Swedish Apple Cake

This breakfast cake can be considered a close relative to a pancake, Not only for its somewhat similar ingredients, but also for the fact that you pour the batter into a hot frying pan. I was immediately drawn to it as an alternative to the Saturday morning pancakes I make for my family every week. All three of my girls loved it, and asked for more. I found this recipe on Jill's Hey that Tastes Good blog last month and knew I had to make it! Here is Jill's original Swedish Apple Cake post I've changed mine slightly.
The other thing that I really liked about this recipe is that it reminds me of a baked pancake and apple dish my mother made back when I was a teenager, and there's nothing so compelling in taste as memory!

Swedish Apple Cake
serves 3-4

1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
Salt to taste
1 tsp vanilla (or vanilla extract)
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten free flour mix
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
3/4 stick of butter, melted
3 Tbsp applesauce
1/2 apple, cut into thin slices
Sliced almonds (optional)

Frying pan that can be placed in the oven (no rubber or plastic handles)

• Spray a frying pan with cooking spray and place it in the oven pre-heated to 350 degrees
• Mix eggs with the sugar in a mixing bowl
• Stir in the salt, vanilla and almond extract and melted butter
• Next mix in the flour mix, cinnamon, allspice, xanthan gum, then add the applesauce.
• Once the pan is nice and hot quickly remove it from oven and pour the batter into it, place the apples on the top and sprinkle with cinnamon, and put it right back in the oven for 30 minutes until puffy and brown.
• Let it cool for for five minutes, enjoy!

Swedish Apple Cake

Fun with Apple Pancakes

Last week we got the latest edition of "Relish" magazine, inserted in our local newspaper. I usually browse through it to see what type of recipes they have and this week I was surprised to see gluten-free pancakes right on the cover in an article named "Going without the Grain". They have recipes for gluten-free buttermilk pancakes and chocolate chip cookies listed.

Saturday is pancake day at our house. Our pancake breakfast together is one of the few relaxing meals we eat as a family all week. I like making pancakes but I'm not much for making the same meal every week. So each week I look for ways to make them fun and different. Usually I ask my 3 year old daughter to guess what the "secret ingredient" is, she's a remarkably good guesser! Some of the "secret ingredients" I've used are: bananas, pumpkin, chocolate, strawberries, blueberries, nuts, and apples. I've also made several different types of flavored syrups and even heart shapes pancakes. This week I choose to make apple pancakes, but with a fun twist, I made pancakes in the shape of the first letter of everybody's name, and it was actually pretty easy. I have a great mixing bowl that has a spout for easy pouring that made it much easier to control pouring the batter. I used a spoon dipped lightly in batter to actually trace out each letter before I poured it. Once the batter was poured I was able to use a fork to shape and form the letters. I made the letters nice and big. The only difficult part was flipping the the pancakes without breaking them. I used two spatulas which worked pretty well. I had a few mishaps but was able to get one good letter for everyone, (five of us ate) and the mistakes tasted just as good! I used a recipe I came up with for apple pancakes and added a 1/2 tsp of xanthum gum to give them a bit more binding to hold the letter shapes better. Here is my apple pancake recipe...

Apple Pancakes
Serves 4

1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free flour mix
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp arrowroot powder
1/2 tsp GF baking soda
2 tsp GF baking powder
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar
salt to taste

3 large eggs- beaten
1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
1/3 cup applesauce
1/2 of an apple- peeled, skinned and minced
1 cup milk

my 3 year old daughter was thrilled about her "M" pancake!

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• Mix together all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl
• pre-heat a skillet or pan (with a non-stick surface if you have it) to medium heat
• Mix in the eggs, melted butter (or vegetable oil) applesauce, and apple
• Next stir in the milk, mixing by hand until all of the ingredients are well blended
• Make sure the pan is fully heated, then coat lightly with cooking spray (or butter)
• Pour out each pancake to the desired size, flip pancakes when bubbles start to appear
• Once flipped cook for about two more minutes each
• Serve hot. (I like to keep my pancakes warm in a 200 degree oven covered with aluminum foil so they stay warm, and we can all eat together)
• Serve with butter, or syrup, or cinnamon sugar, or honey or however you prefer, enjoy!

Fun with Apple Pancakes

Curry Chicken Salad with Feta Cheese

If it was up to my wife we would have chicken salad 4 nights a week, it's the one thing she seems not to get tired of eating. It order to keep it from getting old fast, I have tried several different chicken salad recipes. My favorite of these variations is curry chicken salad. I've enjoyed experimenting with chicken salads and have treated it less like a substitute for lunch meat and more like a hearty salad that you eat like a sandwich. I often like to serve slices of fresh apples on chicken salad, in this recipe I went ahead and mixed the apple right in with the other ingredients, providing for a sweet crunch.

One of the great by-products to making this recipe is a great chicken broth/stock (depending how long you boil it). Here is the link to my basic chicken stock recipe. After cooking this chicken breast I was left with four cups of flavorful chicken broth. I used most of it right away to make some basmati rice and I froze the rest in an ice cube tray to use later.
















Curry Chicken Salad with Feta Cheese
Serves 2

1 half of boneless, skinless chicken breast- cooked
(if boiling the chicken, let it boil for a minimum of 25 minutes)
1 medium carrot, shredded
1 stalk celery, diced
1/ 4 cup onion- chopped
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/3 cup mayonnaise
dash of cayenne pepper
1/4 of a apple, diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro- chopped
sea salt and black pepper to taste

@2 oz of feta cheese
4 - 6" corn tortilla shells (gluten-free)

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• Shred the cooked chicken breast into bite-sized pieces
• Mix the carrot, celery, onion, curry powder, mayonnaise, cayenne pepper, apple, cilantro, salt and pepper together well in a mixing bowl
• Toast the corn tortillas in a pan, oven, or toaster oven for about two minutes on each side until cooked
• Spoon the chicken salad onto the corn tortilla shells, (or onto bread slices) sprinkle with feta cheese, roll up the tortilla like a wrap, and serve!

Curry Chicken Salad with Feta Cheese