Apple Spice Snack Cake

 

When I was starting to develop this recipe, I thought about my childhood growing up on a tropical island. We did not have American type apples but anything we cooked had a variety of spices in it to wake up every taste bud. I decided to try and incorporate all that in this snack cake, and the result is really delicious. The cake is relatively low in fat, sugar and sodium, but not short on taste. It's got a lot of ingredients, is a bit time consuming to make, but doesn't disappoint. The spices used can be altered to suit individual tastes, but I'd suggest keeping the cinnamon and allspice and altering the others. Coriander and Cardamom could be used in place of the nutmeg and cloves.

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

½ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup sour cream

2 eggs

¼ cup applesauce, unsweetened

2 teaspoons vanilla

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

½ tablespoon Tamarind Concentrate (I use Ashoka brand)

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup oat bran

¼ cup arrowroot flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon freshly grated ginger root

¼ teaspoon cloves

2 apples, peeled, cored and finely diced

1.     Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour the sides of a 9-by-13-by-2-inch baking pan. Line the bottom with a square of parchment paper

2.     Peel, core and finely dice the apples. Mix with the lemon juice and zest, ginger, and vinegar.

3.     Mix the flours, oat bran, arrowroot flour, baking powder, baking soda,cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves into a medium bowl.

4.     In a large mixer bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, tamarind paste, brown sugar, eggs, maple syrup, vegetable oil, applesauce, and vanilla, on medium speed for 3 minutes or until pale in color.

5.     Mix in the diced apple mixture

6.     Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture in 3 batches, mix with a wooden spoon until just combined.  Spread into the prepared pan and level the top.

7.      Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool, cut into squares.I got 14 squares.

Applesauce Oat Muffins with Streusel Topping

 

This muffin is not very sweet, but the Streusel topping does compensate for that. It's great split in half and eaten with your favorite jam or jelly.

1 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour

1/2 cup rolled oats, old-fashioned or quick-cooking

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup Kefir

¼ cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 tablespoons sour cream

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup fresh blueberries

 

Streusel Topping

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

 

1.     Preheat the oven to 400°F. Use Jumbo size muffin liners.

2.     In a small bowl, prepare the streusel topping by mixing all the ingredients, rubbing the butter into the flour and sugar until crumbly. Set aside

3.     In a large bowl, stir together the flour, oats, spices, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix in the blueberries so that they become coated with the flour mixture.

4.     In a separate bowl, whisk together the kefir, sour cream, applesauce, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

5.     Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing only enough to combine evenly.

6.     Scoop the batter into the liners, filling to about 2/3.  Sprinkle with streusel mixture.

7.     Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack

8.     Store, wrapped, at room temperature for 2 days or wrap in plastic wrap, store in a Ziploc freezer bag, and freeze for longer storage.

Oatmeal Bars Topped with Coconut Custard

 

In Jamaica, a good sweet potato pudding (which very few people know how to make well), comes with a soft coconut custard topping that forms during the baking process. The process is described as "Hell a top, Hell a Bottom, and Heaven in between". It refers to the method of baking where the dutch pot with the pudding is placed on a slow charcoal fire, and a zinc sheet with live coals is place on top of the "Dutchie". It is the top layer of heat that acts like a broiler to form the custard. The resulting pudding is just as described..."Heaven"! The pudding however is very rich and sweet, but since I like the custard (which in itself is not too healthy), I wanted to find a way to have the best of both worlds. The oatmeal bar, with the custard on top is not a bad replacement! Just don't eat too much as Coconut milk/cream is full of saturated fat!

2 eggs

½ cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

½ teaspoon salt (if no sodium restriction)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups milk

¼ cup applesauce

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter

3 cups quick oats

¼ cup arrowroot flour

¼ cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons oil

Topping

½ cup coconut milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

 

Line the bottom of an 8x8 inch glass casserole with parchment paper. Liberally grease the sides of the baking dish.

Place sugar, milk and butter in a small saucepan. Slowly bring to a boil until sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool

Mix oats with 2 tablespoons oil and spread on a parchment covered baking sheet. Bake in a convection oven for 30 minutes at 325 degrees F or until a nice golden color.

Mix oats, baking powder, flours, spices in a large bowl and set aside.

Whisk eggs, vanilla, and applesauce together, then add cooled milk mixture to that.

Mix wet and dry ingredients together and pour into prepared baking dish

Refrigerate overnight, covered. Before baking, prepare topping and pour over the surface of the oatmeal.

Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 45-50  minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Switch the oven to "Broil" and broil for about 3-5 minutes. Cut into bar size of your choosing.