Celebrating National Dessert Day with the Flavors of Fall

Today is National Dessert Day. That means anything from an apple dumpling to a zebra cake receives a stamp of approval. Stop by your favorite bakery, spend time with Grandma baking cookies or drive up into Apple Country for one of their many take and bake desserts. It’s all good.

When I went in search of a dessert fitting for National Dessert Day while honoring the beauty of Autumn, I was pleasantly surprised to discover my on-line search brought me to Woman’s Day. It’s amazing that Woman’s Day continues to exist in a culture that sees sexism, racism and oppression everywhere.

Woman’s Day Magazine began as an in-store handout at the first modern supermarket in America, A&P’s. It was designed to provide inspiration to shoppers for menu and recipe planning, and thereby encourage customers to buy more. In 1937 the supermarket expanded Woman’s Day into a magazine that featured articles on childcare, food preparation, home decorations, needlework and more. The magazine aimed at woman could only be bought at A&P stores, selling for 5 cents. In 1958, the magazine was sold through subscription in addition to newspaper stands. By 1965 the magazine had climbed to a circulation of 6,500,000. We live in a world turned upside down. There is a movement in this country to do away with gender specific titles such as mother or father, husband or wife, he or she. It’s politically correct to say birthing units, life partners and they or them. In the midst of all that nonsense, Woman’s Day continues to provide articles about home, family and real life.

From the pages of Woman’s Day comes a wonderful recipe fitting for fall. Perfect for a harvest supper or a welcome addition to any Thanksgiving Table. Enjoy!

Apple-Walnut Cake with Cider Sauce
Cake
2 large Granny Smith Apples
1-1/2 cups Walnuts
2 cups Sugar
1 cup Vegetable Oil
2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1/4 cup Apple Cider
3 large Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon each Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
3 cup Flour

Heat oven to 350-degrees. Coat a 10-in. tube pan with removable tube insert with nonstick spray.

Core, peel and roughly chop apple, set aside. Chop walnuts, set aside.

Whisk sugar, oil, apple cider, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt in a large bowl until blended.

Stir in flour until blended. Stir in apples and walnuts.

Scrape mixture into prepared pan. Bake 75 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

Let cool in pan on wire rack 1 hour. Remove sides of pan. Cool completely before lifting cake off bottom of pan.

While the cake cools, make the sauce.

Sauce
2 cups Apple Cider
1/4 cup packed Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
1 tablespoon Butter
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Whisk cider, brown sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan until blended. Transfer to a sauce pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Boil 1 minute or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla; stir until butter melts. Let cool room temperature.

To serve, slice cake and drizzle with sauce. Serve and enjoy with a nice cup of coffee.