Apple Walnut Anytime Cake

Do consider this a dessert! AND do NOT consider it a dessert!

It actually works either way because it is sweet, but not TOO sweet. We made it yesterday for a special breakfast for Daddy’s Day. He absolutely loved it and you will, too.

It is mostly sweetened with good raw honey. If you’ve never tried baking with honey before, then now is a good a chance as any!

Let’s make it!!

Apple Walnut Coffee Cake

• cup walnuts, chopped
• ¼ cup  plus 2 tbsp. organic sugar
• 1 tsp.- 1tbsp. molasses
• 2/3 cup plus 2 ½ cups unbleached AP flour
• 3 medium apples
• 1 16 oz. container sour cream
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• tsp. baking soda
• 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs
• 1 ½ cups flaxseed
• 1 cup raw honey
• 4 tbsp. plus ½ cup of room temp. unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon (I use fresh ground cinnamon. It is sooooooo much better than the store bought stale varieties and is easier to get than you’d think!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 14” by 10” casserole dish or roasting pan. To do this, I simply take a stick of butter, hold it by the wrapper and smear it all inside the dish – coating the entire thing. OR you can save your butter stick wrappers in the freezer and just pull one out to butter a dish for cakes, muffins, etc.

Make crumby topping by kneading in walnuts, organic sugar, molasses, cinnamon, 2/3 cup flour and 4 tbsp. butter until mix forms large chunks and is crumbly.

Please enlist the help of some household cuties!

This is how I make my ‘own’ brown sugar: I simply combine sugar or evaporated cane juice and a good molasses. You can just eyeball it as you pour some in. It should be anywhere from 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon.

If you want, either peel the apples or leave the skins on, then core and thinly slice ‘em up. Toss them in a bowl with the 2 tsbp. organic sugar. We used Gala apples for ours, but you could also try Golden Delicious or Fuji or whatever is your fav. DO try to get organic apples. It’s good for you and you want the extra flavor!

In a separate bowl, add in the remaining ½ cup butter stick roughly chopped up and 1 cup of honey. If your butter has been sitting out for just a little bit, it will be nice and soft. You can then use a spoon to mix it around well into the honey. (You’ve now just made honey butter! It’s great on breads ‘n stuff for other meals). Add sour cream, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, eggs, flaxseed and remaining 2 ½ cups flour. Mix until blended.

Spread batter in pan to the corners. Arrange apple slices on top – covering the whole top. You can make this as pretty or as ‘rustic’ as you want! Note that if you leave any big spaces uncovered by apples, then it will rise up through there and take over the land, covering up the apples. You may or may not like this.

Take your streusel crumby topping and sprinkle it all over the top. Be sure and spread the walnuts out over the whole thing. Bake 45 to 50 minutes until cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Cool in pan for 10 minutes or so and then serve. Or you can let it cool completely and serve it not hot. Either way is going to be super tasty!