Apple Custard Cake

Last week Wendell handed me the Crave section from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and pointed to Mariko Jackson's Invisible Nashi Cake recipe.  He said, "Since you've been into baking recently."

I read the article and said, "Hmmm, I'd probably want to do it with apples instead of Asian pear."  A few days later he came home with 2 pounds of apples.  😁

Mariko called it a "golden, custardy cake", and I wasn't sure what to expect.  It turned out to be much like an apple bread pudding . . . ono with a dab of whipped cream.  Main thing, Wendell loved it and ate two pieces right away.  Thank you, Mariko.

 

 

 

Ingredients:

• 3 nashi or Asian Pears (over 2 pounds) (or if you're like me, apples)

• 3 eggs

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup whole milk

• 1 cup flour (can be gluten-free blend)

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a bread loaf pan (should be at least 3 inches deep on the inside) by laying a piece of parchment across the bottom and letting it overhang on the long sides of the pan (like a sling). Spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs for 2-3 minutes, until the color has lightened and it flows like a batter. Add the butter, salt and milk, and whisk until uniform. Whisk in the flour and baking powder just until combined. If the flour is gluten-free, whisk in the flour first thoroughly, and then stir in the baking powder. Gluten-free flour has a tendency to be grainy unless you let it soak a bit before baking.

Peel nashi and cut into quarters. Cut the core out of the quarters with a flat cut so the edge is straight. Thinly slice the fruit. It shouldn’t be paper thin, but as thin as you can get it by hand without a mandoline. As you cut the fruit, add the slices to the batter and fold them in to prevent them from browning from sitting exposed to the air.

Once you have sliced and added all of the nashi, you’ll transfer them to the bread pan, overlapping the slices in layers and try to line up the straight sides with the edges of the pan. The pattern really doesn’t need to be perfect. Pour the rest of the batter over the top and tap the pan on the countertop a couple of times to allow it to settle down between the cracks. Bake the cake for an hour and let cool without removing it from the pan for at least 90 minutes. You can serve the cake at room temperature or store in the fridge and eat cold.

Makes one 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch cake.