Fiction-Food Café: Apple Cake & Mint Tea

Life on a chilly, windswept island surrounded by waters inhabited by carnivorous horses can be tough on any day, especially when it's just you and your two brothers, but today in particular just isn't going your way at all–and it's about to get worse. But not before you curse the too frequent beans and whip up an apple cake and mint tea for dinner instead.

"I make an apple cake and feel rather virtuous about it."

–Puck, Chapter 3, The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

The Scorpio Races (published Oct. 2011) is a beautiful young adult novel written by the fabulous Maggie Stiefvater. To read my review of the book (plus a little recap of my meeting-Maggie experience), please click here. For more food from The Scorpio Races–November cakes and salted butter tea (po cha)–click here. Also, I'm so excited for this book to become a film! Click here for more info.

Note: This recipe is from my great aunt Curtis who passed away many years ago. I remember eating it as a little girl when my mom, sister, and I would visit her (well, after I'd get some playtime out of the way, hiding under the huge boxwood in her front yard). The recipe name is actually "Apple Pie Cake" as the texture is very moist, reminiscent of apple pie. If you don't want it so moist and pie-ish, preheat your oven to 375ºF, line two large baking sheets with parchment paper, and lay the apple pieces out in a single layer, trying not to let them touch too much. Bake for about 20 minutes to dry the apples out a little and then add them to the cake mixture as directed below. Also, the original recipe calls for 1/2 cup chopped pecans, so feel free to add that if you'd like, though I omitted it to keep it accurate to the book.

To make mint tea, simmer about two to four cups of water (depending on how many cups of tea you'll be serving) with a couple tea bags of choice (like black tea) plus a crushed bundle of fresh mint leaves, and let steep for about five minutes. Remove the tea bags. You may remove the mint leaves before serving or leave some in for effect. You can also simply use mint tea bags and garnish with a mint leaf or two.

Puck Connolly's Apple Cake

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter, room temperature/softened
1 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
I Cup Flour
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp. Salt
2 Tbsp. Hot Water
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
3 Large Apples (~3 cups), peeled, cored, & diced (I used 2 Granny Smiths & 1 Gala)

Important Item:
9" Round Cake Pan

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF. In a large mixing bowl cream the butter & then gradually add the sugar until it's well combined & fluffy. Add the egg & beat until blended well. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, & salt. Mix it into the butter mixture, a little at a time, until smooth. On low speed, add the water & vanilla until combined. Using a spatula, fold in the apple pieces.
2. Grease & flour your cake pan (or spray on Baker's Joy) & then spoon the apple mixture into it, spreading it out evenly. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven & let cool for a few minutes. Serve warm with mint tea & the optional chainsaw (also great with vanilla ice cream).