Sacramento Digs Gardening: Easy coffee cake is packed with fresh apples and almonds

Despite the record summer heat, this was a great apple season, which means my refrigerator is full of fruit.

Apples in metal bowl — When life gives you apples, bake!

This apple-packed coffee cake is studded with chunks of apples plus crunchy almonds. For this recipe, I used McIntosh apples, which stay a little bit firm when cooked.

Enjoy for breakfast on the go, afternoon snack or (relatively low-fat) dessert.

Apple almond coffee cake

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1-1/2 cups chopped apples (about 2 large or 4 small)

2 tablespoons orange juice

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup plain yogurt

1 egg, beaten

¼ cup chopped almonds

For streusel topping:

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

¼ cup brown sugar, packed

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter

¼ cup chopped almonds

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Square of apple cake — This cake is delicious for brunch or dessert.

Butter or spray a 9-inch baking dish. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1-1/4 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

Core, peel and chop apples; transfer to a large bowl and toss with orange juice. Add sugar. Stir in yogurt and beaten egg. Stir in ¼ cup chopped almonds.

Add flour mixture and stir until combined; it will be a lumpy batter.

Spoon batter into the prepared baking dish. Set aside.

For streusel topping: Combine 2 tablespoons flour with brown sugar and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon. Cut butter into pieces and add to flour mixture. With a fork or pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture until crumbly. Stir in remaining almonds.

Sprinkle streusel mixture over apple batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Serve warm or room temperature.

RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

recipe recipes apples almonds baking fall October orchard fruit backyard produce farmers markets produce management Sacramento gardening

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

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Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

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Garden checklist for week of April 19

After this midweek storm, start getting serious about spring gardening. Flowers are blooming about three weeks ahead of schedule. That includes weeds!

* Get ready to swing into action in the vegetable garden – if you haven’t already. As nights warm up over 50 degrees, set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash; wait on pumpkins until May. Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Give citrus trees a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants. If leaves look yellow, your tree may need an iron boost -- apply some chelated iron fertilizer.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden needs nutrition. Give shrubs and trees a slow-release fertilizer. Mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost, which helps the soil, but keep it a few inches away from trunks and stems.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com

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