A Road Paved

Suddenly, I understood how the “Young Man” felt; she would not stop staring at my God damned feet.

I could not blame her. Frankly, I looked a bit ridiculous. I found myself in my own personal hell, but I had not arrived there without good intentions.

In a pre-coffee stupor that morning, I had thrown together my gym bag. This lead to quite the unfortunate ensemble on the metro ride home: a 1976 Carter-Mondale “Peanut Power” vintage t-shirt, black spandex bike shorts, and sneakers well past their prime. And the socks? Well, I had forgotten gym socks entirely, so I was stuck wearing the fuzzy, snowflake-embellished, bright red slipper-socks that had kept me comfy all day in my knee high boots. For a woman who finds herself tortured when her nailpolish doesn’t match her outfit, I found this ensemble a particularly painful endeavor. Yet, with G-d as my witness, I was working out and no amount of personal humiliation would stop me…even the evil glares of strangers on public transportation.

Something told me when I was throwing the bag together in the morning that I was missing something, but I couldn’t figure out what. So, as I am wont to do, I forged ahead, ignoring the mental whispers that I was overlooking something.

Take, for instance, this cake. While assembling it, I dumped the apples in the pan, then covered with them with batter. I thought something seemed off, but pushed ahead. As I added another layer of apples and poured the remaining batter atop the fruit, I felt a sinking in my stomach. This could not be right…and when I checked the directions again, my suspicion was quickly confirmed. Every single person who I told this story to said the same exact thing: “You didn’t think this was wrong right away? Why didn’t you stop?” BECAUSE THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE. I have no idea how my brain works, I feel thankful daily that I managed to reach another bedtime intact, without somehow managing to stick my tongue in a light socket or fall in a bath tub holding a hairdryer…Sure, I am wearing winter slippers on the metro and yes, the cake looks a little wonky, but it all works out.

So, despite my best effort to mess this cake up, I didn’t… This Jewish Apple Upside Down Cake was just as good as the any other I have had.  Man, this was some tasty stuff.  The cake was incredibly moist and super flavorful, but still had a bit of crumb.  The orange juice helps a ton with the flavor, but does not impart a citrusy taste.  The nuts are optional, but I think they add a nice crunch.  If you want to stay super traditional, leave them out.  Dusted with powdered sugar, this is insanely good and one I will definitely make again.

Right side up…

Jewish Apple Cake
from Smitten Kitchen

6 apples, I used McIntosh apples
1 tablespoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar

2 3/4 cups flour, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube pan. Peel, core and chop apples into chunks. Toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones, then add eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.

Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples and nuts over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples and nuts on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean.

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