I was sitting in Concert Band last week, and one of the conductors made a statement about "cake in a bowl". As she was talking about it, it took me to think of what is known as, Dump Cake.
A Dump Cake is sort of like a cobbler, in a sense that you
have a layer of pie filling on the bottom, and a layer of cake crust on top of
it. I have found out that there’s another way of creating a dump cake, in which
I have read a recipe in another cookbook. Basically, the person who actually
made a cake, dropped it. With that in mind, she didn’t want to waste it, so she
took the crumbled cake bits, placed them in a bowl, and topped it off fruit and
whipped cream. With that, she placed it in the fridge, and served it at a
party.
Test Kitchen
There are numerous things I like about this recipe, and there were some
that I didn’t like. So I’m going to utilize this recipe as a “Test Kitchen”
Recipe. I do apologize if things didn’t work out well, so allow me to go ahead
and point out the alternations as we go about this recipe.
Usually you
have to plan ahead at what exactly do you need when you are creating a recipe,
dish, or dessert. Here’s the thing, when I had gotten off work, I went to the
store to pick up the basic ingredients that I needed. When I came along the pie
filling, I noticed that there were not two, but three apple pie fillings. Which one should I get? I thought to
myself. I stood there, long and hard thinking. Soon, I just said “what the heck!! I’ll get all three of them”.
Then, I came to another dilemma. This has been the first time that I have seen
an Apple Spice cake mix. Well, first of all, Pillsbury was all sold out. So
then, I had to rethink my entire dessert using Duncan Hines. Not that it was
Duncan Hines, but the fact that this came with a Carmel frosting.
Let’s begin with the
apples.
Test One: Country
Apple.
Country
Apple is actually like the typical “fried apples” you would often find in a restaurant
as a side item. These Apples tend to be “stewed” as if you’re peeling apples,
boiling them, and then re-frying them in its own juices and spices. What you also
have to be aware, is that this can is by far not sweet at all. It’s not sugar
free, but there is a less sweetened sugary taste. This is great if you don’t want your
apples to be overly sweet.
Test Two: Apple
Apple is
the same as Country Apple. As you can see, this can has real sugar, and "No High
Fructose Corn Syrup". These apples were cut, peeled, boiled, and reduced in its
spices. This has a sweet taste in comparison to the “Country Apples”. Another
thing that I have noticed, is that these were cut up in big slices. Which I
knew for a fact, they were not re-fried while having that tenderness when you
bite into them like the Country Apple filling.
Test Three: Caramel
Apple.
At one
point in time, Carmel Apple were only sold for a period time of the year.
However, when I cam across these, I knew in fact that I could add in some
caramel to them. They don’t have an overly sweetness to the apples, because the
sweetness comes from the caramel flavoring in the sauce. Which makes a perfect
balance in the apples, with the sweetness of the caramel.
In a 9 X 13 dish, or any other casserole dish that is close
to the measurement, you will first have to spray your dish with a cooking
spray, very lightly.
Take all of your canned apples, and place them in a dish.
Mix together real well so that they are blended and
interwoven with flavors. Do you notice the color difference?
Next, take your cake mix, and sprinkle it on top of
your pie filling.
While your cake mix is sprinkled, gently with a fork, even
out the mix so that it’s covered, and evenly leveled.
Okay, this is where "I think", everything went wrong. So I'm going to explain what I did, and then provide you an alternate of what you can do.
In a small bowl, you will need half a teaspoon of “Apple Pie
Spice”, and one stick of unsalted butter. Place it in the microwave for thirty
seconds, or until it’s fully melted.
Like the picture above, many people pour
melted butter, some cut up little square pieces. What I did, is that I evenly,
pour the butter over the batter (See Photo Above).
Alternate Solution: I think perhaps the best thing to do, is to
make this butter ahead of time. Melt your butter and spices,
and then let it harden. Once it hardens, mold it in a tube, cut them in squares, and
then don’t have the butter so close together when you place them on the ca
ke…Trust me, it may hurt your cake in
the end if it's drenched, or so close together.
Place this in the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour in a 350 degree
oven.
Smells Good!! Edges will be bubbling while your crust is still loose, hot, and golden crispy. Let it cool, and let’s begin with the
frosting.
Now, I told myself that this was going to be a plain recipe. But since I gotten the Duncan Hines mix, I wasn’t sure what to do with the caramel. I didn’t want to waste it, so I decided to mix it up just incase if it needed a hint of more caramel.This package contains powdered sugar with added caramel
flavoring. On the box, it says to use a mixer. I however did this all by hand
under five minutes.
Softened Butter-Mix well until it's smooth and fluffy.
Little at a time, add your powdered sugar, and then continue to stir.
Mix Well.
Add three teaspoons of water, continue to mix it until it's smooth like peanut butter, and then
place it in a frosting bag.
Caramel is optional if you please, but this is what I did.
 |
| I didn't realize it, but that "M" means something. |
Serve it great with whip cream or Ice cream.
Alternations
Pie Filling: You can have your own choice of any pie filling you want. Each pie filling is different in terms of texture and flavor.
Butter: An Absolutely HUGE problem, is that it can sometimes make your batter turn into a wet batter, and not a crust. That's why I say, don't have your butter so close together, or drenched like an ocean. You can also perhaps do this without butter, or even less butter. All the butter does, is that it provides moisture, flavor, and that golden color.
Ree Drummond uses half a stick of
Like I said this "Test Kitchen" Recipe will always have areas to improve upon. No wonder everyone does it differently with their own method.
"Amen, and Good Cooking"~Chef Reverend [Cedric The Entertainer]
Ronald Atkinson
No comments:
Post a Comment