Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Apple Bread

Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library [1971]



I usually try out more unusual recipes, but while going through my avocado-green recipe card file, I came across... this. It looked delicious. It was under "Recipes Children Can Make." It seems to be a member of the Upside Down Cake family. It involves butter. How could it go wrong? And I had Honey Crisp apples. Have you tried those? They are delicious. New favorite apple, guys. Besides, I made cake out of beets, so there is a sort of symmetry about making bread out of apples.

Anyway.


Apple Bread
Melt in baking pan, 9x9x2 inches . . 2 tablespoons butter
Mix with fork in small bowl . . . . . . 1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Sprinkle sugar mixture on melted butter in pan.
Cut into thin slices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 apple

Arrange apple slices in rows on sugar mixture in pan.
Sprinkle over apples . . . . . . . . . . . a few raisins

Stir together with spoon in large bowl . .
1 pkg active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
(105-115 degrees)

Add . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup Gold Medal flour*

Beat 2 minutes or until batter drops from spoon in sheets.
Add and beat until smooth . . . . . . . . . .1 egg
1/4 cup shortening
1 1/4 cups Gold Medal flour

Drop batter by small spoonfuls over apples and raisins in pan. Cover pan and let rise in warm place until double, 50 to 60 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until brown. Immediately remove cake from pan by turning upside down onto serving plate.
*If using self-rising flour, omit salt.


Verdict:

It's.... DELICIOUS. Thank you, Betty Crocker! This is fabulous! It's a dang apple upside down cake! I didn't have any raisins, so I used frozen blueberries. Highly recommended, for it was tasty times indeed. It was also super easy and fast, especially for a yeast-based food, so the awesomeness is compounded.

Husband and I polished it off within about 12 hours, and that was only because we were trying to be responsible. One of those servings had vanilla ice cream. Then we ran out of ice cream. :( It was more than tasty without it, though! It is at its best warm, so take that into consideration when you make it.

Because you will.

You will.

14 comments:

Nancy said...

hey! I have some of those apples as well. Maybe I'll give it a try.

Bleak Refrain said...

Well hellooooo there, you tasty weekend guest in my oven! Thanks for yourself and your kitchen, Miss Jana! <3

Jana said...

Soooo welcome!

Dawna said...

Jana,
This recipe has been sitting in my Google widgets for a few days, so when I discovered a bag of tiny Macintosh apples in the back of the refrigerator. I took it as a sign to make the danged apple bread already!
I had no white sugar in the house & attempted to wing it with light brown sugar. Apples, brown sugar, butter. What's not to love?
Skins were a bit tough on the apples, so I peeled & cored four--did I mention they were tiny?
Dough came together like a breeze. And stuck together, & to the spoon, & the bowl, & to my greased fingers, & anything else it came in contact with as I tried to drop it in small spoonfuls. I swear it was like channeling the Three Stooges.
Gave up doing it with any elegance & just used my hands to pinch off small chunks.
Smelled heavenly while cooking & popped out of the pan with ease leaving only 5 slices stuck to the pan bottom. Got them back in place without too much trouble & it looks pretty darned nice.
Didn't think, that brown sugar substitution all the way through. Ended up with lovely caramel rather than a caramelized sauce, which isn't a bad thing if you're using a non stick pan (thank goodness I did ONE thing right)!
Just waiting for it to cool a few minutes before giving it a taste test.
Love the Time Travel Kitchen and I admire your (and your husband's) bravery ;)

Nonna said...

Yay ! I have a ton of cannery dehydrated apples and will use this recipe a lot.

I think it is especially spectacular that your cake looks even better than the Betty Crocker recipe card photo of yesteryear !!!

Jana said...

Dawna- I'm thrilled that you gave it a try! I hope it was tasty. Sorry about the Stooge-esque troubles. ;D

NB- Probably a pretty good use of cannery dried apples, especially if you re-hydrate them first. And thank you, I was pleasantly surprised when that picture came out of my camera. I don't know how it happened.

Sara said...

Yum, this looks so tasty! Totally perfect for chilly weather. :)

Valérie ( Franche-Comté ) said...

Il est bien gourmand et original
Je te souhaite une belle soirée
Valérie

Jana said...

Thanks. :)

Arissa said...

I have a little too much time on my hands and no desire to go to the gym-- but I do have a pear in the fridge and some yeast-- I am so excited to try this recipe! I hope it's just as good with the pear! Thank you for posting this recipe.

Jana said...

Sounds delicious! Let me know how it turns out.

Anonymous said...

Omg!!! I can't believe I found this recipe... I have my mothers box collection and I use to make this recipe as a teenager... Going thru all my recipes I decide, hey, I want to make this for my family... I went through the cards to find it and can you believe it, the only card in the box collection, that one recipe was missing... Thank you so much for posting it... I thought it was lost forever... Can't wait to make it again... Dee-lish!!!

Jana said...

You're welcome!

Anonymous said...

Hope this gets active again-I have the same avocado green file which I got as a teenager and have yet to try the apple bread! Since it sounds like a winner it will be something to make in the very near future. Thanks for the heads up-