Wholesome Autumn Fun - Apple Picking in the Husdon Valley

In an effort to be extremely wholesome and spend some time in nature, we decided to take a weekend wandering around the Hudson Valley in New York State, hiking and picking apples. The apples led to a fabulous cake, from a recipe I have been making since I was about 12 years old (see below for the most moist, delicious apple cake ever!).

First we attended our friends' wedding. Michael and Kelly got married at an incredibly beautiful winery, overlooking a gorgeous, lush-valley. Can you believe this splendor?? And look at the cute bride and groom!


We took some pictures before the sun went down. Here we are, along with some friends (Hannah, Frank, Elizabeth, Jess, Joe, Roisin, Baby Lir, and Chris)

Once we had gotten some pictures in normal light and the sun had gone down, it was time for Chris and me to mess around with the camera exposures and colors, balancing the camera on top of grape vine supports, just to see what we got. We thought some of them were pretty cool -- look at these awesome colors!
The next day, it was off to the apple farm. It turned out that this place had lots of things available for picking: apples, cabbages, broccoli, grapes, squash, peppers, pumpkins... A few pictures:
I was so excited about the apples, I decided to make a magnet for my Etsy shop using one of the apple pictures!

NEW YORK NOBBY APPLE CAKE
(from the Junior League of Rochester cookbook, 1981)

• 3 Tbsp butter or margarine
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup flour, sifted
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups apples, pared and diced (note: I always use closer to 4 cups for super-apple flavor!)
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts (note: I leave these out because Chris does not approve of nuts in cake)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ice cream or whipped cream (optional)

1. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and mix well. Set aside.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix well.
3. Stir in apples, nuts, and vanilla. Pour into a greased 8" square pan. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.
4. Serve warm or cool with whipped cream or ice cream.

Arie and Victor's wedding

My friends Arie and Victor got married in September, and we had the pleasure of both attending their beautiful wedding AND of helping to decorate their wedding cake! I had never done a wedding cake before, but Arie knows how much I enjoy all things creative, so I was quite honored when she asked me to do this for them.
We started with three layers of frosted cake, one wire cake stand, the most amazing cake topper I've ever seen, and a vase full of gorgeous white hydrangeas, and marigolds, nasturtiums, and alstroemerias in fall colors, handpicked from gardens in Arie's hometown in Western Massachusetts. The first challenge was getting the cakes out of the boxes and onto the cake stand. This was harder than you might think!


Then I very, very carefully placed flowers all around the edges of the cakes.



I wanted to do some little decorations on top of the cakes, too.












And then I got to do some general decorating of the cake stand, using the hydrangeas and various kinds of greenery.












Finally, I placed the cake topper on the top of cake. Check out this incredible topper - I wish I could say that I made that myself, because it was totally amazing. It was custom made for Arie and Victor in Brazil, and the likeness is pretty incredible. Even the details of her wedding dress are accurate. With the exception of their clothes, the whole thing is made of sugar!












The cake was done! Time for photo-ops!












Then it was time to enjoy the wedding with my friends, Liz, Susan, Baby Violet, Kath, and Leslie...



















...before Arie and Victor smashed the cake all over each other's faces.










Overall, a successful day!