A walnut, cranberry – apple cake. But it was awful. Dry.
The pictures are pretty though. See how it says Moist?
Well it wasn’t.. so I don’t think you need the recipe. Or I just left it in the oven too long. I sometimes wonder whether waiting til the probe comes out clean is not TOO LONG. I will eat it though – with Butter! YUM. I love butter. I will have some cake with my butter.
Anyway.. we were cold, cold, cold. A little snow. All the birds were puffed up and still. Dealing with plumbers and well drillers and so on and so forth ALL Day again. Sigh. Ask me anything about water tables and pumps and casings and shafts and water lines and septic tanks. I am up to speed. 
The birds were all still and fluffed up. Cold. 
Marmalade fed her babies in the Snug. Look at their little hands. Warm but dark – we have not had any real light for days.
I hope you have a lovely day. I have oodles of children over today and then our Winter Defiance Fiesta tonight. Plus I have been promised SUN, freezing sun but sun none the less. And everything is nicer when it is sunny. Even 19F (-7c) is better in a sunny morning.. we are drifting down into winter.
But it IS winter. It will get cold. Just as long as the coldness comes slowly.
Love your friend on the farmy
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
70 responses to “I made a cake”
Four of those Kitties are an interesting colour – looks like grey undershot with ginger. Looking forward to seeing them in sunlight when it returns. Enjoy the fiesta and keep warm. Laura
The picture of Marmalade and her family is priceless!
A Winter Defiance Fiesta sounds great. If I lived closer, instead of in the frozen tundra that is currently Minnesota, I would be there.
The cake looks so yummy! What fun a Winter Difiance Fiesta, I can’t even imagine how cold it is there. I am in Houston Texas and it is 34 this morning and for us that is very cold. The babies look like they are growing fast…such a sweet picture that warms my heart! I had a cat named Marmalade and he lived to be very old.
Beautiful picture of mama Marmalade. Love that!
About the cake . . . could be good with some warm Birds custard on it? Or perhaps douse it with a sherry or rum syrup and eat it warm with a dollop of whipped cream?
What a disappointment about the cake! And such a pretty recipe card – misleading, eh? I baked a loaf of Paleo sandwich bread that got high reviews, but when I made it, it turned out nothing like the reviewers raved. I have found Paleo baking to be somewhat of a horror. We use nut flours as opposed to grain flours and lots of eggs. Either the cakes/breads come out dry or they’re too moist/dense. Like you, I will slather plenty of butter on a re-warmed slice and make the best of it. Heavens, I’m griping about the cold down here, but I’m SO glad I’m not up there in those brutal conditions. That Winter Defiance Fiesta would be a lure for me… will we see photographs and get a tour and “feel” for this event? It sounds quite intriguing!
I think you’re right, leaving the cake until the probe comes out clean is too long. I made a cake recently with cooking oil and it’s supposed to be very moist but again the clean probe proved just too long. Tasted nice though, bet yours with butter would be delish, good odea.
Np problem Miss C, my cakes are always a mess, but then I am a messy cook which explains why I do not dally in the kitchen ….Butter with cake goes down well..enjoy it. Love Marmie and her kitties,,,,love you too
There are a couple other ways to rescue a dry cake. One is to paint it with a sugar syrup or alcohol. Think of it like a fruit cake and let it absorb some liquid for several days. Another is to cube it up and add a custard base, then bake it like a bread pudding. So long as the cake tastes good, dry can be overcome.
I love the fluffed up peacock. Winter seems to be coming so early this year. They’re even predicting snow down here in the south for this weekend.
The few times I’ve made a cake, I would use toothpicks to test for doneness. Didn’t even know there is such a thing as a cake probe.
And that picture of Marmalade with her brood is just priceless. Their little hands all lined up!!!
I was away all day. We had BLUE skies and a yellow ball in the middle of it. It was a very welcome change after three dark days of dreary dull driving rain that caused flooding in many parts of Northern Ireland. Once home I was ready to check the fresh instalment from the farmy, followed by an hour sucking my pencil as I prepare to write a letter to My little Girl. Celi, you killed my inspiration for today! Mentioning the ‘B’ word, not once, not twice, but THREE times!!! Whaaa! Seriously My mother eat bread on her butter and I have known people who spread it on a rich iced Christmas cake! I am with you on not wasting the cake. Try toasting it before spreading the ‘B’, or slice it and served warmed for dessert with custard.
Marmalade looks so comfortable and happy to have her babies suckle. Enjoy your party tonight.
Oh no so sorry, I should not have mentioned the B word! Hope your inspiration was not gone for too long.. c
Celi, I was teasing you. Growing up in a house where six pounds of butter minimum a week was used, I learned to butter bread for sandwiches by the loaf full, bake and cook with it for the hungry hoards, but could no eat it. I was asked to write a short story (true one), for a book in aid of Charity in Ireland. In it I recall a farmer delivering warm raw milk to a friend’s house. Sixty years later, I can still smell it! Each time you talked of milking your girls, I was back in that place surrounded by the smell!
My plans for the week ahead are to finish my craft project, the Letter for my little girl, and the final part of a longer story I have been playing about with on my blog. Inspiration be my friend, pretty please!
PS: I loved the idea of a cranberry, apple and walnut cake, especially made with oil. Sorry it turned out dry. Is it a tea cake – short life of a couple of days, or a richer variety, such as Christmas cake? If it is the latter, put half an apple in the storage tin with the cake. Think Dorian Gray, the cake will absorb the moisture and the apple will dry-up and decay. I used this method when storing Christmas and wedding cakes.
the apple is an excellent idea, I have never heard fo that before.. the cake is quite light.. and very tasty, I honestly think I should have taken it out earlier.. You have a lot to do this week.. looking forward to the results.. c
I think your right about the timing C, if the recipe says moist, I don’t do the skewer thing anymore because if its dry so is the cake. I usually check if the cake has started to shrink away from the cake pan just a little and its done.
ah yes, good tip! I might try it again as it was tasty.. c
The kitties gave grown! I blame the walnuts for the dry cake… it seems every time I attempt cake or sweet bread with walnuts it turns out dry. Slathered butter is the perfect antidote. Have fun defying winter… we’re trying to hang onto our cool for a little longer, we’re in for a hot dry summer.
EllaDee, I wonder if soaking the walnuts in a little fruit juice or sherry, as some recipes suggest for the fruit? I must try it next time. I like date and walnut cake, but as you say, it produces a drier result.
Soaked/marinated walnuts sound appealing in any case 🙂
Let me know if you try it, I’ll not get there this week. I have homework to do for miss c !
I think so too!.. c
Adorable shot of Marmalade and her pretty pawed babies. So sweet, made me smile!
Ok I’m at my mom’s in Germany and the weather is not bad. There is still some color on the trees. I told my mom about the letter to My Baby Girl and she couldn’t come up with something but I remember the advice she gave my niece when she lost her first love to another woman. There is no need to cry when you break up because on the next corner somebody else will be waiting for you. I’m sorry I didn’t put that in my letter.
I have an excellent german apple cake if you’re interested .
I also like a little cake with my butter! Or a little pie with my cream! I don’t know if you ever said – who was Mamalade’s boyfriend? Any guesses?
absolutely no idea at all.. she worked that one out all by herself.. c
Us girls can be like that… I sure did the same when I was just a kitten myself.
(snort!) SAME!.. c
Yep. I still owe you an email about the big bits we have in common!
I might just say it here – my ‘one in common’ found me at age 19, is now 27 and recently made me a grandma.
I was only 43 and already at grandma stage…!