Folk Festival Recipes 2

AP Cake

AP Cake is my all time favorite of the Pennsyvania German recipes. It's the easiest too!

Depending on where you are and who you talk to they could call it Apeas Cake, Apey Cake, All Purpose Cake, or even Hard Tack. AND there are several recipes. Some with eggs, most without. Some with sugar sprinkled on top.

This is the recipe my family follows.

Supplies:
A huge bowl like the biggest Tupperware Wonderlier Bowl
A pastry blender (or 2 knives - although I've never been able to master this method)
Measuring cups dry and liquid
2 pie tins (I use the tinfoil frozen pies come in)

Hey, you forgot the measuring spoons!

Oops! Thank you, Melody.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 stick butter, softened but not melted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk (fresh churned or store bought) or sour milk*

We've got it all together.

Don't forget to tie your hair back, Lanie.

Okay!

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Add first four ingredients to your bowl and mix with pastry blender until it resembles small peas.

Put aside the pastry blender and wash your hands (again, even if you have done before you started).

Pour the milk into the bowl and use your hands to fully incorporate the milk (like when making meatloaf). 

This creates a very stiff batter...no spoon would handle it. The batter will be a bit lumpy too. Don't worry about that. [Note: It's good to have a spatula nearby to scrape the batter off your hands. Oh, and don't forget there are no eggs in this batter...feel free to lick the spatula, your fingers, and the bowl AFTER you popped the cakes in the oven.]

Split the batter in two and shape each into a ball then place in a pie plate.

Bake at 350 for 35 - 45 minutes. Until a wooden pick inserted comes out clean.

Not done! Needs a few more minutes. 

I add in 5 minute increments and test until done.

Looks and smells GREAT!

Gramma Enne likes to dunk hers. I don't, but I've been known to eat a whole one by myself in one sitting.

Super! Yummy! Mmmmm! Tasty!
Happy Birthday, Kaya! I hope you like your cake. :)
Love it! It's perfect!

I found an amusing recipe for AP Soup. Crumble pieces of AP cake in a bowl and cover with coffee. Eat with a spoon. I suppose you could substitute tea, but I'm not fond of soggy bread or crumby tea so this is just not appealing to me.



*To make sour milk add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar (white or cider not red wine) to your milk and let sit while you assemble the other ingredients.