Cake and photo by Sarah Phillips © Sarah Phillips
Cake and photo by Sarah Phillips © Sarah Phillips
I decided to create a breakfast cake, since the trend now, in my opinion, is to take desserts and transform them into recipes suitable for early morning consumption!
But, I find that many early morning “dessert-recipes” can be too sweet and have too much cake to them! This one is a nice and pleasant balance. I created this one from scratch! It could also be called a healthy style coffee cake.
My goals in creating the recipe were:
1. Because this is a breakfast item, I believe it should be quick and easy to mix.
2. The sugar levels should be somewhat low.
3. I have found that people like to have fresh fruit in the morning, so I want to build it into the recipe.
4. Texture is important in a baked good, and to me, especially in the morning, so a different grain should be added it.
The cake should also be moist and tender, so lacking in these types of cakes.
5. I ALWAYS like to build in a creative element for the end-user – so, they can add in their own flavors and be creative
on their own – add in their own fruit or flavors to the recipe so they can make it their own personal statement.
6. I always believe in using everyday ingredients, readily found in the grocery store!
After lots of testing, I achieved all of my goals with this recipe. What I like about this cake is that you can use different fruit toppings and perhaps different non-wheat grains, instead of cornmeal, but I have yet to test the recipe using, for example, 1/2 cup almond flour or hazelnut flour or maybe even oatmeal! The cake is meant to be made and eaten the same day; that's the nature of these type of quick-bread type cakes.
QUICK-BREAD RECIPE HELP
CYNDI65, Premium Member, Says: “This is definitely a keeper in my house!!! A great breakfast treat for guests too! Thank you Sarah! I LOVE it that it isn't sweet, but just has a subtle sweetness to it.”
INGREDIENTS
2 medium size apples, any type (I used Gala Apples or Honey Crisp) OR 2 large bananas OR 3 medium size peaches or Bartlett Pears
2 tablespoon lemon juice
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted; divided into 4 tablespoons for the pan and 2 tablespoons for the cake recipe
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; omit and use 1 teaspoon ground dried herbs for savory
1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour; spoon into measuring cup and level to rim
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal, fine grind (found in the grocery store); SARAH SAYS: I use the Quaker Yellow Cornmeal Brand
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole or 2% milk; can use sweetened or unsweetened soy milk – can be cold from the refrigerator
1 large egg, can be cold from the refrigerator
1/4 cup vegetable oil
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven and prepare the pan:
1. Position an oven shelf to the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Peel and core the apples. Slice into no thicker than 1/4-inch thick wedges. Toss into a bowl with lemon juice so they don't turn brown.
Set aside.
SARAH SAYS: If you select to use bananas or fresh pears, also toss them in lemon juice to prevent pre-browning.
2. Pour 4 tablespoons melted butter into the bottom a 9 x 2-inch pan. Sprinkle dark brown sugar evenly oven the bottom.
3. Arrange the apple slices in the bottom of the pan. Lightly sprinkle cinnamon over the apple slices. Set aside.
Make the cake:
1. Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Mix well. Make a well in the center and set aside.
2. Mix the milk, egg and vegetable oil in a small bowl and set aside. Make sure the egg is well-mixed in.
3. Pour the milk mixture into the well in the flour and dry ingredients and fold lightly with a large rubber spatula until ALMOST combined.
Pour the 2 tablespoons melted butter over the top; stir until the ingredients are JUST combined.
4. Pour the batter on top of the prepared apples and sugar/butter mixture in the pan, taking care not to dislodge any fruit.
Gently and evenly spread the batter, without pressing down.
Bake and serve:
1. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the top is LIGHTLY browned and you may see the sugary/butter bubbling up the side of the pan in at least one small spot.
The top of the baked cake will have cracks in it, which is normal.
Insert a WOODEN skewer into the middle of the cake and not too far down, and remove and it should have one or two TINY moist crumbs, but not batter on it.
Remove from the oven to a wire cake rack.
2. Let cake sit for about 5 minutes, and then, invert onto a FLAT serving plate. Remove the pan!
Serve:
Warm/hot or cold for breakfast! SARAH SAYS: I love to serve it warm, right away!
STORAGE
Best stored refrigerated, well-wrapped, for a couple of days, but it meant to be eaten right away.
The cake will tend to get soggy after a day of storage because of the type of quick-cake it is.
