On Sunday, my dear friend Naomi brought over a bucket full of apples to process. I ate some, baked with several others and am dehydrating the rest. Since the weather looks just like a typical Dutch fall weather (cold, rainy, dark) and I have not much else to do but watch the apples dry, I decided to bake a golden boerencake with some apples and cinnamon to bring a little bit of light into the kitchen. It worked!
It is important that your ingredients are at room temperature as it will improve the texture of the cake.
Boerencake
2 sticks minus 1 Tablespoon (200g) butter1 cup (200g) sugar
4 eggs
pinch of salt (if butter is unsalted)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup (200g) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup (200g) all-purpose flour
1 heaping teaspoon (6 grams) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 small-ish apples(approx. 0.5 lb/250 grams), or 1 big one
1 Tablespoon coarse sugar
Cream the butter and the sugar until they've formed a cohesive, fluffy mass. Break two eggs, and add them one by one, until absorbed into the batter. In a separate bowl, set one tablespoon of the flour aside, and mix the rest of the flour with the baking powder and the cinnamon. Add half of the flour mix to the batter, fold it in, then add the remaining two eggs, one at a time, and the rest of the flour and mix until you have a lovely, thick batter.
Peel and core the two apples. Dice 1 apple, dice half of the other, and slice the remaining half into thin slices. Toss the diced apple with the tablespoon of flour and fold it into the batter. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 (+/- 22 cm) cake form, and spoon the cake batter into the form. Stick the sliced apples in the top, about halfway down into the batter, in a pleasing pattern (I like a herringbone pattern). Sprinkle the tablespoon of course sugar over the top, and bake the cake on the middle rack in an 350F (175C) oven, for about 45 minutes or until golden, and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool before slicing.
1 Tablespoon coarse sugar
Cream the butter and the sugar until they've formed a cohesive, fluffy mass. Break two eggs, and add them one by one, until absorbed into the batter. In a separate bowl, set one tablespoon of the flour aside, and mix the rest of the flour with the baking powder and the cinnamon. Add half of the flour mix to the batter, fold it in, then add the remaining two eggs, one at a time, and the rest of the flour and mix until you have a lovely, thick batter.
Peel and core the two apples. Dice 1 apple, dice half of the other, and slice the remaining half into thin slices. Toss the diced apple with the tablespoon of flour and fold it into the batter. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 (+/- 22 cm) cake form, and spoon the cake batter into the form. Stick the sliced apples in the top, about halfway down into the batter, in a pleasing pattern (I like a herringbone pattern). Sprinkle the tablespoon of course sugar over the top, and bake the cake on the middle rack in an 350F (175C) oven, for about 45 minutes or until golden, and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool before slicing.
A century or more ago, white bread was called 'herenbrood' or 'fijn brood' as it was eaten by the rich. As the Dutch became more affluent, white bread became available for more and more people, and the distinction lost its function. In the 1960's, white bread was THE bread. There was a countermovement, however, that was all about 'getting back to the roots' of food, and so the more rustic brown loaves are now called 'boerenbrood' to emphasize its 'wholesome down to earth goodness'.
ReplyDeleteI think something similar is up with 'boerencake' and 'boerensoepgroente'. It's about rustic goodness without 'all that faffing about with a pinc of this and a sliver of that', but big, hearty, chuncky goodness.
Marion
Would you let us know for what size cake pan this recipe should be used? Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThe recipe worked for a Wilton 9.25 x 5.25 x 2.75 inch rectangular cake pan.
ReplyDeletecan i use any types of apple?
ReplyDeleteLooks great I remember that smell as a kid Always a pinch of nut mag
ReplyDelete