German Apple Pancake
Mommy: Do you know what day it is?
Chorus: No.
Mommy: It’s Pancake Day.
Chorus: Pancake Day! Wow! Can we have pancakes?
Mommy: We’re going to have an apple cinnamon pancake.
Chorus: Yay! Yummy!
Top Gun: Mommy, we need more than one pancake!
Mommy: We are only making one pancake.
(Chorus silent. Probably planning how to get the most bites for themselves because obviously one pancake will not be enough to share.
Later, while watching Mommy pour the batter over the cooked apples.)
Chorus: Mommy, that’s not how you make a pancake! Read more
Cranberry Apple French Toast
Inspired by cranberry orange upside down cake, I wanted a good easy hot breakfast for holidays mornings such as Christmas or Thanksgiving when I don’t have much time for a big breakfast. Baking French toast is an easy and delicious way to make it without having to stand over the stove while cooking each slice. The toppings go into the bottom of the pan with the bread and custard on top. To serve, simply scoop out spoonfuls and turn over onto plates. The fruit and juices run down and around the plate, soaking the bread in it’s goodness. It doesn’t look like much on the plate when everything dumps over, but the spices and the flavors of fresh cranberries, apples, and oranges will make up for its unassuming appearance.
Like many baked French toast recipes, this one requires an overnight resting time in the refrigerator so the bread can soak up some of the custard by morning. Pull the pan out of the frig while the oven preheats, then bake covered for about 40 min. You can remove the foil for the last few minutes to help brown and crisp the top layer of bread.
CRANBERRY APPLE FRENCH TOAST
Serves 6.
Equipment
2-1/2 to 3-quart oval casserole with tall sides (like a Pyrex French White casserole)
Ingredients
4 tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter
1 cup (110 g) packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup (28 g) chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
zest and juice of 1 orange, divided
1 medium to large apple, chopped (or thinly sliced)
1 cup (100 g) fresh cranberries, rinsed
1 loaf challah or French bread, cut into 1/2-inch (1.3 cm) thick slices
6 eggs, beaten
2 cups (480 ml) half & half
Preparation
1. Melt the butter and pour into the casserole. Stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, nuts (optional), orange zest, and 2 tablespoons of the orange juice. Press along the bottom to form a kind of crust.
2. Arrange the apples and cranberries over the butter and sugar mixture.
3. Arrange the bread slices in a way that covers the fruit. Drizzle half the remaining orange juice over the bread.
4. Whisk together the beaten eggs and half & half, and pour half of it over the bread.
5. Make another layer of bread, drizzle remaining orange juice and then pour on the remaining egg mixture.
6. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
7. Preheat oven to 375° F/190° C. Remove plastic wrap, cover with foil, and bake for approximately 40 minutes. Remove the foil for the last few minutes of cooking to brown and crisp the top layer of bread. Scoop out large spoonfuls and turn over onto serving plates.
More Breakfast Recipes
More French Toast Recipes From Around the Blogs
Smitten Kitchen – Boozy Baked French Toast
Simply Recipes – Crunchy French Toast
Pinch My Salt – Spiked Egg Nog French Toast
The Leftover Queen – Mango Stuffed French Toast
Brown Sugar Cake with Prunes and Apples
This week marked the end of the first quarter for school and the teachers had work days to prepare report cards and attend staff development. Oh, how I remember those days! Even though I was an early adopter of electronic grade books—I kept all my grades in ClarisWorks spreadsheets on my first Mac—I always had tons of work to do on those days between quarters. Nothing has changed and teachers still have long lists of things to accomplish on those brief days without students.
I have fond memories of my years teaching, and though I’m no longer in the classroom, I continue to support educators and their work. Our PTA sponsored a luncheon for the teachers on Monday, and I volunteered to bring dessert. I had plenty of cakes I had made before, but I wanted to try another one of Dorie’s recipes from Baking From My Home to Yours, and I selected this Bundt cake since apples are in season. Dorie’s original recipe uses pears, but I have a slew of apples on hand because Michael’s parents sent us a wonderful gift of two boxes of Cortland apples from Beak & Skiff in New York, so a couple of them went into this cake.
The crumbs tasted delicious, and the boys asked me repeatedly for a taste as I sliced it and arranged the pieces on a serving plate. They were disappointed that none stayed home for them to enjoy. Apparently the cake went over very well with the teachers and staff, and I heard from one administrator about his disappointment that he didn’t get a slice, so this cake will definitely get a repeat performance.
