Hi All,

I set a challenge for myself each week to replace one pantry/fridge item with something that is a more wholesome and healthy option.  I got a bit overwhelmed when I first got my thermie and thought doing just one a week might help.

My ingredient I am trying to "improve" on this week is flour for baking (basic cakes, biscuits etc).  At the moment I'm just using bleached plain and SR flour and occasionally wholemeal flour when a recipe calls for it specifically.  I'm certain I can greatly improve on this, but am a bit clueless as to what I should be trying.  I'm just wondering what other people use?  Do people mill their own flour for baking in their tmx?

I know Cyndi O'Meara uses organic unbleached flour in some of her recipes and have thought of trying this.  I've also heard that spelt flour can be good.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Chelsea 

Where can you buy the booklet from?  I haven't seen it on the thermomix HQ website or the urban-provider website (that doesn't mean it isn't there though).

Chelsea 

Yummo.  I know what I will be trying on the weekend.  Sadly I'm the only one in the house that likes ginger . . . 

I haven't tried the apple teacake from the Aus cookbook, so I can't compare.  I do know that this is very easy and tasty though!

Easy Apple Teacake

Ingredients:
Butter (60g)
Milk (200g)
Egg (1)
Vanilla Extract (half teaspoon)
SR flour (190g)
Raw Sugar (100g)
Pinch Salt
2 medium apples peeled and thinly sliced (preferably cooking apples or golden dels)
Cinnamon and sugar (for sprinkling on top of cake)

Method:
Preheat oven to moderate and grease and flour your cake tin (I use a 20cm ring tin).

Melt butter in tmx bowl for 2 mins, 90 degrees, speed 1.

Add milk, vanilla extract and egg.  Mix for 5 seconds on speed 5.

Add flour, sugar and salt.  Mix for 10 seconds, speed 5.

Tip batter into tin and poke apple slices into batter (doesn’t matter if bits stick out).  I do a fan shape around the tin.

Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.  Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Serve by itself, or with whipped cream and/or custard.  Enjoy.  


Photos by Maddy (many thanks  ):

You can find another version of my Easy Apple Teacake (which includes spelt flour and rapadura) on my blog here.

Members' comments
Trudy - I love how the sugar & cinnamon have formed a crunchy topping.  I'm sure it will taste as good as it looks.

brazen20au - I will say it was delicious!!!! i did make some minor changes - before I mixed the cake I used the tmx to chop 6 very old golden delicious apples.  Mixed them with cinnamon and sugar ( used raw) then put half the apple mix in the middle of the cake ( think I stirred it in a little) and half on top. Also did the whole thing gluten free.  It was soooooo moist and just beautiful, and I'm not a tea cake lover.
Today I left out the apples and added in 1 tab of cocoa for yummy chocolate cupcakes! (again GF, am about to blog it). dh pronounced my GF chocolate version of this cake as 'the best chocolate cake EVER' in between bouts of mmm and mmmmmmmmm.

christomo - Great tea cake. Made it yesterday and it is all gone. Very moist. Hit with DH.

maddy - I love this apple tea cake. I just increased the vanilla essence to 1 tsp of vanilla extract.

VHJ - Made this for morning tea using Brazen's idea to chop the apple in the TMX first. I had to cook mine a bit longer but I think the oven wasn't at the right temp. (didn't have my glasses on !!) I used 2 very tired & sad red apples & they were lovely. Thanks Chelsea.  

Chelsea - I must admit I have started chopping the apples in the TMX when I am in a rush.  It doesn't look as "rustic" but still tastes the same.

Tebasile - So fast and so delicious. I had to do some changes. I don't use SR Flour, had no eggs and no butter.
Instead of the egg I mixed 1 tsp ground chia + 1 tsp ground yellow flaxseed with 1 tsp Agave + 3 Tbs water. I used 190g sifted spelt flour + 2 tsp baking powder. Instead butter coconut oil and only 80g Turbinado.

obbie - very quick and easy. I used a apple slinky to slice/peel/core the apples. Thanks. I make this as a cake a lot, I will do muffins now as well.


Violin Cuddles - it was scrumptious! Thank you! I'm going to make into muffins to take to our preschool brunch tomorrow. I also used our apple slinkie and used 3 large-ish apples to up the fruit content.

Debbiebillg - So quick (especially when DH does he apples while I did the batter).  Yummy, yummy !  It reminds me of muffins I used to buy at a bakery near where I worked.  They were huge and the cake part had chopped apple in the bottom and then the top had something a bit like apple crumble topping on top, if was a kind of crunchy.  My DH (who never raves often) loved this.  Will definitely make again ! Thanks so much.  Used apple slinky and cut it in half.  One apple is enough to cover the whole cake.  

joynatalie - Loved it!  I also tried it with chopping the apples first and add a tiny bit of lemon zest.

Sharon1 - Our family loved this cake!  Thanks for the recipe!

lucjar - I just made this cake but substituted the butter with Nuttelex (Original), the milk with rice milk, the self raising flour with Orgran brand (wheat, gluten and soy free) Self Raising Flour (I cheated, I know) and the egg with Orgran's Nor-Egg and it turned out beautifully.  

I did cook it for a bit longer (approximately 10-15 minutes).  

