Spicy Apple Crunch Cake

Yesterday I shared a blast from the past recipe, from my Spanish class (High School Days).  Today, I am sharing another blast from the past recipe.  It's funny and somewhat frightening that I saved these recipes.  When I was hunting for the sopaipilla recipe, I ran across a binder full of recipes from my Home Ec. class in Junior High School.  It uses applesauce vs. apples.  It was a very moist coffee cake, and apparently the family loved it, as it went very fast after I baked it.

Spicy Apple Crunch Cake (adapted with organic ingredients)

2 Cups All purpose flour
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 cup canola oil
2 eggs, farm fresh
1 cup home canned applesauce
1/4 cup milk
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup flour, all purpose
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease only the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking pan.  

In large bowl mix all ingredients except the walnuts and  topping ingredients.  Blend on a low speed until ingredients are moistened.  Beat 3 minutes at medium speed.  Stir in walnuts.  Pour batter in prepared baking pan.

Mix all topping ingredients and sprinkle evenly on top.  Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Note:  For muffins, bake for 20-30 minutes (24 muffins)

Fair Food Craze ~ Homemade Sopaipillas

Apparently, in this pandemic time, people are going crazy over "fair food."  One restaurant started it.  They dedicated one night for serving a drive thru with just fair food.  I didn't go, but the entire town (Big City) went.  I heard there was a 3-4 hour wait in line.  

The next day, the town announced that fair food vendors will be set up this weekend at the fair grounds for selling food.  I am sure that will end up a crowd too.

I decided to do a fair food night at home.  I made homemade corn dogs with real beef dogs and homemade batter.

We also made hand cut fries to go with them, but that's not all.  I started us out with a batch of homemade sopaipillas, an old, old high school recipe from Spanish class.  We used to make them and sell them at lunch at school to raise money for our Spanish class.  They are like mini elephant ears you'd get at the fair.  Just for the update, all the fairs have canceled their fair this year.

Sopaipillas

2 cups all purpose flour

1 Tbsp Baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1 Tbsp. shortening

2/3 cup lukewarm water

Fat for frying

Cinnamon and sugar to coat

Stir together, flour baking powder and salt.  Cut in the shortening until mixture resembles corn meal.  Gradually add the water stirring with a fork (dough will be crumbly).

Turn onto floured surface, knead into small ball.  Divide dough in half and let stand 10 minutes.  Roll each dough into a 12 ½ inch by 10 inch rectangle.  Cut into 2 ½ inch squares (do not re-roll the dough).  Fry a few at a time at 400°F in hot oil.  Drain on paper towel.  Roll in cinnamon and sugar.  Makes 40