A morning out and some apple cake recipes

 

This is the view from our gateway, looking left.  Not bad is it?  As you can see, we had sunshine today (still have)  but oh my goodness, it is truly COLD for the first time this year and up at Ludlow Antiques Market it was 10 times as cold in places as there was a bitter Northerly wind howling up from the car park. I felt so sorry for the stallholders who had the pitches along that stretch.  One of them was saying she wasn't going to warm up until she had a long hot bath - having been that cold in the past, she had my sympathies.  We just bought a couple of little bits - an old whistle which we hoped might be worth more than we paid, but broke even on that (whistles CAN be very desirable, but unless you are an expert, you have to take a chance.  It was worth a punt at £5.  The pendant I bought with Tam's business in mind turns out to be worth just a fiver more than I paid for it, and for £3 I have a very pretty emerald green paper mache bowl which is on my dresser now.

It took us ages to get through Leominster - there was a long queue of people in the High Street and cars were being stopped near the car park by the river.  Don't know why.  We were in the queue for about 15 minutes.  Whilst in the queue, we drew near to the Almshouses and were amused by a sculpture of a nearly-naked man with an appropriate fig-leaf and a hatchet.  With this saying beneath him:  "He that gives away all before he is Dead, Let em take this Hatchet and knock him on ye head".   Strange!

We missed our turning for the Knighton route on the way there this time, but found the route back that way easily on the return journey (turn right after Leintwardine.) On the way there, we now know to turn right just after the little pastel-coloured Regency Gothic style cottage.  Sorted!

    As soon as we got back I topped up the bird feeders - with this cold weather I think they will be very grateful.  I put a loaf of bread on in the bread-maker and have just pulled out the first of two Apple Gingerbread cakes from the oven.  Here is the recipe:

 

I never bother with the icing.  It comes from this book, which is my kitchen bible for certain recipes.  

APPLESAUCE FUDGE CAKE

1/3 cup (2 oz/56 g) softened margarine)
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar (I use 3 oz/85 g)
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup (4 oz /115 g) all purpose (plain) flour
1/2 cup (1 oz/28 g) cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt 
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (ground cloves, or I used ginger in this instance)
1 cup applesauce
Confectioner's sugar (That's icing sugar and I didn't bother with it)

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F/170 deg C.  Grease and flour a 9 x 9 inch baking tin (I used a round cake tin with a liner).  

Cream first two ingredients together until well blended.  Beat in eggs and reserve.

Combine next 5 dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Add dry mixture alternately to first mixture with applesauce.

Beat only until blended and pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake about 30 minutes, remove from oven, cool in pan on rack and sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.

CHOCOLATE APPLE CAKE