Apple Squares

Dear Husband loves apples, and they are so yummy right now, I decided to bake him bars- I got the recipe from Phyllis Hoffman Celebrate Fall 2009 magazine.

Mom's Apple Squares- makes about 25 servings

3 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups chopped unpeeled Braeburn or Gala apples- I used Braeburn

1/2 cup chopped walnuts- I toasted them lightly on a skillet to release the oils.

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sifted confectioner's sugar

1 tablespoon butter, softned

2 to 3 tablespoons whole milk- I used 2 1/2 of Half & Half

Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a 15x10-inch jelly roll pan with nonstick baking spray with flour; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine eggs and salt. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until frothy, about 1 minute. Add sugar and oil; beat until blended. In a small bowl. combine flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add to egg mixture; beat just until blended. Fold in apples, nuts and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan; spread evenly.

Bake 30 minutes or until lightly browned and set. Cool on a wire rack.

In a medium bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, butter, and enough milk to achieve a spreadable consistency. Spread over cake ( I drizzled it). When frosting has set, cut cake into bars.

Apple Spice Cake Balls

My Dear Husband requested apple spice cake balls. He loves apple spice cake and found the ideia of cake balls online, and asked me if I could make it. I gladly accepted his request. I tried searching the Internet for this specific recipe, but was unable to find it, so I decided to bake an apple spice cake, crumble it, mix it with vanilla buttercream and coat it with white chocolate. I watched several videos on You Tube to try and get the technique right.

I used Martha Stewart's recipe, and it came out luscious! I made a couple of small changes, first I used Braeburn apples instead of Granny Smith, and I processed it in the food processor instead of chopping it by hand. I figured since I would be making cake balls I would not want big chunks of apple. For the same reason I ommitted the nuts. As for the buttercream, I used Wilton's recipe. I put in the entire batch but the balls came out a little too moist, next time I will use 3/4 only.

My biggest mistake, however, was to buy cheap chocolate for coating. It did mot melt properly and it was very hard to work with. I highly suggest high-quality chocolate when coating candies!

Here is the cake recipe, from Martha Stewart's website:

• 1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3 to 4 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (3 cups)- I used 2 Braeburn's, processed.
• 1 cup chopped assorted nuts, such as pecans and walnuts (optional) - I did not add them
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Nonstick cooking spray with flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; set aside.- I used a 9x13 
1. Working over a large sheet of parchment paper, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; gather sifted ingredients into center of sheet; set aside.- I used a regular bowl instead of parchment paper
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine vegetable oil, sugar, and eggs; mix on high speed until lemon yellow.
3. Fold reserved parchment in half lengthwise; with mixer on medium speed, gradually shake in dry ingredients until just incorporated. - I added with a spoon
4. Add apples and, if desired, nuts, to batter; mix to combine. Add vanilla, mixing until incorporated.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 75 to 90 minutes.- Because I used a 9x13, it was ready in 50 minutes.
6. Remove from oven, and cool slightly on a wire rack.

Buttercream recipe, from Wilton's website:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
• 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
• 2 tablespoons milk

Makes: About 3 cups of icing.- You only need 2 per cake recipe.

instructions

(Medium Consistency)

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using. 

                             The balls before frosting

       The frosted balls, poor things look ugly, but are very tasty!

Melting the candy coat. It was a lot of work, to hand-dip each ball individually, but worth it!


By the way, because I added too much icing to the balls and they were kind of soggy, I had to freeze them to be able to dip them, otherwise they fell apart.