The Forgotten Dessert

Apple cake on a vintage Anchor Hocking green glass plate

Forgetful

Making our April blog post seemed quick and easy, too quick and easy.  We posted it on the 2nd.  On the 3rd, we were on a drive over to Missoula and realized we forgot to add a recipe.  This month it’s a tried-and-true apple cake recipe.  I cleaned the freezer and found some apples we cut up and froze for a winter treat of apple cake.  April is still sort of winter, we had snow last Wednesday.  This apple cake recipe comes from Larry’s mom but I’m pretty everyone’s mom or grandma made some sort of apple cake.  You can get the recipe below. 

So why were we in Missoula, you ask.  We attended the Montana Berry Growers Association and the Montana Grape and Wine Association joint conference.  We are members of both groups.  Township Road Farm is a founding member of the MT Berry Growers.  I’m on the board.  This year both groups decided that there was mutual benefit for meeting together.  The wine makers in Montana (both hobbyist and licensed wineries) have a need for Montana grown fruit.  There is a push in Montana for a special classification of wine containing Montana fruit.  We don’t have that many grape growers in the state but we do have a good number of fruit growers.  Check out the MTBGA website here Montana Berry Growers Association

The MTBGA umbrella covers all fruit that can be grown in Montana.  This year we had MT blueberry growers join.  That’s a big deal as most of the state can’t grow blueberries on a commercial level very well.  Our soil types just aren’t what blueberries need.  There are folks that have one or two in their gardens but having a whole patch is tougher.  They take a lot of soil amendments.  But we can grow haskaps also known as honeyberries.  They are a blue fruit is somewhere between blueberry and raspberry for taste. We will post more on that next month. We will have some small haskaps plants for sale the end of May.  We got our Montana Nursery License las year so we can now sell nursery stock. 

While we were at the conference, we learned about a new cherry that was cultivated in Bozeman.  It is a sweet tart cherry.  It’s still going through the patent process but we will have a few to sell in May and June.  Contact us if you want more information.  We could increase our order if there is enough interest. 

Now for what you all have been waiting for . . .

The recipe!

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup vegetable oil (or canola)

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups of diced apples

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Add liquid ingredients to the bowl.

Mix together.  If you are using fresh apples you may have to add a little water but you want a very thick batter. 

Pour thick batter into a greased and flowered cake pan. 

Back at 350 for 45 minutes or until done. 

We typically use an 9x13 pan.  On “fancy” occasions we have used a bunt pan and increased the bake time.