Mom's Apple Cake

Just like how everyone is born under an astrological sign, I believe that everyone is also born with a deep, spiritual connection to a specific type of dessert. Some are pudding people. Others (like me) are brownie people. My mom? She's a apple cake. One of the best out there too (if I do say so myself).

This is probably my favourite cake of all time. Its warm, homey and very 'mom'. Eat it straight out of the oven for best results. You can also drizzle it with some vanilla sauce but in my humble opinion? Just have it as it is.
 

I got so excited that I dug straight into it before taking a picture.

Ingredients

125g butter, at room temperature

150g white sugar

3 eggs

250g self-raising flour

4-5 tablespoons milk

3 medium apples, cored and sliced

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Warm oven to 200 degrees Celsius and butter a 10 inch round baking pan. Toss sliced apples with cinnamon and brown sugar.

Cream butter and sugar until creamy and smooth. Add in eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until well blended before adding the next. Continue to cream the batter until white and fluffy.

Fold in the flour a bit at a time until well incorporated. If batter is too thick, add in 4 tablespoons of milk one at a time, until desired consistency. Pour into baking pan and arrange the cinnamon-sugared apples as follows:

Then sprinkle the chopped walnuts around:

Lower the oven temperature to 180 degrees Celsius and bake for 35 - 40 mins.

Bon appetit!

OMFG Cocoa Brownies

Brownies are tricky business. Since time out of mind, people have fought, argued and spilled precious batter over them. Some like it chewy, others like it cakey. Will we ever arrive at a consensus? I don't know...

...and frankly, I don't care. After all, why argue when you can just eat? These brownies were inspired by Smitten Kitchen's best cocoa brownies. Like Deb, I was highly skeptical about them at first. After all, brownies without chocolate? That's just wrong.

But I was craving for brownies and alas...! There was no chocolate to be found in the house! Desperate, I scoured the web and came across two different recipes that dared me to take the plunge. One was Deb's and the other was from Allrecipies's Absolutely Best Brownies. I couldn't decided which I liked better so I came up with my own and fired ahead. One and a half hours later...

The world as I know it has changed. I've changed. For better or worse, the deed is done. I'm not sure if I can ever go back but you know what? I don't want to! Ever! These brownies were so good, even my mom came down after brushing her teeth and took a bite... and then some more... and some more...

Take the plunge. I urge you. It'll be the best thing you done for yourself in a long time. Trust.

Ingredients

125g unsalted butter
250g white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
60g cocoa powder
2 teaspoon milk (or vanilla extract)
2 eggs
60g all purpose flour

Optional additions

2/3 cups chopped and toasted walnuts

Heat up oven to 180 degrees Celsius and position rack in the middle. Line a 9 X 13 inch baking pan with baking paper.

Melt the butter, sugar, salt and cocoa powder together over a double boiler, stirring until the ingredients are well incorporated (don't fret if you can't get it smooth. Gritty is fine.)

Take off the heat and stir in the milk. Once the batter has cooled down somewhat, add in the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until the batter becomes smooth.

Sift in the flour and gently fold until you can't see it anymore. Then vigorously beat it for about 20 seconds. Fold in the walnuts if using.

Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for 15 to 17 mins.

Voila! Enjoy!

*I reckon these would taste even better in a 9 X 9 / 8 X 8 inch baking pan. If using either make sure to increase baking time to 20 - 25 mins.