The Kitchen of Oz - A Food Blog » apple

Sponge Cake with Apple Filling

Ozhan — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 13:30:46 +0000

Have you ever participated in a race even if you know that you won’t be the winner? For me, the answer is definitely “Yes!” and I should admit not just for once. Good part is that it provides the opportunity to maximize the fun you will get out of it without pushing yourself too hard. Considering the norms of modern life dictating us to compete with others, to win over, to become invincible with all similar “Impossible is nothing!” like mottos flying all over, sometimes it is relaxing to have “Enjoying is everything” attitude.

Such sort of thoughts was wandering in my mind when we set off for our trip at dawn to join the Anatolian ski marathon a week before. I knew that I was not about to complete almost 40km racetrack but with snow covered hills and magnificent trees spread all over the place, I was was going to have a good time, fur sure. Did I mention the ultrahigh oxygen level? Believe it or not even inhaling this fresh air is worth waking up at 05:00 am.

We had to carry all our equipment: our very tall and narrow cross country skis, boots, poles, garments and no need to say lots of energizing food stuff to recharge our bodies during a cold day in the mountain full of physical activities. If you could see us, you would probably think that we decided to move in to a cave at the mountain top and to live there for the rest of our lives. Particularly food was the leading item we exaggerated a bit too much. I cannot give you a proper list but from little savoury snacks to mini muffins, sponge cake to orange cookies, dried fruits to bananas, we had almost everything as if we were running away from a hurricane and there was no coming back home!

The snow flake shaped sponge cake was the big hit of the day with its soft texture and delightful apple filling inside. It is not difficult to bake but takes some time to decorate the top, if you want it to be a little fancy like I do.

Sponge cake itself is based on a classical English recipe, however, there is no rule for inner filling. I wanted to use cooked apples and cinnamon but you might use other ingredients: raspberries and heavy cream, chocolate ganache and banana, apricot purée or your favourite jam, you name it.

There is no trick in baking this cake, so as long as you follow the below mentioned steps you won’t fail. Few things you should pay attention are:

make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature, and
do not over mix while folding the dry ingredients into egg mixture. (This is all about chemistry of baking which I will tell you in another post.)

Now, I know that you wonder what happened at the end, so here comes the results: I can honestly tell you that I managed to ski around 8,5 km. That was far better than last year, taking into account the very steep hill I managed to climb twice on my skis instead of other entrants sliding back towards me. A scary moment!

As a result, I was not able to complete the marathon but still felt like a winner. After all it was the day of taking easy, the day of no rush and no push. I remembered once more that life has lots of good things to offer for ones who can slow down for a while and enjoy the moment by getting rid of their ambitions. So, sometimes losing the game might be pleasant like a piece of cake. Just enjoy!

Ingredients (makes 6 servings)

For sponge cake
Following combination ends up with a batter to fill almost ¾ of a silicon mold which has a total volume of 800ml, you may increase the ingredients by keeping the ratios if you are using a larger mold)

120 g (4.2 oz) unsalted butter (cubed)
120 g (4.2 oz) sugar
120 g (4.2 oz) all purpose flour
2 large eggs (lightly beaten)
1 1/3 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
A pinch of salt

For Apple Filling

2 mid-sized green apples (grated)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons lemon juice

For Icing (optional)

25 g (0.87 oz) labne cheese
10 g (0.35 oz) confectioner’s sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions

For sponge cake

1.	Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
2.	Beat well the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until fluffy and pale, add vanilla extract while beating.
3.	Add eggs little at a time while mixing, if the mixture begins to curdle 1-2 tablespoon of the flour.
4.	Add eggs little at a time while mixing, if the mixture begins to curdle 1-2 tablespoon of the flour.
5.	Sift the flour and combine with baking powder and salt then fold into the egg mixture using a spatula. Do not overmix, when all the ingredients are incorporated that means it’s done.
6.	Grease your silicon mold generously if the mold has some patterns on it (like the snowflake pattern on the one I used) and pour in the batter.
7.	Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean then cool on a wire rack.

For Apple Filling

1.	Transfer the grated apples into a small saucepan set over medium heat.
2.	Add sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice.
3.	Stir frequently until the apples are cooked and get a translucent brown color.
4.	Keep aside to cool.

For Icing (optional)

1.	Whisk the labne cheese with confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice until it has a creamy and smooth texture you may add a little water if you cannot reach the right consistency.

For the whole cake

1.	Cut the cake into two layers and spread the apple filling on the bottom layer.
2.	Place the upper piece and press lightly to merge.
3.	If you like you can decorate your cake with the icing mentioned above.

Caramelized Apple in Balsamic Glaze

Ozhan — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:17:11 +0000

Men and women, who came from which planet? Are they all belong to different worlds or they do have most of the things in common? What does one say, what does the other understand is a matter almost old as the existence of human. One of my closest friends who has an on and off relationship with lots of difficulties but with a deep affection announced that everything was back on the track and they resolved their long running issues. I am so glad to see my friend’s face smiling again after a long period of sadness and despair. Now they are ready to continue to enjoy the fruit of Eden, namely apple, together again.

