"Good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness," said Jane Austen...

A very welcome seasonal gift
left on the doorstep!

The same could be said for good apple cakes, especially this time of year when apples are in season and can be bought by the box-full directly from the orchards around Orange. Just last week a kindly neighbour dropped around a large basket of  fresh apples, which resulted in a frenzy of apple eating and baking.
One of our favourite family apple recipes is adapted from Matthew Evans' wonderful The Real Food Companion cookbook. It is moist and heavy and delicious - perfect with a cup of tea or in a school lunchbox. Add a dollop or three of clotted cream and it is a magnificent winter desert. Comfort food at its best!

A very appley apple cake!

Apple Cake

About 1 kg apples, peeled, cored and diced
200g raw sugar
2-3 eggs, lightly beaten
125ml extra virgin olive oil
200g chopped pecans or walnuts
250g self raising flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
a few drops vanilla extract
grated zest of 1 lemon

Pre-heat the oven to 180 C (350 F). Grease and line a round spring form cake tin (about 28cm).
When preparing the apples, which will take a while, store them in a bowl of water with half a squeezed lemon or a splosh of vinegar. This will stop them from going brown while you slave away peeling and coring.
When the apples are diced, add them to a large bowl with the sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon rind, oil and nuts. Stir to coat, then add the sifted flour and cinnamon. What you will have will resemble apples coated in batter more than a standard cake mix. Smooth the batter into the cake tin and bake for about 50 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before attempting to turn out.

This weekend (11-13 May 2012) is the Orange Apple Festival, celebrating 170 years of apple growing in the Orange region. The festival will include cooking classes, orchard walks, school activities, cider tasting and apple bobbing. And of course, Orange is in all it's autumnal splendor at the moment - one of the best times of year to visit!