I am so excited to be included in the new Farm Chick Chit Chat blog! Please be sure to follow the link to check it out- you will find a wonderful community of fellow bloggers with an interest in farming.
As I have said before, fall is by far my most favorite season and I am thrilled that it is finally around the corner! We have been trying to pack in as much activity as possible into the last couple of weeks to close out the summer, and the kids head off to school this week. I cannot believe our baby is starting school this year…and am much sadder about it than I had expected to be. The backpacks are packed, pencils sharpened, and new jackets hung by the door! I don’t know about the rest of you, but the start of the school year always feels like a new beginning to me- more so than New Year’s. Time to start new routines, get busy with the knitting projects I’ve had on hold all summer, and a renewed interest in cooking and meal-planning.
My family welcomes fall as the return of “mom’s baking!” season…and to kick things off I thought a cake would be perfect to celebrate back-to-school. I found this “harvest celebration” cake in a Gooseberry Patch cookbook a number of years ago, and it has always gone over well.
For the 1st day of school, I tossed a beef stew in the crockpot and once both the kiddos were off on their awfully big adventures I baked them this cake 🙂 The flavors really seemed perfect to celebrate the new school year.
While the recipe calls for 1 hour of baking time, I had to bake it for an extra 15 minutes…. Not sure why but it could be due to my substitution of applesauce in place of the oil.
Harvest cake (originally from Gooseberry Patch)
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 cup oil ( I substitute applesauce)
2 cups flour
15 oz can pumpkin
1 apple- cored, peeled, chopped
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional- I skip them)
Combine sugar, brown sugar, baking soda , salt and spices. Add in the oil ( or applesauce if you prefer), vanilla and eggs. Add flour slowly- beating in a bit at a time. Stir in the pumpkin, apples and nuts. Grease and flour a Bundt pan. Pour batter into pan, bake at 350 degrees for an hour (or until cooked through). Let cool and frost with icing if desired. Serves 10-12. We skip the icing and eat it more like a bread. It’s delicious!
