Apple Coffee Cake

This apple coffee cake recipe is very easy to make and ideal if you don’t often bake. There are no fancy baking techniques when you make this coffee cake recipe. First cream a half cup of butter with one and a half cups of sugar. You can use a hand mixer or good old fashioned elbow grease and beat it all up till it is pale and smooth. Then add two eggs and one cup of milk and blend it till everything is mixed together.

In a separate bowl sift together three cups of all purpose flour, a teaspoon of salt and three teaspoons of baking powder. Stir this flour mixture into the batter and then stir in a half cup of apples. It is best to use a tart apple such as Granny Smiths or any other type of cooking apple. Red apples or very sweet apples will not work with this coffee cake recipe. Pour the mixture into a greased and lined 9 by 13 inch pan.

In a bowl mix together a half cup each of flour and sugar, adding a teaspoon of cinnamon and a little bit of nutmeg. Once this has been mixed together use a box grater to grate a quarter cup of butter into the mixture. This may sound odd but this really helps. Mix the butter in with the other ingredients until it sort of holds together then spread onto the cake batter. Bake the cake for 30 minutes at 350 F.

The resulting cake is delicious and moist and perfect with coffee. The topping is perfect because of the grated butter that will still hold some of its shape. If you are really health conscious and want to make the topping a little healthier, you can substitute the flour for oatmeal. The texture will be a little different but it will be just as delicious. If you want to add more apple flavor, you can put more apple chunks on the top of the cake before you put on the topping. Either way, this is a great coffee cake recipe that you can adapt to your tastes.

Caribbean, Mexican mocha, Cuban cubano and Grog are only a few out of an endless list of possibilities.

The first is one of the more unusual, but be daring. Start by baking a coconut for thirty minutes at 300F (134C). Remove and allow to cool, then break open the shell and remove the inner flesh and grate. Mix the meat, coconut milk and a half cup of cow’s milk in a pan and heat until it thickens. Then strain the mixture to remove the coconut granules. Mix the mixture with a cup of coffee and sip. Hmm…

Like any mocha, the Mexican is a delicious blend of coffee and chocolate - two natural partners. Take a teaspoon of your favorite chocolate syrup and add a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour in one cup of coffee and add white or organic sugar to taste. You can mix with whipping cream, or top with whipped cream, too. Mmm…

Cubano is drunk like tequila, straight and like a shot. For the Americano, you might want to dilute with rum or hot milk. Add rum to taste, but any more than a tablespoonful of milk will really spoil the effect. Be adventurous!

Grog is a traditional English holiday treat. Carefully peel a large orange and separate into slices. Do the same with a lemon. Put a peel about the size of one orange slice into the bottom of the cup. Mix in one-third tablespoon of butter, a tablespoon of brown sugar, a pinch each of ground cloves and nutmeg. Then throw in a pinch of cinnamon. Pour in a half-cup of coffee and stir. Add heavy cream to taste. Happy holidays.

There are other international delights, such as Viennese, Turkish and Vietnamese.

For the Viennese, melt one-eighth cup dark chocolate into a sauce pan and stir in one tablespoon of light cream. Slowly add a half-cup of coffee and whip until frothy, then let settle. Sprinkle cinnamon and cocoa across the surface and taste with pinky raised. Now you’re an aristocrat.

The Turkish is simple. You’ll benefit from obtaining one of the special “dûezva” pots used to boil the coffee. Yes, boil! Turkish coffee is strong. Start with finely ground Turkish coffee. Pour a cup of water into the pot, then add a half teaspoon of sugar and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add a teaspoon of the coffee, then stir and replace onto the heat. Remove after a layer of foam appears, then allow to settle and cool.

The iced coffee drink of Vietnam is not to be missed. Acquire a Vietnamese coffee press. The hard part is now over. Put the ground coffee in the press, then pour a tablespoon of condensed milk into the bottom of a cup. Pour boiling water over the press and let drip. Stir and add ice. Wow!

Of course, you could save yourself the trouble and simply take a little world tour, letting the locals do all the work. Not a bad idea actually.

Well, it was amusing to watch even if the coffee couldn’t be very good. Boiling coffee and running the liquid over grounds more than once can each produce a brew less than ideal.

Then in the 1970s, as with so many things, life changed forever. The drip method - inexpensive, quick and even an improvement in taste - came to dominate the scene. A cup of grounds thrown in a plastic container over filter paper, a few minutes of nearly boiling water dripping over the result and - voila! - coffee in a glass pot.

Later came pre-packaged ‘pods’ of a favorite blend, changes in materials and all sorts of controls to adjust the brew, and internal spouts that spread the water evenly over the grounds. Whether cone or flat, always near 200F (93C), please.

In the ’90s, espresso makers became the rage, with the importation of European culture and the application of American ingenuity to lower the cost without ruining the flavor. Hot water is forced under pressure through finely ground dark roast and in a few minutes, out pours a delicious, aromatic drink.

Add steamed, frothy milk and you have a cappuccino or latte, depending on the ratio of milk to coffee. A definite improvement and the variety of espresso makers makes for delightful experiments in chemistry.

