the red kitchen

Oaty apple cake

I've been baking a bit more lately, I don't know why, maybe the weather, maybe the fact that we are back from holidays and I am enjoying being back in my own (messy) kitchen. When I'm feeling at home, I bake.

The week before the holidays Lola and I were more or less home alone for a week while Max was skiing with Bruno's parents and Bruno was working. We had a very relaxing week, bonding, doing girly things and making pikelets with nutella for breakfast every morning (I blame Ms. Fabelhaft for Lola's nutella habit, entirely!). The pikelet recipe came from my trusty Edmonds cookbook (btw, check out this link for a look at an early version of the good ol' Edmonds, and just above it on the page was a recipe an Oaty Apple cake. Hmm, looks good, I thought to myself. I mentally bookmarked it for future reference, and went on holiday.

One week and many muscle aches later (what possessed me to try skiing again I don't know, why don't I just give up already), we were home and I was in a baking mood. The Oaty Apple cake! A bit of cakey indulgence, but still with enough healthy ingredients to pass muster as a pseudo health food - oats, grated apple, raisins etc. I bumped up the health quotient by using fresh orange juice instead of water, and fresh ginger instead of mixed spice.

I made it for Sunday afternoon tea with Bruno's parents, and it was delicious. A bit crumbly, esp. when warm from the oven (the flavour and texture improves after a day, if you can wait), but really good, moist and fruity, a bit like a muffin.

I made it again a few days later because we scoffed the first cake down so quickly that I needed to try it again to be really sure of its excellentness. I took some to my friend Gabriella and her visiting Italian parents, and she also loved it. Here, at her request, then, is the recipe:

Bag o' fun

Bag o' fun, originally uploaded by kitschenette.

Migros sells paper carry bags for 30 rappen (cents). Most of the time they are emblazoned with boring advertising or seasonal blather, but every so often they get artists to do them, like this great one.

The photographer is Olaf Breuning.

More strichmi

More strichmi, originally uploaded by kitschenette.

It's green inside, and stinky. You eat it (if you dare) with boiled potatoes and other cheeses, for a peculiarly Swiss meal called 'Gschwelti' (I think that's how you spell it).

Hmmm.

Roasted vegies

Roasted vegies, originally uploaded by kitschenette.

Smelt fantastic before I even put them in the oven.

Second breakfast

Second breakfast, originally uploaded by kitschenette.

This week our German lesson was at my house. Of course, we had to have a suitable repast to help us remember to put the verb at the end of the sentence!

Also present was an apple and almond teacake, the entire quota of gipfelis for our town, fresh pineapple, and of course, coffee, coffee, coffee (and a tea).