The Taste of Fall

When I was in high school, one of the best things to find in my sack lunch was Mom's Apple Cake. Don't be mislead, this is not cake. It is more an apple pie bar, and nothing makes a baloney sandwich tolerable like the anticipation of eating the fruity wonder called apple cake.

Today's lack of Packer game broadcast caused me to venture into the kitchen for some fall baking.  I ran across a recipe, in a recent issue of Cook's Country magazine, called Chapel Squares. They are a combination of apple and dried cherry as filling, and it is enclosed in a pastry crust. I wondered if the addition of cherries would give this dessert a flavor even better than my mom's apple cake.

I prepared the pastry crust and prayed rolling it out between parchment paper would make working with it a breeze. This would not be the case. It became clear that my butter had not been incorporated enough, the dough was too wet, and again I would struggle to get the pastry into the pan. Would the final taste be so good that the pastry struggle was worth all the effort? Time would tell.

The dried cherries needed soaking, apples needed to sit in the sugar cinnamon, and pastry need to refrigerate. Time would tell.

After the final assembly was completed, I realized I had failed to put the almond paste on the bottom crust, thus eliminating a whole taste layer. If the final product were tasty enough, I pledged to try the recipe again and get all ingredients into the final product.

While the Chapel Squares, sans almond paste, was tasty, it in no way compares to my mom's apple cake.  The Chapel Squares were more pastry than filling, and that was disappointing. Admittedly, cherries add a fun flavor, as does the almond extract in the icing and this is a good dessert. It is probably even better with the almond paste layer. Made for any event I am sure it would be well received. However, after all the time and work, I decided I would rather stick with the recipe that holds such dear memories, has fabulous taste, and is much quicker to make. (The pastry is easier to handle too)

As soon as the new apple crop arrives, I will make my mom's apple cake and post a picture so you can see the difference. Click the link above to make one for yourself and enjoy the tasty goodness of fall.