My 'highly-allergic-to-practically-everything' son is so impressed. He can't wait to take it to Vacation-Care tomorrow so his friends can see he can eat cake like they eat.....Thank You!  The recipe was so easy and quick, I can foresee that it will become a staple in our household.

Cathy79 -  I made a double batch of the cake mixture, swapped 100g of flour for 100g rolled oats, and made muffins - about 16 large I think.  Delicious!

maddy - I made individual cakes, using Robert Gordon's muffin papers, placed in a Texas muffin tin. I added 1/2 tsp. cinnamon to the batter, and scooped 1 3/4 ice cream scoops of batter into each case.  Made 7
Cooked for 20 mins on 180^oC.

astarra - I have just taken these (as muffins) out of the oven - they smell absolutely divine!!!! I made them with Nutelex and soy milk [DD (2) has just been diagnosed with severe intolerance to Sheep, Goat and Cow's milk.] and instead of sliced apple on top I swirled through some apple and raspberry puree I made this morning to go over the girls' porridge. So I have some pink swirly muffins now - girls are eyeing them off, bit hot just yet!!
So a massive thanks from here, a real quick, easy recipe SHE CAN ACTUALLY EAT!!!! 

ES - I made these in my ThermoChef for the kid and they got a big thumbs up. The only adjustment I made was to mix at speed 4 instead of speed 5. I made them into 12 large cupcakes, using my muffin tin and large cupcake papers. I used one green apple, and one red one. I left them with their skins on and alternated red slices with green slices. I used my Ikea corer/slicer and then cut each piece into thinner slices. I baked them in a moderate oven for 18 minutes.
I made these as cupcakes today- reduced the sugar, replaced 1/4 flour with wholemeal and only used 1 large pink lady apple. It made 1 dozen cakes and I cooked them for 17 minutes. I love this recipe as it is so quick, and doesn't need to be iced.

pandateddy - I make this tea cake all the time. My family loves it, even one family member who never eats cake at all. It is lovely and moist.

Decadent Dot - I made these today as muffins. They made 9. I have to say that they look and taste good.  I might even try these spiced up a bit with mixed spices. Whatever they will go into my favourites directory as a quick and easy answer to a guest coming round. They gave me a reason to test out my slicer/corer apple machine. I just held back on the peeling.

Merlin - I made this cake for the kids lunch boxes last week and it was eaten and well liked in their opinion- if any item in their lunchbox is eaten then it means a resounding success for me as there are plenty of things I send to school that don't get eaten and the school has a strict- no sharing of lunches and no throwing out of uneaten food- although how they police that I don't know! Unfortunately I can't eat this cake myself but the texture looked great and even better, the smell of apples and cinnamon cooking in the kitchen is always wonderful. I am making this cake for the school's Biggest morning tea next week.

Trish - I made this today and although really tasty I'm not sure what I did wrong?? It looked great and high, fluffy but it collapsed.  It was very dense and heavy after that too.

Chelsea's response - I'm not sure what happened? I have made dozens of these without a collapse. Did you use self raising flour or plain flour with baking powder?

funnyfarm2 - This cake is so easy and very delicious! My family demolished it very quickly. Will definitely become a favourite as always have the ingredients on hand.

Kimmyh - Made this for afternoon tea today. Very quick and simple to make. Lovely served warm. Will try with custard as a dessert next time. Great recipe thank you.

Amy - Thanks for this recipe Chelsea. I made it today, looks and smells delicious. It is for pudding tonight so I will report back later.
I think it will become a favourite here too. I left SD to get his own pudding last night, and when I came to the dining room I saw he'd eaten a whole quarter of the cake LOL

suzanne - it's my favorite at the moment.

CC - Just made this, smells wonderful and tasted great too.

Elkwin - so very very yummy. I added a few slurps of apple juice concentrate into the batter mixture and put dollops of dulche de lechy throughout before I put the apples and topping on. This will become one of my fav recipes, I always have the ingredients to hand and it's so simple.

JD -  I made mine in a ring tin, only a small cake but delicious.  How did you get your top so brown Astarra, mine and everyone else's is nowhere near as dark as yours.

astarra - When I made this as muffins, the tops were pale, but I put it one rack higher in the oven for the cake and it seemed to cook better the whole way through, also did not use fan forced, don't really know!!

kezza - Lovely cake - reminds me of the apple teacake Mum made when I was a child.




 
 
 

Ohhhhh.  They sound lovely.  Will have to check the recipe section for them.  I will make them for my kids too.   

Hi Mandy,

I think there will be classes in the North-West eventually - I think Fiona said they may be in Burnie though (there are a couple of consultants there)??

I used my varoma for the first time the other night.  I didn't use it for ages and then my 3 year old asked why our thermie didn't have a hat (he had seen a thermie with a hat at a varoma demo).  After making Baf's??  all in one chicken dinner (in the main dishes section) I will definitely by trying some more.

Chelsea 

How funny!!!  We were at Wilmot last weekend on our way to Cradel Mountain.  We stopped at the village market to check out the chickens.  What a great market you guys have!!!  We also drive to Wilmot to frequent the bakery - the best meat pies in Tassie according to my Hubby!

Fiona is certainly great and an inspiration when I see her at classes in Launceston.  Sally is terrific too and is now in full swing as a consultant.  Good luck if you decide to become a consultant - they are certainly a wonderful machine to be selling!

Chelsea