Feels like autumn...

Or at least it did when I got the idea for this post! Even though the weather has gotten a bit more sunny since, those past couple of weeks of clouds and rain unmistakably reminded me of autumn. And a kilogram or two of apples that found their way into my pantry did not help much with keeping the autumn imagery at bay. 

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U ovih par sedmica na momente sam imala sam osjecaj da je jesen. Iako je vrijeme suncanije u zadnjih par dana, onaj prethodni period me u potpunosti podsjecao na jesen. Probudim se ujutro, pogledam kroz prozor, a tamni oblaci i sum kise me, onako pospanu, zbune na trenutak. Jos sam povrh svega dobila nekoliko kilograma jabuka, sto nije nikako pomoglo da se oslobodim osjecaja sveprisutne jeseni.

It wasn't just the weather that kept me in the house. I was recovering from a minor surgery over the past weeks, which meant a lot of in-house time. I played around and came up with this almond flour-based apple cake and muffins (the recipe is the same, it is only the presentation that differs). Muffins are great as a homemade, take-to-work/school lunch; cake is better if you are having guests (and it's so pretty!).

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Medjutim, ja sam ovaj period provela kuci iz sasvim drugih razloga. Oporavljala sam se od manje operacije, sto je znacilo odmor i opustanje u toplini doma. Vrtila sam se i po kuhinji pa sam dosla i do recepta za kolac sa jabukama o kojem pisem danas. 

And please don't get me wrong, I loved the rainy days. In the meantime, I have planted a mini urban garden out on my balcony, and the flowers and herbs truly enjoyed the rain - they are all blooming and growing! Fresh basil, mint, rosemary, chives, thyme and others are now finding their way in our food on daily basis and the flowers make the view out the window colorfully beautiful.

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Nemojte me pogresno shvatiti, i kisni dani su bili divni. U medjuvremenu sam napravila pravu malu bastu na balkonu. Cvijece i bilje koje sam posadila je uzivalo u kisi - danas cvjeta i mirise. Svjezi bosiljak, menta, ruzmarin, vlasac, majcina dusica i drugo bilje sada su svakodnevno dio nasih obroka. M. i ja smo se dvoumili da li da posadimo cvijece ove godine. Zivimo na nizem spratu i nazalost cesto u cvijecnjaku nadjemo, pa da kazem neke predmete koji se ne bi trebali bacati s prozora. M. je bio za i ja sam pristala i nisam se pokajala. Svaki pogled kroz prozor obogacen je sarenim bojama cvijeca.

Almond Apple Pie

Ingredients

85 grams (6 tbsp) butter, room temperature

175 grams sugar (3/4 cup) - I used half the amount muscovado sugar, and half granulated sugar, I think muscovado adds a great texture to the cake

1 egg

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 vanilla bean, seeded

120 grams (3/4 cup) plain white flour

120 grams (3/4) almond flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

about 3 apples, thinly sliced, peeling optional

1 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tbsp muscovado sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Method

Preheat oven to 175 C (350 F). Butter a cake pan of you choice. Sift flours, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add the egg while beating on the lowest speed. Seed the vanilla bean directly in the milk, then add the milk-vanilla to the bowl. Beat for few more seconds until just combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Add dry mixture gradually. Mix until smooth. Pour into the cake pan. Slice apples and arrange them decoratively on top. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon mixture over the apples. Reduce the temperature down to 150 C (325 F) right after putting the cake pan in the oven. Bake for around 45 minutes, or until the edges are golden and a toothpick inserted in the crust comes out clean. Let cool before serving.

The method is the same if making cupcakes. They will likely be ready in about 30-35 minutes, so keep checking.

Kolac sa jabukama

Sastojci

85 grama (6 kasika) maslaca na sobnoj temperaturi

175 grama secera (3/4 case) - ja sam koristila pola kolicine muscovado secera, pola obicnog secera

1 jaje

1/2 case mlijeka 

1/2 stapica vanilije 

120 grama (3/4 case) bijelog brasna 

120 grama (3/4) bademovog brasna

1/2 kasicice cimeta

1/4 kasicice soli

1 1/2 kasicice praska za pecivo 

otprilike 3 jabuke, izrezane tanko, ogulite ako zelite (ja nisam)

1 kasika secera

1 kasika muscovado secera (moze se kupiti u DM-u)

1 kasicica cimeta

Priprema

Zagrijte pecnicu do 175 C (350 F). Komadicem maslaca premazite dno i strane posude za pecenje. U manjoj zdjeli prosijte skupa dva brasna, cimet, prasak za pecivo i sol. U vecoj posudi mikserom umutite maslac i secere dok smjesa ne bude glatka (muscovado secer ce ponekad ostati u grudvicama, i to je u redu). Dodajte jaje i mutite na najmanjoj brzini 10-ak sekundi. U mlijeko dodajte sjemenke vanilije, onda sve skupa uspite u smjesu maslaca, secera i jaja, i mutite dok se sastojci pomjesaju. Rucno, mutilicom promijesajte smjesu, pa onda postepeno dodajite suhe sastojke. Mijesajte dok ne dobijete glatku smjesu. Uspite smjesu u posudu za pecenje. Dekorativno aranzirajte kriske jabuka po smjesi. Prespite ih mjesavinom secera i cimeta i stavite da se pece. Smanjite temperaturu na 150 C (325 F). Kolac je gotov kad ivice dobiju zlatnu boju, i cackalica ili tester utisnuti u koru ostaju cisti pri vadjenju. Ohladite prije serviranja. 

Priprema je ista i za mafine, s tim da ce njima trebati oko 30-35 minuta da budu peceni. Preporucujem da pocnete provjeravati nakon 25 minute.