1 c Unsalted butter
-or margarine, at
-room temperature
1 1/2 c Granulated sugar
1/2 ts Ground mace
-or nutmeg
1/2 ts Salt
5 lg Eggs, at room temperature
1/2 ts Vanilla extract
1/2 ts Freshly grated
-lemon peel
2 c Cake flour (not self-rising)
-or 1 3/4 cups all-purpose
-flour
1 md About 5 ounces) tart cooking
-apple (Granny Smith,
-Northern Spy or Greening),
-peeled, quartered,cored and
-cut crosswise in very thin
-slices
1/3 c Sliced almonds
Confectioner’s sugar
-For decoration
Prep: 22 minutes Bake: 1 hour 25 minutes
This cake has a crisp, sugary top that will crack on cooling.
Heat oven to 325 F. Lightly grease and flour a 9*5*3-inch loaf pan.
Beat butter in a large bowl with electric mixer about 30 seconds
until smooth.
With mixer on low speed, gradually add sugar, mace and salt. Increase
speed to high and beat until pale and fluffy.
With mixer still on high, add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after
each. Continue beating, scraping down sides of bowl once or twice,
until mixture is smooth and very pale and has increased in volume.
Beat in vanilla, then stir in lemon peel.
With a rubber spatula, gently stir (fold) in flour, about 1/3 at a
time, until batter is smooth and no lumps remain.
Spread 1/3 batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 the
apple slices and 1/2 the almonds to within 1/4 inch of the pan on all
sides. (Cake will separate into layers if apples and almonds
completely cover batter.) Spread with half of remaining batter to
cover. Sprinkle as above with remaining apples and almonds. Spread
remaining batter over top.
Bake 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes until a pick inserted
near center comes out clean.
Cool cake in pan on wire rack 15 minutes. Carefully run a
thin-bladed knife around edges to loosen. Invert on rack, remove pan,
turn cake right-side up and cool completely. Just before slicing and
serving, dust with confectioners’ sugar stirred through a strainer.
* Serves 18. Per serving with cake flour: 236 cal, 3 g pro, 28 g
car, 13g fat, 87 mg chol with butter, 60 mg chol with margarine, 80
mg sod.
Exchanges:1/2 starch/bread, 1 1/3 fruit, 1/4 medium fat meat, 2 1/4
fat
Yields
1 Servings