Staying Indoors

 One Bowl Apple Cake

When the high temps were in the 20s last weekend, I opted to stay indoors. (Thankfully, this week will be warmer.) There certainly was plenty to do in the house when I was hiding from Jack Frost. Cleaning. Organizing. Decluttering. All things that are easy to skip when I'm on the go.

And it was a great time for a little extra knitting. I'm working on a circular blanket with a lace pattern. There are so many new-to-me skills in this pattern. But I'm beyond the hard part now, so it's just fun. Easy enough to catch up on some PBS shows while I worked. (My new show to watch is Grantchester. For once, I got started with the very first episode.)

 

I had to ask Daddy-O for a little help with my knitting project. This yarn comes in a HUGE skein. Too big for my yarn winder. So I went old school and, with his help, wound it by hand. There is something soothing about this process. After being outside feeding the cows, he was happy to sit by the fire and help me.

And Jessica came home for the weekend! I had made soup. But a visit from family needs a special treat. In all my cleaning, I sorted through the gazillion recipes I had printed out during the last year. I found this one that I think someone shared on Facebook. It was the "one bowl" part that caught my eye. Well, it took me two bowls! One for the wet ingredients and one to mix the dry. But it was still quick and easy. This would be great with a cup of coffee.

I made some minor adjustments to the recipe that I think helped it. It's a different kind of cake---almost more apples than batter. When I put it in the pans, I really thought there was no way it would work, but the batter baked up and over the apples.

I made the cake in two round pans this time. I put one cake back into the pan and it went into the freezer so that Daddy-O can have a treat when I'm gone to visit the grandchildren in a few weeks.

ONE BOWL APPLE CAKE

2 eggs
1-3/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup cooking oil
6 medium Gala or Fuji apples
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans. (Or, you can use a 9x13-inch baking pan.) Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the eggs, sugar cinnamon, and oil. Peel and slice apples directly into this mixture, stirring to coat as you go to keep apples from turning brown.  Mix together flour and baking powder. Add to the apple mixture. Mix well until all of the flour is absorbed by the wet ingredients.

Spoon mixture into prepared pans and level with spatula. Bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until golden brown. (Add 5-10 minutes more for the 9x13 pan.)