The French plunger is another device aiding the spread of European methods, anywhere open-minded coffee innovators are seeking the new. A metal rod extends through the center of a glass cylinder, where it is topped with a handle. At the other end is a filter, fitting snugly inside the container.

Put grounds into the container and pour nearly boiling hot water in. Unlike the drip method, the grounds steep until the plunger is pressed. The result is a dark, full-bodied brew served right from the device.

One of the more esoteric brew methods uses the vacuum brewer: two glass or metal bowls, one atop the other. Heat causes water to rise into the upper, similar to the percolator principle. Remove the heat and as the liquid cools slightly a partial vacuum is created, drawing the hot water through the grounds and into the lower chamber.

The process is a pleasant show at a dinner party and a wonderfully fresh cup, since it can be carried out right at the table.

Of course, none of these methods is really new - most go back centuries in one form or another. The Ibrik from Turkey may be one of the oldest. Water is heated in a brass or copper container with a long handle and a grooved tongue. Finely ground coffee is added directly to the hot water and then poured, unfiltered. Strong!

Any of these will produce a delicious cup, but all bring out distinctive aspects of the ground. Try them all! You may find that a history lesson can also be a delectable taste tour.

Tags: coffee, brew, brews, maker, espresso

First of all it’s important to start with good, fresh ingredients and it all starts with the water. Water, I hear you say? Yes, even water can get stale, due to mildew, poor cleaning practices and inadequate filtering. It must be fresh and very hot. The ideal temperature is nearly boiling - around 95C - 203F .

Go for Arabica coffee - rather than Robusta coffee - delivered fresh for roasting. In any way either self-roasted or bought within a few days after, the coffee should have that ‘fresh food’ smell.

Finely ground in a burr grinder the roast should be dark. The fineness of the granules is important too. This is determined by the distance between the plates. Sand grain-sized is good, small-gravel too large and powder too fine. Don’t expose the coffee longer than necessary to the air as coffee will absorb odors from the air and oxidize. Not good for making a good espresso cup!

Finally you need a clean machine of good quality. Avoid the cheap units relying on steam to create pressure. Look instead for a machine that is able to produce pump pressure of nine bar or better and generate heat by a thermoblock or boiler. A ‘thermoblock’ heats water as it passes through the machine on the way to the pump.

So that’s what you need. Let’s look now how to make a great espresso.

Start with prewarming your clean! machine by running good water through it. Turn the machine on, let the water heat and run a cup through with no coffee to warm the surfaces and flush the system.

Then add your ground roast and pack down slightly, as you would pipe tobacco. Just as with pipes, you should feel some springiness, but the coffee shouldn’t scatter.

After placing a warmed espresso cup at the outlet, insert the hopper in the machine firmly. In about five seconds you should have a steady, thin stream. About 20 seconds for a double shot.

Should you prefer a cappuccino, warm half a cup of organic milk in the microwave about 90 seconds, froth and add to the espresso. Garnish to taste with cinnamon, nutmeg or chocolate. If you like it sweet, add a little organic sugar.

Start with good ingredients, don’t burn the roast and keep your equipment clean. Simple, straight forward, and easy. The result? A great cup! Enjoy!

Freshness is essential in any recipe, so it’s important to start with fresh ingredients. Buy freshly ground coffee or grind your own and use it right away. If you need brewed coffee for your recipe, use good filtered water and make it just before you prepare your dish.

Here are only some of the many coffee recipes you can try out.

1. Espresso Brownies

Heat a stick and a half of butter, a quarter teaspoon of salt and a cup of sugar in a sauce pan. Add 4 ounces of chopped, semi-sweet chocolate and a teaspoon of vanilla. Stir until well melted. Now add a tablespoon of your favorite finely ground dark-roast or use 2 teaspoons of espresso granules.

Stir until everything is well mixed, then move to a mixing bowl and let cool for a few minutes.

While still warm, fold in 3 eggs and a cup of flour. After pouring the result into a baking pan, bake for 30 minutes and set out to cool. Yum!

2. Coffee Meatloaf Sauce

For preparing the sauce add a tablespoon of instant coffee to a mix of the following ingredients: a half-cup of ketchup, a quarter cup of water, a quarter cup of your favorite dry red wine and an equal amount of Worcestershire sauce. Complete the mix with 1 ounce of margarine, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, some brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Let the meat cook for 30 minutes, add the sauce and let bake 45 minutes more at 190C - 375F.

3. Black Russian Cake

For this recipe select a favorite dark chocolate cake mix and add a cup of vegetable oil, a package of instant chocolate pudding, four eggs, and a half cup of creme de cacao. Now add a cup of your favorite Russian coffee. (1 oz vodka, 1/2 oz Kahlua, 5 oz hot black coffee.)

Beat until smooth and pour into a tube pan, then bake 45 minutes at 350F (177C).

4. Coffee Syrup

For making your own coffee syrup, just mix a cup of double strength Colombian coffee with a cup of sugar. Boil the mixture in a saucepan and stir constantly to keep the sugar dissolved. Lower the heat and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring often. Then cool.