The apple tree was said to be the earliest tree cultivated and it was there even in the story of Adam and Eve becoming a symbol of temptation and the fall of man into sin. According to most of the references apple is the sin itself. It is also the sign for knowledge, remember the Newton who is believed to find the rule of gravity thanks to an apple falling down from a tree on his head.

You would think that I am obsessed with apple nowadays but you also know the proverb for sure “An apple a day, keeps the doctor away.”. Even if the two consecutive posts featured apple, there is no harm to consume it a bit more considering its benefits in terms of reducing the risk of colon cancer and heart disease.

Rightafter mentioning all these about the mysterious fruit which has more than 7500 different types growing all over the world I will share with you a simple recipe made with fresh green apple. Do believe me that the taste is irressistable and looks will be stunning with an extravagant touch of vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

A mid sized fresh green apple
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
2 tablespoonof balsamic glaze
Ground cinnamon
Cinnamon stick
Vanilla ice-cream

Instructions

1.	Peel the apple and cut into 10 equal slices.
2.	Pour the sugar in a small non-stick pan and adjust the heat to medium level.
3.	With a silicon spatula mix the sugar while the crystals turn into a brown sticky caramel.
4.	Be careful not to overcook the sugar since the line between caramelizing and burning is quite thin.
5.	When all of the sugar in the pan liquifies and gets the brown color add the apple slices and keep on stirring to make sure that the slices are covered with caramel.
6.	Stir apple slices and caramel further for 2-3 minutes and add the balsamic glaze*.
7.	Cook the apple slices with the balzamic glaze for an additional 4-5 minutes or until they lose their firmness and set aside to cool down after sprinkling some cinnamon.
8.	Put a scoop of vanilla ice cream into a margarita glass and position 5 slices of apple like a flower petals
9.	Insert the cinnamon stick to the ice cream scoop and serve it right away.

*Balsamic glaze is a thick balsamic vinegar containing glucose syrup and guar gum. It is sold under different brands and can be found in most of the gourmet shops.

Apple Martini with Martini

Ozhan — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:43:19 +0000

Unfortunately we already spent another weekend and heading to our brand new manic Monday very fast. As the song of “The Bangles”, hit of 1986, says;

“It’s just another manic Monday, I wish it was Sunday.
Cause that’s my funday, my I don’t have to runday.”

I tell the same to myself, I just want to live Sunday again and again with all the fun and relief it brings. You would understand easily that I spent the day out of the city, in a peaceful place making you forget all your worries just with a touch of summer breeze coming from the sea, in an island close to Istanbul but far away from its rush and hectic daily life. It takes almost forty five minutes to reach Burgazada by ferries operating on a timetable but if you also have the habit of being late for scheduled events like us, you may take an alternative way to go there, small boats travelling back and forth every half an hour. These small boats are a lifesaver for latecomers but I have to add one more thing; they toss wild enough in windy days to become a complete substitute for a thrilling ride in an amusement park. It is also funny to get wet with a massive wave and watching all scared people running to take shelter in the closed part of the deck. Even though Istanbul is a city surrounded by water, most of its residents are not fond of sea. I believe only one out of five people know how to swim including the retired ladies in their 60s who swim like a side-engined steamboat making you feel they are about to stop any time soon. Despite the striking statistics, there is a great deal of brave hearts to jump on and off these boats every day.

After a quite wavy voyage we were on the island and had a long way to climb up to our dearest friend Ceren’s family house. Any sort of engined vehicle is not allowed to operate on the island so you just inhale the oxygen with a little bit of horse shit flavor when a horse-drawn carriage passes by your side (I said no engined vehicles but I did not say no vehicles at all).

Road to their house hosts beautiful mansions arousing your jealousy against their households and allows you to enjoy the fabulous view of Istanbul. When we got there, they were preparing the fish for grill and making the final retouches on their master pieces, all Mediterranean style light dishes and an amazing green salad with fresh herbs. In a short time all of us got carried away with the pictures we took during our vacation in NY and guess what? Mr. Oguz’s special bulgur with fresh herbs was almost about to burn and he was just lucky enough to get it off the stove making it a little bit caramelized, an accident with a happy ending I may call. After devouring all of the dishes accompanied with warm and enjoyable table talks in a terrace overlooking an amazing scene, it was time for us to set off.

Right after getting home, I decided to close this outstanding day with an outstanding drink, an apple martini with martini. I know that the name is a little bit strange for some of you since I made it up. When I learnt that the apple martini served in the restaurant or bars does not contain vermuth but just vodka it was a big disappointment for a Martini lover like me and I said to myself “An apple Martini should contain real Martini!” and I played with the original apple martini recipe. Here I am not talking about the less known martini cocktail which contains vermouth and vodka/gin together but the one made of white wine, caramel, aromatic herbs, and sold under the Italian brand name Martini since 1863.

The recipe is easy to follow but make sure that you have a measuring cup and get your glass chilled for a while before getting your treat. Cheers!

Apple Martini with Martini

Ingredients

5 cl. Martini Bianco
1 cl. green apple syrup
5 cl. green apple juice
Finely sliced green apple
Ice

Instructions

1.	Add Martini, green apple syrup and apple juice in a shaker and put some ice. Shake well.
2.	Fill a chilled glass with ice and pour the mixture in the shaker.
3.	Decorate with green apple slices.