Apple Cherry Cornmeal Torte and “Happy Trails” from Bray Road!

During the pandemic, one of our main activities was to go on road trips and explore properties for sale in the hill towns above Northampton, Massachusetts. We had great fun bushwhacking through land, all the while dreaming and imaging that we might someday move and build a new home. After looking at over thirty properties, we came upon land that immediately spoke to both of us, quickly made an offer and became the owners of over 70 acres!

The land is scruffy and at one time was logged, but at second glance, it is quite beautiful and full of potential! There are many old logging roads; one is lined with an old stone wall.

Years ago, most of the trees were cleared and the land was used for a sheep farm. When the land was abandoned, thick forests grew back.

The land was logged and a good deal of brush was left strewn haphazardly, creating an ideal environment for the growth of interesting fungi.

My husband Paul, along with his intrepid friends Peter and Caroline have been slowly clearing some of the brush on the old logging roads and creating an intricate system of hiking trails. I follow behind with a can of spray paint marking blazes on the trees.

We have started excavation for our new home, the driveway has been roughed in and the homesite is cleared. We saved wood from the trees that were cut and the lumber will be used for pine siding and for oak floors!

At the moment, we are the proud owners of two gigantic mounds of woodchips, that we like to call “The Monet Haystacks”!

Stay tuned for future progress as we embark on this exciting new chapter of our lives!

All of this planning, clearing and hiking on trails creates a powerful appetite. I wanted to think of a dessert that tasted rich and delicious but was also healthy.

I remembered a dessert that I had at the venerable restaurant Chez Panisse last March on my trip to California. The meal was incredible; details in another post!

The dessert that I had been looking forward to, sour cherry apple galette, looked picture perfect, but I was very disappointed with the flavor and texture. The flavor was bland, my slice had all of 3 cherries and the puff pastry was so tough that I could hardly cut it with a steak knife!

It got me thinking about interesting combinations of cherries and apple; here is my version- humble home cook that I am! This is more of a torte or cake with the same batter that I use for my peach cornmeal cake. I use no regular sugar , but a combination of low glycemic coconut sugar and monk fruit and the fruit has no sugar added to it. For a touch of extra flavor and sweetness, I made a glaze to drizzle over the top from honey and cinnamon. The batter also has cornmeal- I ran out of regular cornmeal and used a bit of coarse polenta. This gave the torte added flavor and texture.

Apple Cherry Cornmeal Torte

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup fine cornmeal (you can also use 1/4 cup of coarse polenta for addded flavor and texture)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup monk fruit sweetener

1/4 cup coconut sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1/3 cup canola oil

1/2 cup soy or almond milk

Topping:

1 1/2 cups sweet cherries pitted

2- 3 apples peeled and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with small of amount of water to make a slurry.

1 teaspoon almond extract

Glaze:

1 heaping tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F.

To make filling:

Place apples and cherries in a medium size pot and cook until the fruit softens and starts to release it’s juices. Add cinnamon. Whisk in cornstarch mixture and remove from heat. Stir in almond extract.

To make cake batter:

In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, monk fruit sweetener, coconut sugar and cinnamon.

Add egg, vanilla, canola oil, soy or almond milk and mix together just until the batter is smooth.

Make glaze:

Mix together honey and cinnamon. Microwave until mixture melts.

Assemble Torte:

Lightly butter a round pie dish. Pour in batter and spread evenly over pan.

Arrange apples and cherry mixture over top of batter.

Drizzle honey glaze over top of fruit.

Bake in middle of oven until fruit is bubbling and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean*, about 35 minutes.

* The fruit may be juicy, so a toothpick will come out clean only when inserted in the part of the torte where there is no fruit.

ENJOY!

HAPPY SUMMER! STAY COOL!