Today marks two weeks since we celebrated our son and daughter-in-law’s fantastic wedding held at the Rancho Valencia Resort north of San Diego!
It was a beautiful, joyous, and fun-filled weekend shared with close friends and family, and truly was a reflection of them and the love they share.
Rancho Valencia’s Mediterranean-inspired setting includes flowerbeds of roses, hibiscus, and bougainvillea among lush olive groves, towering palms and California Live Oaks.
As if this isn’t enough the private courtyard where the ceremony was held provided an intimate, picture perfect venue for our son and daughter-in-law to exchange their vows. Here’s a glimpse…
In a few weeks we will get a peek at the photographers’ work and I hope to share some of those photos with you then. Stay tuned…
Meanwhile you may be wondering about that photo of Babette Friedman’s apple cake above, and I promise I am getting to it.
We returned from the wedding and brought my sister who had come from Pennsylvania to San Diego back to our home in San Luis Obispo for an extra week of sun and fun.
My sister was due to fly back the day before Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, a day which culminates the ten-day period beginning with Rosh Hashanah , the Jewish New Year.
As it turns out her very early flight was canceled due to mechanical difficulties and the soonest flight she could get on back to the east coast was not until the next day.
I usually make a nice holiday dinner on Yom Kippur Eve, and as it turned out my sister was here to share it with us. We all agreed the flight delay worked out for the best giving us the opportunity to share a holiday meal together, something we haven’t been able to do very often since we have moved to California.
We had apples and honey symbolizing our hopes for a sweet year ahead.
After which we had mushroom barley soup, based on a recipe my mother made for us for years.
Then there was apple noodle kugel ( another of Mom’s recipes), and roast chicken with a gravy of onions, carrots, and celery, just like our Bubby/grandmother used to make.
And of course a round holiday Challah, also good dipped in the locally made honey I purchased at the Apples and Honey Festival several weeks ago.
Because I had limited time I looked online for a quick apple cake to make and found this recipe from Joan Nathan on the New York Times Cooking site.
It is more of a rustic type of cake made in a springform pan, and very delicious.
I bet it would be great with pears as well. Here it is…
Babette Friedman’s Apple Cake (Joan Nathan, NYT Cooking site)
(8-10 servings)
Ingredients
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, more for greasing pan
1 and 1/3 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 Gala or other flavorful apples, peeled, cored and each cut into 8 slices
(I used a combination of Gala and Fuji)
½ teaspoon Calvados or apple brandy (I substituted amaretto)
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger (I omitted this)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan.
2. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine remaining 8 ounces butter, 1 and 1/3 cups sugar, and the salt.
Mix until blended. Add eggs and whisk until smooth. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour and baking powder until thoroughly mixed.
Fold in a few of the apples, and spread batter evenly in pan.
3. In large bowl, toss remaining apples with Calvados, ginger (if using), and cinnamon. Arrange apple slices in closely fitting concentric circles on top of dough; all the slices may not be needed. Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar over apples.
4. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of cake dough comes out clean and apples are golden and tender, about 50 minutes. (may take longer).
Serve warm or at room temperature. Great with a cup of tea!