Apples & Chocolate “scrummy yummy” cake

note: When something is really good, E calls it scrummy yummy. We like to use it now too.

I’m on a great quest. The quest for greatest blondie recipe. (like a brownie, but pale and not full ‘o cocoa powder) that I can tweak final ingredients to make a lot of variations. I expect it’ll take me a few tries but that’s ok. I’m going to enjoy the process. I love to bake, and I love to try my own experiments and make stuff up. It’s fun – and my best creations have happened this way.

I made my first attempt last week and it didn’t come out very good. Well it was ok, but not great because it was too cake-y and not moist/fudgy enough. As I explained why I considered it a fail to my husband he shrugged and said he didn’t care – that it was great to him. I sighed, frustrated that he didn’t see that this, this bar cookie really was more cake than blondie and that it wasn’t a great bar cookie because it was just too cake-y.

Then the lightbulb went off.

What do you do with a cake? You FROST IT. Of course, the answer is so simple! I added a cheap “white frosting” from Pillsbury – just a very thin layer, and then sprinkled my cinnamon sugar (yes, that’s something I keep on hand and you should too!) on top of that. Result? Magical fall apple/chocolate/toffee/cinnamon cake!!! It’s all gone now, but it will be brought back, possibly with different add-ins.

the cake

Here’s the recipe:

{mix and set aside}
2 cup unbleached flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
{then in sauce pan}
3/4 cup butter – heat until melted, try not to get too hot!
{mix in}
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
{carefully add}
2 large eggs – stir a lot and make sure the butter isn’t hot so you don’t fry them eggs!
4 tsp. vanilla
2tsp cinnamon
{then whisk into dry ingredients bowl until smooth}
{now gently fold in:}
1/2 granny smith apple diced fine (about 1/2 – 1/4″ cubes)
1 large Hershey Symphony (milk chocolate with almonds & toffee) bar chopped up
1 handful semi-sweet chocolate chips

pour into greased 8×8 pan and bake at 325 (metal/dark) or 350 (glass) until done. About 40 minutes. I didn’t do a toothpick test- I just watched for it to be firm & start to pull away from edges.

{when cool}
frost very lightly with “white” frosting – I think cream cheese might taste great too.
dust with cinnamon sugar to finish

8 thoughts on “Apples & Chocolate “scrummy yummy” cake”

  1. For Blondies recipes, go to Food Network and Bobby Flay’s Throw Down – I know he did a whole episode on Blondies

  2. Oooooh. Thanks for sharing your recipe! I’m so impressed that you made this up all by yourself. I’m not that experimental with baking. I tend to do more experimenting with chicken and veggies, but not with baking. I don’t get the chemistry right.

  3. The key is to look at recipes and see the basic _ c flour + __ baking powder/soda + __ fat (oil, butter, etc) and wiggle from there.

  4. Yum. I’ve beenthinking about trying to make blondies lately too. Which is weir, because if it isn’t chocolate I don’t think it’s worthwhile. But I want to try and make blondies. I am convinced I should be able to find a recipe for blondies + craisins. I don’t do much baking or cooking, so I haven’t looked yet. If you decide to experiment please share your results. =) Please!

  5. Yum. I’ve been thinking about trying to make blondies lately too. Which is weird, because if it isn’t chocolate I don’t think it’s worthwhile. But I want to try and make blondies. I am convinced I should be able to find a recipe for blondies + craisins. I don’t do much baking or cooking, so I haven’t looked yet. If you decide to experiment please share your results. =) Please!

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