Apple Bundt Cake

 

Apple Bundt Cake

Inverted

A Slice

On very rare occasions like today, we're celebrating with an Apple Bundt Cake! Using brown sugar instead of white gives it a GBD (golden brown and delicious) goodness. I followed an online recipe but adapted it to my preferences. White sugar was replaced with brown sugar, the diced apples were dusted with cinnamon and sugar and Granny Smith apples were replaced with Gala apples. A Bundt cake is so much fancier than a plain sheet cake and it felt good to have an excuse to use my Bundt pan.

Baked Apple Delight

Baked Apple Delight

The smell of porridge in the air meant that it was a weekend in winter or spring in Darjeeling. This resort town in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains, sits at an elevation of 6,700 ft. above sea level. It's backdrop is Mt. Kanchenjunga which is among the world's highest peaks.

During weekdays, our kitchen was the domain of Kanchi who arrived in the wee hours of the morning so she could make us breakfast before we left for school. The weekends were always special because Mum took over kitchen duties. Winters were spent in Calcutta, but we returned to the mountains in the early part of March while it was still pretty cold. Porridge made from old-fashioned oatmeal was a favourite part of breakfast because it warmed us up and was filling to boot!

Fast forward several decades to a time when consuming sugary desserts are a no-no so this combination of porridge and apples is a welcome addition to dinner. So easy to prepare, the memories of my childhood evoke images of my mother's nurturing nature, with the creation of this all-time favourite.

Slow-Cooked Apple Raisin Oatmeal

Left: Apple Raisin Oatmeal in Crock Pot
Right: Plated Apple Raisin Oatmeal

This is the easiest ever crock pot recipe for downright delicious oatmeal! The only problem is that I have to manually turn on and off my crock pot, so had to stay awake until midnight the night before to turn it on. It cooked for 8.5 hours overnight and it's so hard to describe the incredible aroma that permeated throughout the house this morning.

Oatmeal has always been a favorite breakfast item going all the way back to our childhood in Darjeeling, India. The weather in Darjeeling was often cold and damp and the luxury of having a hot bowl of oatmeal was an infrequent affair because it was reserved for uneventful weekends which were few and far between. 

Mum always salted her oatmeal as it was cooking that adds a special touch to this dish. I left the peel on the Fuji apples which cooked down to a super soft consistency and yet managed to retain some texture and shape. The raisins absorbed as much liquid as they could and came out plump and juicy. And there's no describing the texture of the oatmeal which was soft and totally delicious! 

It's so easy to do that there's no excuse not to cook oatmeal this way from here on out and you can look forward to a most aromatic oatmeal breakfast the next morning.

Apple Amish Friendship Bread

Apple Sheet Cake

It disappears quickly!

This is a great bread to make when there are lots of delicious, crisp Fuji apples and it will feed a crowd! This recipe makes 2 loaves, but I decided to make a sheet cake instead and baked it in a 9" x 13" glass pan.