Apple Coffee Cake with Brown Sugar Sauce

With all the apples available this time of year, it is hard not to indulge in some of our favorite recipes. Harry has made pear crisp several times this week and this afternoon Alyssa and I made an apple coffee cake. Here is the recipe for those that might be interested. It is a bit rich for a breakfast treat, so we serve it as a dessert with a little vanilla ice cream on the side.

Apple Coffe Cake with Brown Sugar Sauce

2 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sauce
1/4 cup butter
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup cold milk
1/4 cup brandy (if desired)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cake - Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter a 9 inch round cake pan, 9 1/2 inch springorm pan or a square glass baking dish. (Cooking time will vary by a few minutes between metal and glass pans)

Using a pastry blender, work flour with brown sugar and butter in a large bowl until crumbly. Stir in nuts. Divide mixture in half. Evenly press half into pan bottom to form a crust.

Stir in baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into remaining crumb mixture until blended, then make a well in the center. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg with sour cream and vanilla until smooth. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Fold in apples.

Evenly spread batter over crumb mixture. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center comes out fairly clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes. If top gets too brown before cake is baked, lightly lay a piece of foil over top for last 10 to 20 minutes of baking. Cool in pan on a rack. Cake keeps well at room temperature for a day. Covered, it freezes well and is easily cut while still frozen.

Sauce - Melt butter in a small sauce pan set over medium heat. In a medium-sized bowl, stir flour with sugar. Then, whisk into melted butter until the mixture is moistened. Stir in milk until smooth. Cook, whisking frequently, until thickened and smooth, about 5 minutes. Stir in brandy and vanilla. Remove from heat. Serve immediately over warm apple coffee cake or cover and refrigerate up to a week. Reheat just before serving.

Enjoy!!

Somehow the picture of Alyssa was deleted from the last post wearing her hat from Grandma Ann and Grandpa Dave, so here it is.

Hood River Valley apples and more

We had our first fire in our hearth for Autumn last night. The girls curled up in front of it with their dad and read books together.



Grandpa Dave and Grandma Ann were recently in Prince Edward Island, home of Anne of Green Gables and sent each of us a gift from the island. Alyssa was sent a hat with red braids.
Lauren had just as much fun wearin it!
Lauren was given a tea set, which she immediately put to use! Alyssa decided to be "Anne" for Halloween this year and wear an old fashioned dress I wore around age 10 with her hat.




Alyssa taking advantage of our nice fall weather. Rain is forcasted for this week and the days are already feeling a little darker.





















Grapes from our backyard! We only got about five bunches this year, but this is the first full year for this plant. They were really good! Looking forward to getting a bigger harvest in a few years.




















We headed up to Hood River Valley to buy apples for making sauce. We also ended up getting a bunch of pears which Harry has baked into several yummy crisps. Autumn is definately here!

Get away to Klammath Falls

The building our unit was in at Running Y Ranch. Our first time visiting this part of Oregon. We had a very comfortable unit, decorated in a more rustic theme. The first night of our trip we broke up the drive and stayed in Medford. We had the opportunity to visit the flagship Harry and David store and missed out on a tour of the factory where they make the chocolates as it is closed on the weekends. At the resort there are so many things to do: bike trails, pools, tennis courts, playgrounds, shopping, dining, golf and a putting course. It is also on the lake, so if you have your own canoe or kayak, there is a launching area. There are also private homes in this resort and some were VERY NICE for a second home.

Lauren fell asleep in the car coming home, I carried her in to the couch, where she continued sleeping. I didn't lay her down like this, she squirmed around in her sleep.

Alyssa is really enjoying photography and likes to use my old Nikon D80.

Mirror Pond in downtown Bend. Love this park!

Foot bridge across the river. We dug out a loaf of bread from the car to feed the ducks, swans and geese. We were surprised at how aggressive the swans were!

Harry and Alyssa out in the boat. Alyssa was able to pilot it a couple times and did really well.

Lake of the Woods Resort, about 30 miles from our resort was our favorite destination of the week. We rented a small motor boat, swam in the lake, had pizza at the Marina Cafe and relaxed! This lake is very clear and clean, surrounded by rugged mountains and trees. The air was amazing! The picture above is the restaurant, with a more developed menu, focusing on local ingredients.

I loved all the bright red adriondak chairs and tables scattered around the resort!

Mt. Mcloughlin in the background.

Need any sundry items? This is the place. An original building from the 1900's when the resort was developed. The other buildings had burnt down and were rebuilt in the 80's, I believe.

The stinky Lake (Klammath Falls Lake). Shallow and warm which promotes the algae growth that causes it to stink. Those are pelicans in the water; there is a tremendous variety of bird species in this lake.

The green algae is visible along the shoreline. This lake isn't widely used for recreational activities, but we were told that sailing and occasionally jet skiing do occur here.

There were a few overlooks that you hike down narrow trails that hug the cliff with no more than a knee high wall stopping a very steep drop. I clung to the girls hands very tightly on these trails. The kids were not all that impressed with this lake; guess the appreciation comes with age :)

Crater Lake Lodge in Oregon's only National Park. No, it normally doesn't lean like that, it was the way I took the picture :)

For those wanting a boat excursion of the lake, you must drive about 15 miles to the other side of the lake, hike down a steep one mile switchbacked trail to get to the boat. This also goes for those who want to put their feet in the cold, cold water.

The blue water never ceases to amaze me! With Crater Lake being the deepest lake in the U.S., the depth gives it the rich blue tones. Along the shallower banks, the tones change to beautiful greens.
Rex, one of the horses that pulls the wagon ride at Running Y Ranch.

My little girl ~ growing up!

We took some pictures of Alyssa this morning, the last day of summer vacation. I can hardly believe she is heading off to second grade already! Tomorrow will be filled with mixed emotions, as it always is on the first day of school.

I am still trying to come up with a good aspect ratio for my pictures that won't distort them. If anyone knows of one for both horizontal and vertical pictures, please share :) These three photos were played around with in photoshop, adding frames and soft edges. The same of Lauren will be on later.

A few pictures of the girls from the last week, one picture including a neighbor girl. I am trying to resize these so they show up larger on the blog. This is attempt number 1.

We have been a bit under the weather the last week. Harry is recovering from another bout of pneumonia in both lungs, and each day feels a little stronger. The girls both have colds and I hope Alyssa is well enough to start school tomorrow.

With the start of another school year we are looking forward to the routine of rising earlier, getting housework done in the a.m., and trying to catch up on numerous projects. Lauren will sure miss her big sister, but it will be nice to have some individual time with her.

Harry is still looking for work, but has slowed down a bit from illness and also our vacation away to southern Oregon (another post). We trust that at the right time, the Lord will show us what He has planned. We appreciate everyone's prayers!