Cinnamon Chip Apple Cake

Fall is in full swing over here and I'm loving it. Have I ever mentioned that it's my favorite season? For a multitude of reasons. I consider myself to be a very sensory person. When I go on walks, my fingers drift over leaves, flower petals, tree trunks. Autumn overwhelms my senses, but in a marvelous way. The sound of leaves crunching underfoot, the smell of woodsmoke mingling with the crisp fall air, the taste of cinnamon lingering on my tongue...I love it all so much. 

You can tell I was baking at night when I use crappy instagram photos on my posts, haha

And fall has the most wonderful traditions associated with it. Trick or treating, pumpkin carving, apple picking...but it's all so fleeting. Before I know it, all the leaves have blown away, and it's always sooner than I'd like. So ephemeral. I'm trying to enjoy as many activities as I can, especially since this is my senior year and I have no idea where I'll be this time 12 months from now. Scary! Breathe. Focus on the now. 

I've been stockpiling as many local apples as I can, since I know they'll be gone soon and I'd rather eat a sponge than the red delicious apples they have in the dining hall the rest of the year. I decided to use a few to make this very simple cake, studded with apple chunks and cinnamon chips. Like the season, this cake disappeared far too quickly, and I'm already thinking about its inevitable return. 

Cinnamon Chip Apple Cake 
adapted from Sugar Plum Blog 

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups diced peeled apple
1 cup cinnamon chips

Heat oven to 350. Line an 8x8 pan with foil (enough to hang over the sides) and then grease the foil.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.. In a large mixing bowl,  beat together oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla until well combined, pale, and kind of fluffy. I did it by hand. Beat in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in apple and cinnamon chips until combined.
Spread cake batter into prepared baking dish.  Bake 30ish minutes or until well risen, golden brown, and a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it.

Scenes from my Life - Senior Year Edition

Haven't been around much lately, I'm sorry. I made some killer pumpkin pie dip and a peanut butter and honey crumb cake, but didn't post them...it was too dark for pictures, and people just wanted to eat...you get the idea. Sometimes life doesn't want to be a blog post. I was all ready to post about baked apples, but I didn't like how they turned out, and I didn't want to pretend they had. Not blogworthy. So I thought I'd do another scenes from my life post. Is that okay? Let's go!

 My school is pretty. I love how much this spot can change depending on the season or even the time of day.

 

Jesse James Days. He was caught here, so they have bank robbery reenactments every year in the beginning of September. Small town quirks.

 

Pastry chefs at school got bored and made a Minecraft brownie castle I guess? 

 

 Oh hey, Brooklyn! I went on some lovely fall break adventures. Despite having visited NYC many times, I had never actually been to Brooklyn. I already can't wait to go back.

 

Aw yiss, fighting dinosaurs. I had never been to the Museum of Natural History before. There is so much to explore!

 Sigh. Nothing like a good, real bagel.

 

Another strange small town quirk. M&Ms are made in Hackettstown, New Jersey!

 Richmond, Virginia! The weather was unusually cold and wet, but we made the most of it.

Pizza. Pizza bigger than my face. Pizza too big to fit on one plate. I have been waiting for you for so long!


Regular blog posts will return soon. Hope you enjoyed this interlude!