Harvest House,
A Seasonal Bake for the Autumn Desk
~ Harvest Apple Cake ~
As Autumn envelops us and mists if fact be told attain pervade the season, there’s one British tournament that I at all times take a seat up for, Harvest Pageant. I undergo in mind atmosphere off for faculty armed with dwelling-made bread, bakes and tinned food that my of us had donated for the college’s Harvest competition. We would all troop down to the local parish church to clutch our harvest booty, and oh, what I survey greeted us; swathes of corn and wheat, some silent in stucks from the fields; baskets and previous wood boxes overflowing with lovingly tended fruit and greens, contemporary bird’s eggs nestling on beds of straw and regimented stacks of tins that even essentially the most diligent quarter master would be proud of! And, vegetation EVERYWHERE! It became once a pleasure – a sense of relief and fulfillment hung treasure an charisma within the frosty stone partitions of the church. It’s a long way with this pleasing Autumn competition in mind that I made this Harvest Apple Cake for Kate’s Autumnal Baking Danger moreover to The Purple Whisks Apple Danger for October too.
Though we are inclined to celebrate Harvest Pageant towards the tip of September and all the scheme via October today time, the used date falls on the first of August and is known as Lammas day. (This is believed to be a corruption of “loaf-mass”, due to loaves of bread that had been taken to church, or “lamb-mass”, as lambs had been in most cases dedicated to the church on today time as properly). Lammas day became once the competition of the first harvest, in most cases is known as “The Feast of the First Fruits”. As wheat tended to be the first slice to be harvested, it became once customary for parishioners to clutch a loaf of bread made of the contemporary slice to church, as a reward – the beginnings of our neatly-liked Harvest Pageant in churches and faculties.
At Harvest time, it became once used to fabricate a ceremonial corn resolve; known as “Harvest Queens” or “Kern Dolls” from the last sheaves of corn that had been slit back, these figures had been believed to harbour the “Corn Spirit”. The Kern Doll became once then carrying white and festooned with coloured ribbons and taken to the Harvest Supper to be positioned in pleasure of build. Any other tradition became once to plant the Kern Dolly in the next spring on Plough Monday; this became once supposed to liberate the “Corn Spirit” and make certain a bumper slice and harvest for the year. I undergo in mind making smaller variations, simply known as a Corn Dollies, when I became once at predominant faculty – they had been regarded as very fortunate, especially when hung up to your homes and particularly in kitchens.
Harvest House or Harvest Pageant is sadly on the decline as our churches fight to plan worshippers and rural communities diminish, though fortunately, Harvest House Suppers appear to be on the amplify in some rural areas of Britain. It’d be a big shame if we lost this poignant reminder of bringing the harvest dwelling for the lean frosty climate months. Expectantly this recipe and the cooking challenges I in reality bask in made this cake for will remind us of what a improbable time of year that is, a time to GATHER in, moreover to being a possibility to present to the much less fortunate than ourselves. So, with that in mind – enable us to away to our kitchens!
Harvest Apple Cake
A easy and simple to whip up apple sponge cake; baked in a tray for easy serving – slit back into bars or squares for picnics, faculty or place of job lunch boxes & for tea-time treats! (Though I previous a round cake tin as considered in the photos for a smaller cake.) It’s a long way DIVINE served hot with cream, custard or ice cream for a big autumn pudding. The kind of cake is most ceaselessly known as Dorset or Somerset Apple cake, but it completely is if fact be told quite current in almost the total English counties, especially for the length of apple harvest season. I in reality bask in stipulated Bramley apples, that are the queen of British cooking apples – in the absence of those, any tart or engaging “Apply” flavoured or regional “cooking” apples will attain.
Components:
- 1 lb (450g) Bramley cooking apples
- 1/2 lemon, juice of
- 8 ounces (200g) butter, softened
- 10 ounces (250g) golden caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 12 ounces (320g) self elevating flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons Demerara sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 180°C/360°F or Gas mark 4.
2. Grease & line an rectangular baking tray – approx 9″ x 7″ (27 cms x 20 cms) or a round cake tin 9″/27cms.
3. Peel, core & thinly prick apples; squeeze the lemon juice over them to give up them discolouring and role them to 1 side.
4. Region butter, caster sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, flour & baking powder staunch into a big roomy mixing bowl & mix properly till refined. That it’s likely you’ll spend an electrical hand scuttle if it’s more uncomplicated.
5. Unfold half of of the cake/pudding mixture into the willing tin. Prepare half of of the apples over the tip of the mixture.
6. Repeat the layer with the final half of of cake/pudding mixture & apples – the apples ought to silent be arranged over the tip of the cake/pudding mixture. Sprinkle over with the Demerara sugar.
7. Bake for forty five-50 minutes till golden brown, properly risen & springy to the contact. Depart to chill a bit for 10 minutes & then slit back into squares or bars.
8. Wait till the cake has fully cooled sooner than removing the cake & the baking paper from the tin – retailer in an airtight tin or container.
9. Whenever you bewitch to assist this warm as a pudding, wait 5-10 minutes and then slit back and aid with cream, custard or ice cream. It ought to furthermore be microwaved too, for a future hot pudding.
Look for you later!
Karen
This recipe became once developed and written by me and at the origin published to the Country Kitchen Journal in 2009.
Karen S Sales location