apple | A little Swiss, a little Canadian

Happy weekend everyone!

It has been a busy but wonderful last few weeks, with my mom and stepdad visiting. It was a special gift for my daughter to be here for her high school commencement, which was a lovely evening full of joy, pride and maybe a few happy tears! We were also able to celebrate my moms birthday, this was the first time in 20 years! We just never visited each other during fall. Living so far apart makes it difficult to see each other for every birthday or other celebrations. It was very special and meant a lot to all of us.

The weather was not always so great, lots of rain and chilly winds and this week humid hot days that now turned into a cold and frosty weekend. Over the last two weeks we could really see how the leaves are changing colour and showcasing a beautiful indian summer.

We made this traditional Swiss apple cake, Thurgauer Apfeltorte, which means it is a recipe from the Canton of Thurgau. A simple but very delicious apple cake made with fresh, local apples.

Thurgauer Apfeltorte

150 g butter, soft
150 ml maple syrup
1 organic lemon, zest and juice
pinch salt
3 eggs
150 g spelt flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 apples, peeled, cored, cut in half
3 tbsp coconut sugar

-Line the bottom of a 24 cm Springform pan with parchment paper, grease and flour the sides. Preheat oven to 350F/180C.

-Whisk together the butter, maple syrup, half of the lemon juice, lemon zest and salt. Add eggs one at the time, mixing well.

-Peel apples, cut in half, remove core and cut in thinly but not all the way through. Mix with half of the lemon juice and coconut sugar, set aside.

-Add the flour and baking powder and mix until well combined. Pour into prepared baking pan. Top with the apples and bake for about 45 minutes or until cake is golden brown and tester comes out clean.

-Let cool completely, dust with some icing sugar if desired.

-Tip: Cane sugar can be used instead of the maple syrup and coconut sugar–

Visit my Instagram page for more pictures including our trip to Niagara Falls! littleswisslittlecanadian

Enjoy!

Ursula

Happy Family Day!

So nice to have an extra day off! Family day is a statutory holiday in Ontario and other provinces in Canada. It has been a sunny weekend, unfortunately it is raining and foggy today. Perfect for relaxing at home, I’ve had an earache for most of last week, but I think it is starting to get better now.

I finely took the time to make an apple rose cake, it is so pretty and it was really delicious with the walnut and maple crust. It would also be delicious with hazelnut or almonds.

Apple Rose Tart

Walnut Crust:

1 1/2 cups ground walnuts
1 1/2 cups spelt flour
1/2 cup + 3 tbsp butter, soft
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Filling:

1 egg
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla sugar

Apple roses:

4 medium red and/or yellow apples, thinly sliced

-Line a 9-inch tart/pie form with parchment paper, grease the sides.

-Whisk together the butter, egg and maple syrup, add vanilla and a pinch of salt. Fold in the nuts and spelt flour until well combined. Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.

-Place the thinly sliced apples in a medium saucepan, cover with water and lemon juice and let simmer for a few minutes until pliable.

-Roll dough out directly on tart form, if you have a removable bottom. Cover sides evenly by hand.

-For the filling: whisk together all ingredients and pour into tart form.

-For the roses: on a large plate or cutting board take a few, five for example, apple slices and lay them slightly overlapping in a straight line, then from the opposite side start rolling up tightly. Place into tart form. The more apple slices you take, the bigger the roses get. Have fun making different sizes, as you like.

-Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Bake for about 30 minutes.