Mint Apple Jelly
November 1, 2008 by Andrea
Filed under Jams, Pickles, and Preserves
The mint bush continues to thrive, even with some killing frosts in the past two weeks, which just amazes me. Supposedly the plants grow best in wet soil with partial sunlight, though this bush has grown in a south-facing garden with full sun and has far exceeded my expectations. I have to trim it frequently to keep it in check, but we’ve had so many uses for it that trimming is not a hardship. Because we want to keep some mint on hand during the winter, I’m rooting some stems in soil and some in water to see which ones root faster, then will transplant in a pot for our indoor garden. Most varieties of mint propagate easily with either method. Read more
The Daring Bakers Make Peter Reinhart’s Pizza Napoletana
I remember seeing Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice for the first time at a bookstore the year it was released. The striking photo on the cover immediately grabbed my attention and I heard my own voice say aloud, “I want to make bread like that.” The book did not go home with me that day, and in fact I waited almost a year before buying it, feeling that I needed to bake more things from some of my other books before adding another bread book to my collection. I was ecstatic the day it arrived in the mail, and I immediately sat down and started reading and tagging breads of interest. For my very first bread, I tackled the Napoletana pizza dough, and I was thrilled with the results. The dough was silky smooth and had enough resting time that I could easily stretch it and make a thin crust, the type I prefer. After falling hard for this dough, I added Reinhart’s American Pie to my wish list, which actually has another variation of this dough formula.
It’s been two years since I wrote about Reinhart’s Napoletana pizza dough (recipe posted there), but time has not diminished my adoration of this dough, and I gladly played along with this month’s Daring Baker challenge. The formula is forgiving enough to allow some whole grain flour, but the original still makes a delicious pizza. Read more
French Apple Pie
Michael has delicious memories of his mother’s pies, and this is a favorite of hers, not just because it tastes good, but because it’s easy. There is only one crust to roll out, and she used to make them in assembly line fashion during apple season, then tightly wrap and freeze them to pull out as a quick dessert.
It’s also an easy pie to make with kids, and I had some assistance from my little chefs. My five-year-old helped roll out the crust, decorate the edge of the crust, pour in the apples, and sprinkle on the crumb topping. He was quite proud of himself! The baked pie looked great until Monkey Boy found it on the counter and started pulling bits of the crust off. After that we decided to call it a “rustic pie,” and no one seemed to mind when it came time to enjoy a slice.
We like to make this with Granny Smith apples, but any firm tart apple will do.
Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy is celebrating her first blogoversary this month and having a virtual bash to celebrate. Where I come from we always take dessert to a party and pies are high on the request list, so I’m sharing my pie with Susan. Congrats on your first year of blogging!
[Updated November 23, 2009.]
FRENCH APPLE PIE
Adapted from Anne Meyers.
Makes 1 (9-inch) pie.
Equipment
9-inch pie pan
large mixing bowl
food processor
aluminum foil
Ingredients
CRUMB TOPPING
1/2 cup (1 stick, 113 g) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (55 g) packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (60 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (~57 g) wheat germ
FILLING
7 cups (~790-800 g) peeled, thinly sliced Granny Smith apples (about 1/4-inch thick)
3/4 cup (131 g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch or unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of salt
1-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
Preparation
1. Prepare the pie crust and put in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
2. After the pie crust has chilled, preheat the oven to 400° F/200° C.
3. In the bowl of the food processor, add all the ingredients for the crumb topping and pulse about 10 times, until the mixture is crumbly.
4. Roll out the dough and place in the 9-inch pie pan. Crimp the edges with a fork. (If the dough chilled for a long time and is too hard, allow it to rest on the counter until it softens and rolls easily.)
5. In the large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until thoroughly mixed, then toss with the apple slices. Mound the apples high in the middle and dollop with pieces of unsalted butter. Cover the crust edges with aluminum foil to prevent burning.
6. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the apples and press down slightly.
7. Bake the pie for about 50 minutes, but check progress at the 45 minute mark. When the crust and crumbs are golden, remove from oven and allow to cool about 30 minutes before serving. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.
Freezing the Pies
You can freeze the pies before baking them. Press a layer of plastic wrap over the surface of the pie and then wrap the whole thing well in several layers of plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months. Bake frozen pie for 60 to 75 minutes.
Variations
Use a whole wheat pie crust.
Substitute whole wheat pastry flour for the unbleached all-purpose flour in the crumb topping.
More Baked Desserts with Fruit
More Apple Recipes From Around the Blogs
Viaggi & Sapori – Apfelstrudel, strudel Viennese
Canela & Comino – Caramel Apple Cake
