I’ve been planning on this cake for at least a month.

I saw it here , on America’s Test Kitchen, and wanted it.

They eat the cake right in front of you and my mouth watered.

When we went apple picking I was thinking of this cake.

On my son’s birthday I was thinking of this cake.

And today I made it!

It is easy to make- has a custard layer, an apple layer and a light cake layer.  And-

it is as good as I hoped it would be!

So, “happy birthday!”  if you have an October birthday-  I’m celebrating with this cake!

I raise my cup of deep plum cinnamon tea and salute Autumn, Apples, and Appetites

everywhere.  The recipe is   here – and they have some scientific stuff to explain

how this is as good as it is- I didn’t have Calvados to put into the apples so I used

brandy instead.

This is , absolutely the best apple cake I’ve ever had.

I remember my mother making pie in the summer

and autumn.  There was no time to make pies in the

winter or spring because she had to transplant all those

little seedlings all day long.

But in the late summer and early fall- there was pie!

One of my favorite was the elderberry pies she would bake.

Since there were 9 of us in our family – it was never just one pie

– there were always at least two- more likely 4 pies to make at

a time- and they would usually be gone within  a couple of days.

But the elderberry pies were magical for me.

Elderberries grew in our backyard- and we waited  until

they were

heavy and purple and then we picked them by the armful.

The berries as small as bb shot- and the flavor raw too intense to really

enjoy- we would roll the heads clean into a stainless steel bowl out on the

picnic table and when we finally got enough to make a pie- one of us little

girls would run them into the kitchen and empty them into a bigger bowl and

then we would start over filling the bowl.  It took 4 cups of elderberries to

make a pie and our thumbs and forefingers would turn purple as we deftly

took hold of a small branch of berries and rolled them off the tiny little

twigs holding them on.  We would have to keep those little twigs out of the

bowl- as well as the tiny spiders that were hanging out on those branches.

4 cups of elderberries, 1 cup of white sugar, 2-3 Tablespoons of lemon juice,

4 Tablespoons of cornstarch and a tiny bit of water cooked together until the

mixture boiled.  Then set aside to cool down.  Poured into a crust filled 9inch

pie plate, dotted with butter , lightly dusted with a teaspoon of cinnamon and

covered with a top crust.  Baked in a 375 degree F oven for 50 minutes until the

berries bubble up in the crust and it is all golden brown and purple.

Elderberry pie.

Like my momma used to make. 

I have been eating scones for a long time.

And personally, I like them better UK style.

And Australian style, too, for that matter.

Here in the United States, we have a tendency to add

stuff inside and make them more like a cookie.

We make scokies.  More like a sweet biscuit with

lots of fruit and chocolate inside.

Whereas in the UK, they are like a big fluffy American style,

but slightly sweet biscuits.

Actually- language fails me- it is all English- but we don’t

have the same definitions- like for scones?

So- since I am an American I went with this scone- Peach Cobbler Scones.

They are light and kind of fluffy- sweet and cinnamon”y” and filled with peaches.

They went really well with a cup of Darjheeling tea.

And the peaches I used were spectacular.

But I didn’t like them as much as I do UK cream scones with jam and clotted cream.

So- here is the recipe- I got it off of Pinterest.

Peach Cobbler Scones

3 cups AP flour

1/4 c granulated sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2/3 tsp salt

1/2 c cold butter, chapped into small cubes

1/4 c shortening

1 egg, beaten

3/4 c cold buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

1 peach or two peeled, sliced thin

Cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

Method.

Mix all dry ingredients together and cut in butter and shortening

until the butter is pea sized or smaller.

Make a well in the center of flour and pour liquid ingredients into it,

beating egg and milk together and adding flour from the sides of the

well until you have a soft dough.  Clump together with your hand gently

until all the flour is incorporated- do not knead- use more of a folding

technique.  Roll out to a large rectangle,  brush buttermilk or cream on

half of rectangle, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, place the peaches on

the half lined up next to each other and sprinkle again.  Next fold the

other side over the peachy side and press lightly to seal.  Cut into 8 pieces,

using a spatula put the scones on a parchment paper on a  cookie sheet.

Brush tops with cream and sprinkle once again with cinnamon sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-18 minutes

These are good served with peaches and cream(whipped) on top.

My daughter in law, Willow, introduced me to these – she is a marvelous cook.   What I like

best about Willow’s cooking is that she knows no fear.  She follows recipes and patterns-

adapts freely according to what she has in stock and offers it up with a panache that invites

you to enjoy her creation along with her.

I am pretty much a pushover when it comes to 1) cardamom, 2)fritters, and 3) Leeks- so this

recipe was almost tailor made for me to try.  Let me warn you- there are a lot of steps- and it

is a little fiddley- but I think the fritters are totally worth it for a special occasion- and the recipe

makes a LOT of fritters that are really good as left overs.

This recipe is an adaptation from a Yotam Ottolenghi creation- but I have not seen the original

recipe and I adapted the one I did see- so and adaptation of an adaptation.

Ingredients: and method

About 1/2 cup of olive oil

3 leeks, carefully cleaned and thinly sliced} sautee leeks and

1 medium sweet onion, chopped fine} onion in 3 TBS oil for 10-15 minutes.

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1/4 tsp  or less ground cinnamon

Mix together spices and add to sautee after 10 minutes, cook another 5 minutes.

1/2 tsp hot chili paste or one hot Thai pepper seeded, sliced

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

2/3 cup chopped cilantro

6 oz ricotta or cottage cheese

Cool spices and leek/onion mix and add to herb, pepper and cheese mixture.

Add 1 tsp salt and set aside.

in another bowl, mix together:

1 cup AP flour

1 1/2 tsps baking powder

1 whole egg

1/2 cup milk

4 TBS melted butter

Beat until you have a smooth batter.

Whip one egg white to soft peak and fold into cooked leek mixture, then

fold entire mixture into the batter.

Fry on medium high heat with olive oil about 4 to 5 minutes a side- be careful

not to make them too thick.  Brown to golden and serve hot- with lemon wedges,

if desired.

I drained them on paper towel before serving.