Charlene let out a sigh. “Okay. Well, come on, get your mom’s keys and let’s get to the store. You make the pies. I’ll make my famous Cranberry Apple Cake.”
Don’t mess with perfection.
So goes the old saying, and it applies here. I wish I could take credit, even a little bit for today’s recipe. But I can’t. It’s perfect the way it is. I tweaked the name, but that’s all, it’s just Apple Cake, but it’s personally my holiday favorite. I make it every Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’d make it more often, but it’s a little challenging to find fresh cranberries all year round. Keep reading, and I’ll share who the famous Chef is. To whom I gladly give all the credit in the link below.
Charlene to the rescue
Or she would like to think so. Charlene is Melanie’s protective big sister, Lacey’s aunt. A strong, independent woman who lives in Washington D.C. She’s an investigative journalist working for a non-profit that fights injustice in many fields, but in Shattered Guilt, it’s human trafficking.
I blogged for a week on this horrific crime. Please scroll back and take a look. Eager to illuminate a dark world, I also hoped to inspire action. There’s always something we can do to help. Most importantly, pray. Our sovereign God is always at work.
So, it fits that Charlene is an activist, and she flies down to Bay Town to investigate. Although she’s a fun aunt to Lacey, much like my three sisters are to my kids, she’s also a no-nonsense type of person. If you read Shattered Guilt, I hope you enjoyed my gift in the back of the book. It’s a short story called, Flight, about one of Charlene’s crime-fighting escapades. There’s no romance but lots of suspense, and you’ll get a feeling for who she is. If you want to read more, I have a novella releasing this November. In Revived Hope, my Prelude to the Bay Town Series, you’ll gain a sense of Charlene’s backstory.
Food and Family
Lacey’s Aunt Charlene comes to the rescue, so to speak, and comfort food is her saving grace. At least, it’s her go-to when stressed. Can’t we all relate? Sometimes she goes strictly vegan, not so much for health reasons, but she often eats vegetarian for her well-being. But like me, she gives in to sweet cravings. Don’t we all at some point? Maybe not all of us, so I sure applaud those who can resist.
Anyway, in this scene, Melanie’s having a rough go of it, to say the least, and Charlene wants to help. I should give you a lead-in, but I can’t without it being a spoiler. So, step into the kitchen and eavesdrop anyway.
“Don’t we all? Hey, what’s up for tonight?” Charlene raised her eyebrows.
“Baking night! Let’s make some pies,” Lacey yelled. “It’s been ages.”
“Huh? Come again?”
“Yeah. Remember? Tomorrow’s the church post-holiday party, and Mom hasn’t made a thing.”
“Right. But explain to me. What’s a post-holiday party?” Charlene wrinkled her face.
“Oh, you know. Everyone is so busy over the holidays with family and parties that, after Christmas, it’s nice to have a get together for no reason!”
Charlene let out a sigh. “Okay. Well, come on, get your mom’s keys and let’s get to the store. You make the pies. I’ll make my famous Cranberry Apple Cake.”
And they did.
Bring Dessert
As I said, I make this dessert every year. The first year I made it, I couldn’t wait to taste it, but I had to because I brought it to my mother-in-law’s house for Thanksgiving.
At this point, I’d like to brag on my mother-in-law, Harriet. She’s a feisty Welsh redhead, so the name fits. I wrote a book with a character inspired by her resilient fortitude and her love for family. She’s ninety-six years old and still cooks and hosts holiday dinners. She’s amazing. The book is titled Bay Town Christmas Fruitcake. I loved writing it, but you’ll have to wait till it’s released next year, 2022.
Now, back to dessert. Eventually, we all gathered around the dining table, clasped hands, and my husband prayed for the meal. The dessert table was right behind me, and I felt like I was sinning, just lusting over the decadent smells enticing me during the blessing. I remember once when our pastor was asked to bless the dessert, he said, you can’t bless that. It’s a sin! Of course, he was kidding, but in my case, it might have been because the minute I finished my meal, I hit the sweets. I don’t think I ever ate Thanksgiving Dinner so fast.
The Winner Is…
Anyway, the dessert table was filled with pecan pie, my absolute favorite, pumpkin pie, cakes, brownies, and crème puffs. You name it. It was there. It was the year Harriet, told us not to bring anything but desserts. That hasn’t happened since and now it’s appetizers instead. Sigh.
You know those commercials with people loping through fields in love, in slow motion? That’s what I felt like. Just slicing into that cake. It was lovely. The beautiful red-purply cranberries dotted the cinnamon-laced crusty top, and when I lifted the slice onto my plate, tiny crumbs of flakey white cake rolled off my piece. Oh my, the first bite was heavenly. And so was the second piece, later on in the day. Mind you, I was not gluten-free back then, and I’ve since made it GF. It’s just not the same.
Well, before my second piece, my nephew’s wife decided she would take a sliver of everything and be the judge of all the homemade desserts. Guess what? Yup. The Apple Cake won! Even over the pecan pie and triple chocolate Bundt cake.
Give us the recipe!
Okay, okay. It’s coming. So now that I’ve totally sweeted you out, I’ll give you a heads up. It’s not really a comfort food because it’s slightly tangy. But it’s definitely a refreshing holiday treat. A little tart, lightly sweet, and deliciously scrumptious. However, it is on the lighter side if you don’t eat two pieces. Mind you, I passed up chocolate for seconds, and it was worth it.
Drum roll…the recipe belongs to the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. Here’s the link to her famous Apple Cake.
https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/easy-cranberry-apple-cake
Oops. All this time, I didn’t know it is called, Easy Cranberry Apple Cake, but I was going to mention how simple it is to make. I also don’t want to mislead you, so I’ll admit it’s not low-calorie. It’s probably loaded, but the texture is light if that counts.
So, I hope you’ll try it this coming holiday, and enjoy it as much as I do, in moderation of course. But now I can’t wait for Christmas! Just thinking about celebrating the Savior’s birth gets me so excited. Sharing the love of Jesus with family. You can’t get much better than that. He even beats out all the desserts. Nothing is so sweet as His undying love for us.
More receipes to come.
In the meantime, please join me here tomorrow, when I’ll try a new recipe inspired by Capt’n Jack’s Bay Town Crabs. He’s quite an interesting character. Thanks for joining me this week, and may God richly bless your day.