Alert reader M.D. noted that our apple cake recipe, lacking any oil, milk, or water, might end up being unusably dry. Happily, reader C.H.L. wrote in about the recipe; she had discovered that there’s an entire genre of oil-free cakes. Finally, M.T. noted that these were likely rooted in the Great Depression times, when one tried to economize on ingredients.
Vashon Loop Kitchens was pressed into action so we could contribute our own experience with the recipe. Aside from using an extra egg (ours seemed smaller than the ones I remember from my childhood), we followed the recipe precisely. The apples were peeled and, given M.D.’s concerns on moisture, were diced pretty finely. The cake mixture was indeed very dry and sticky until the diced apples were mixed in, at which point they added moisture and made the mixture perfectly usable.
See the web version of this article for pictures of C.H.L.’s results, along with some extra commentary.
Here’s a few pictures of C.H.L.’s results:
And our own cake, though we didn’t have the “official” pan. It still tasted fine!
