Oct 29, 2014

Apple Mac Nut Coffee Cake

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This is a great recipe for the Holidays, your next potluck dinner, or to have with a cup of hot Kona coffee. The sliced cinnamon-apple topping invites you to cut a slice of this moist apple coffee cake, full of raisins and macadamia nuts. The only way to make this recipe better would be to serve it with vanilla ice-cream. For more great tropical quick bread recipes click here.

Ingredients:
shortening to grease pans
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups peeled tart apples, finely chopped or shredded
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1/2 cup raisins

Ingredients for the topping:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
juice from 1 lemon
2 tart apples, peeled and thinly sliced

Procedure for the cake:
First grease your two loaf pans with shortening (see note below).

Next, in a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup brown sugar with the 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon. In another medium sized bowl, peel, then quarter the apples cutting out the seeds, now thinly slice them. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over the apple slices to keep them from turning brown. Add the cinnamon-sugar mixture and gently toss to thoroughly coat each apple slice then allow to sit for 10 minutes while you make the batter.

In a medium sized bowl, cream sugar and 1/2 cup butter. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each, then add the vanilla. Add baking soda to buttermilk; add to creamed mixture. Mix in flour and salt. Stir in shredded apples, nuts and raisins. Pour into two greased and floured 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans, lined with foil or parchment strips to help remove the loaf when cooked.

Procedure for the topping:
Arrange the sugared apple slices on top of the batter in a overlapping row (see photo), pressing lightly into the batter. Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes (stick a toothpick in the cake, if it comes out clean with no batter sticking to it then it is cooked). Let the pans cool for 10 minutes before removing the cakes using the foil or parchments strips, and put them on a wire rack to cool. When ready to serve, slice in 1-1/2-inch pieces and serve with vanilla ice-cream and a cup of coffee if you like. Yield: 2 loaves.

Note: If you don't shred the apple for the batter, the cake will be difficult to cut. However use thin apple slice for the top of the cake, it looks better that way and you can cut the cake so that each slice has a sliced apple on top.

Use shortening to grease your pans, it does not burn easily, imparts no taste, and is
preferred by most bakers. Also I like to make a foil sling in my loaf pans to help remove the loaf from the pan. Simply laying long, wide strips of foil or even parchment paper across the length and width of the pan so the paper hangs over the edges. They work the best if you make the paper the same width as the pan where it will be used. Use the overlap as a handy grip when its time to remove the loaf from the pan.

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