I lost it.
Well. No. Not “lost it” like lost my mind.
I lost a treasured recipe.
It happened several year’s ago. Somewhere, out of the blue, I remembered a wonderful sour cream apple cake that I used to bake for parties. I had learned the recipe at a cooking school I attended many years ago in Seal Beach, California–La Bonne Cuisine. Over the years, I had carefully guarded my recipes from those classes in a dedicated notebook. Or, so I thought.
So, when I remembered the recipe, I went right to the notebook. And, sure enough, it wasn’t there. Damn.
I looked through that notebook over and over and over. You know how you do that when you just can’t bring yourself to believe that you’ve lost something? I was certain that couldn’t have lost that recipe.
What to do? I went online and entered every possible combination of words that might find me that recipe. Nothing, again. (I did find another totally wonderful apple cake recipe, however. Another time. Another post.)
Fast forward five years and there I was the other day cleaning out a drawer and, bam!, there it was–the original sour cream apple cake recipe on the original La Bonne Cuisine stationery—complete with grease marks and scribbles in the margins. Made my heart leap and my hands shake.
Then the doubts started to set in. I’ve gone back to re-cook a few long-ago favorites in recent years only to find that either (1) they weren’t as good as I remembered or (2) my tastes have changed. Has that ever happened to you? Mom’s apple pie recipe or Aunt Gussie’s dip? Fond memories but…
So. Gulp. I decided to bake the sour cream apple cake today.
And… It’s wonderful!
Here’s the recipe and Happy Valentine’s Day from those of us here at Blue Cayenne.
Save RecipeIngredients
- Crust
- 6 oz. graham crackers (crushed)
- 2 T. sugar
- 1 t. cinnamon
- 1/2 C. finely chopped almonds
- 1/4 C. melted butter
- Filling
- 2 T. butter (melted)
- 2 lb. golden delicious apples (peeled, cored and thinly sliced)
- 1/2 C. sugar
- 1 1/2 T. each cornstarch and water
- 6 eggs
- 1 pint sour cream
- 2 T. lemon juice
- 2 t. vanilla extract
- 1/2 C. sliced almonds (for topping)
Instructions
- For the crust, crush the graham crackes and mix in the remaining ingredients. Press evenly over the buttom and up 2 inches on the sides of a nine-inch (or 10-inch) cheesecake pan with removable sides. If your crumbs need a bit of extra melted butter to hold the crust together, go for it! Set aside.
- Filling
- Met the butter in a large skillet and add the apples and sugar. Cover and cook gently for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the apples are soft. Blend the 1 1/2 T. cornstarch and 1 1/2 T. water together and add to the skillet. Stir gently until thickened. Remove from the heat. Beat the eggs lightly, add the sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Mix in the apples. Taste for sweetness. (This is not an overly-sweet filling but you can add a bit more sugar here if you like.) Pour into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the nuts.
- Bake at 325 degree F. oven for approximately 40 minutes until set. Chill for several hours or overnight. Remove pan rim and cut into wedges to serve.
Notes
You can substitute (uncooked) peaches or nectarines for the apples. Nectarines are best.
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