Chilling Out

There's a cold front moving in this weekend. They're predicting a few showers along with it. It must be true as the spider on the porch has spun a line from her web up under the porch roof and out of the weather. Of course she's also managed to create a nice egg sac which she has undoubtedly filled to the brim. I've been afraid of spiders since I was a child, but I must admit, I've become fascinated by this one. She's a marvel to watch as she spins and climbs around in her web. She's certainly helped cut down on the gnat population, and for that, I'm grateful.

I had Ray pick up some golden delicious apples on his way home yesterday. I'm going to prepare an apple upside down cake for dessert tonight.

APPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

1 stick butter
1 egg
1/3 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon almond flavoring
1 1/2 cups apple (more or less)
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine 1 cup sugar with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside. (If more flavor is desired, sprinkle sugar with a drop of vanilla and a pinch of ginger before mixing.)

Peel, core, and very coarsely chop 1 1/2 cups of apples. Prepare enough chopped apple to cover the bottom of the pan you'll be using and have a layer of apples 1-2 inches thick.

In a loaf pan or deep cake pan, bake the apples in a preheated 325F oven until soft. Remove from oven. Sprinkle the apples with the sugar and cinnamon mixture to coat well.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 egg, 1/3 teaspoon baking powder and 1 teaspoon almond extract (vanilla may be substituted).

Pour batter over apples and return pan to a preheated 350F oven. Bake until cake tests done.