Let Georgia Eat Cake

Oh the irony/horror/hypocrisy/appropriateness of the second entry of a blog dedicated to teaching a child to eat good food being about making and eating cake.

When Georgia was born I was adamant that she would not get sweets until she was much older. Nope, she was going to eat vegetables and the only sweet taste she would get would be from fruit. Not fruit juice. Fruit.

Americans consume about 152 lbs. of caloric sweeteners per year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Caloric sweeteners are defined as cane and beet sugars, corn sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup and other sweeteners. I assume things like honey or maple syrup.

That type of sugar intake is directly linked to type 2 diabetes and obesity. Americans eat more sugar (in its various forms) than any other country. We’re the fattest and we are among the sickest from preventable diseases. Diseases which are linked to how fat we are, which (did I mention?) is linked to the shocking amounts of sugar we consume.

The horror. I vowed my kid was NOT going to be a sugar-sucking fiend, walking around with Pixie sticks in her fists and gobbling up cake. No freaking way. No sugar for her.

Then I was making plum shortcakes for a dinner party and I simmered the plums in a sprinkling of light brown sugar, a splash of water, cardamom, some ginger, a bit of brandy.* Georgia was staring at it so intently and I thought, “oh, why not” and gave her a little spoonful of the plum syrup. Her eyes grew wide and sparkled. She smiled. I clearly had to fish out some plums and set them aside to blend up. Georgia LOVED those plums.

The more I thought about how I want Georgia to grow up, I realized I want her to get pleasure from life and especially have a fondness for meal times with family and friends. Eating shouldn’t be a chore about shoveling in nutrients. It should be about learning to eat a variety of foods that include kale and spinach and whole grains, but also dessert.

Also factoring into my evolving thoughts was Drew talking about how sugary things – candy, sugared cereal, etc – were banned from his house when he was growing up. That not only created a mystique about them and a desire to try them out, but because Drew is the nice guy that he is, it also caused him a great deal of guilt when he would have a bowl of Cocoa Puffs at a friend’s house. He also said he thought those things would taste a whole lot better and didn’t get what all the carrying on was about.

I felt that same confusion the first time I saw the Alamo.

I do not want Georgia to be sneaking Cocoa Puffs and then feeling guilty about it. That would make me sad for her and sad for our relationship. If she wants to try Cocoa Puffs, then that is a great dessert option on occasion. We can make our own candy, which I trust will put all those Nestle products to shame.

Oh wait, this is a story about cake. I did not set out to make cake for Georgia. I had a bunch of apples. I had buttermilk I needed to use. I had been flipping through my much-loved copy of “Good to the Grain.” I saw a recipe for Apple Graham Coffee Cake. It called for exactly those ingredients. You do the math. I obviously had to make that cake, but tweaked for an infant.

Because Georgia would be eating this, I wanted to cut back on the sugar and I had to make a few changes, because I didn’t have a couple of ingredients. I didn’t have whole wheat pastry flour, but I did have oat flour. I didn’t have apple sauce, but I did have some homemade spiced pear puree.

The result had a moist but rustic crumb, just a hint of sweetness, which made it taste more like bread with maple kissed apple chunks on top rather than a coffee cake. It was awesome. We all three loved it, although Georgia prefers pureed figs or plain yogurt. Good girl!

Apple Coffee “Cake”

 Apple Topping

3 large apples, peeled, cored, cut into small chunks (about 1 inch)

¼ stick unsalted butter

1 to 2 TBSP maple syrup

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp powdered ginger

Dry Mix

¾ c all-purpose flour

1 ¼ c whole wheat flour

¼ c oat flour

¼ c light brown sugar

half of ¼ c sugar

1 tsp baking powder

½ TBSP cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

Wet Mix

½ stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 c buttermilk

¼ c plain, whole milk yogurt

¼ c roasted pear puree

1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rub the inside of a 9-inch round cake pan with butter.

2. Melt the ¼ stick of butter, maple syrup and cinnamon in a skillet over medium-high heat until bubbly. Add the apples and toss to coat them with the butter mixture and let the apples sear for one minute without stirring. Cook 6 to 10 minutes or until tender and slightly caramelized. Don’t keep messing with them – let them sit a bit before stirring so they get a nice color. When done, remove from the pan and scrape apples and their juices onto a plate. Set aside.

3. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl, pouring back into the bowl bits of grain or other ingredients left in the sifter.

4. Whisk the wet ingredients until thoroughly combined. Scrape the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix together. Scrape the batter into the cake pan, smooth the top and sprinkle with the apples, ensuring that the entire the cake is covered.

5. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the cake is golden brown, springs back when lightly touched and/or a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

*Don’t freak out about the brandy. It was probably less than a tablespoon (who measures?) and had been boiling away, so alcohol content bye bye. I did not get a baby drunk.