Apple Cake

I caught a baking bug when I suddenly wanted to make Rice Krispie Treats and an apple cake and couldn’t decide which one to do…so I did both! This is typical behavior for me because quite often choosing between two things I really want most often results in me trying to weasel my way into having both (I can get it narrowed down to two! But past that, it just feels like deprivation.).

I had purchased a bag of marshmallows when I went to the store because there was a huge sign proclaiming that they were only $1! AND as luck would have it, Rice Krispies were also on sale…imagine that coincidence! So I tucked them into my basket (the rest of my basket stuck strictly to my shopping list) and took them home and put them away for some far off future date when I would need a simple project to do (because honestly I’ve never even loved Rice Krispie Treats all that much)…who woulda guessed that that day would come but three days later? Not I. Plus, I must admit that I watched a special on Cooking Channel about small baking businesses that have emerged since the recession, and one was a couple who makes giant R.K. treats drizzled in different kinds of chocolate and such and then they ship them to department stores…how simple and it almost made me cry because I didn’t think of it! Blast! Anyhoo, I whipped up a quick 1/2 batch and dipped them in semi-sweet chocolate for a bit of a snack-treat! Perfection and ease, all wrapped up in one.

Now, I also was craving apple cake. I didn’t feel like making a pie crust (that would involve cleaning the coffee table because that’s the only surface big enough for me to roll things out on…and its only 2.5 feet off the ground so I have to work on my knees and pray to the Keebler Elfs for the strength to go on…) and I had just bought a giant bag of apples at the store. I had a recipe saved but it called for 8-10 apples which would use my entire bag. Well, being the poor person that I am, I searched for another recipe and found one that only used two apples! Plus, the cake was seriously almost all apple and very little batter, which just sounds healthier…funny how we can trick ourselves into justifying our desserts, no?
My apple cake was actually turned into a healthy recipe, because I used apple sauce instead of oil, and instead of 1/2 cup of sugar, I used 1/4 cup of brown sugar (just goes better with apples) and 1/4 cup Splenda. Mixed together, I ended up with a 9” cake of apples held together with a thin layer of batter. It tastes of cinnamon and fall-time-goodness with no guilt at all.