Apple Kuchen

I suppose Danny caught me off guard when he asked (at 6:00 this morning):

"Can we bake apple kuchen today?"

I must have mumbled something to the effect of "yeah sure, where's my coffee", because by 9:00, I was pulling a warm kuchen from the oven.

This recipe is a quick-bread variety relying on baking powder to rise. I mean, I'm agreeable to just about anything this child wants me to bake, within limits-and two rise yeast dough is asking a bit much at six in the morning.

The recipe comes from The Granny Stark Apple Cookbook by, Olwen Woodier.

I made a few changes including currants and a dusting of cinnamon sugar to give it some colour. I don't think it necessarily needed either, though the kuchen would otherwise be a bit anemic looking.

You Will Need:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 large egg

1/4 cup apple juice or cider

1 tablespoon (!) vanilla extract

2-3 large apples, peeled and thinly sliced

1/8 cup currants

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup honey

cinnamon/sugar for sprinkling out of the oven

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish (this will seem large but the batter is spread quite thin leaving room to puff). In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and sugar. Cut in the butter until you have a fine meal. Beat together the egg, apple juice and vanilla extract. Stir into the crumbs. Spread in the pan and top with sliced apples and currants. Melt remaining butter and honey in a sauce pan and then pour over the top of the apples. Bake for about 35 minutes (keep checking after 25minutes). Remove from oven and dust with cinnamon sugar if desired. Serve still slightly warm.