy duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Stir until smooth and pour over warm crust.

In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mix.

Sprinkle evenly with streusel topping. Bake for 30 minutes or until filling is set.

Drizzle with caramel topping. (optional ... like I said, I didn't worry with this last step ...)