Top Ten

The Mayo Clinic recently released a list of the top ten foods that we all should be eating in order to be more healthy. I saw someone bake this cake on a cooking show today and it is actually pretty healthy (for a cake). The bonus part is it contains 4 of the 10 "healthy" ingredients. Add a little ground flax seed like I did and you've got 5 out of the 10. Hooray. Whoever said delicious can't be nutritious never had this cake. As I was baking I couldn't help but think of an old roomate I had in college who ate apple crisp everyday because of the nutritional benefit of apples.:) Perhaps I will have this "Apple, Almond and Blueberry Cake with Maple Cream" everyday too! Ok so maybe packing a lot of good for you things into a "cake" is not the ideal way to go but it is tastey. Enjoy!


Apple, Almond and Blueberry Cake with Maple Cream
Ingredients:
• 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 5 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, diced, room temperature
• 4 medium Gala or Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, cut into
• 1/3-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (packed) golden brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• ½ cup slivered almonds
• 2/3 cup dried blueberries
• coarse & powdered sugar, for sprinkling
• 2 cups chilled whipping cream
• 1/3 cup good quality maple syrup
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Sift first 5 ingredients into large bowl. Rub in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.
2. Mix in apples and brown sugar. Whisk eggs and milk together; stir into apple mixture with almonds and blueberries (batter will be thick). Transfer to pan. Sprinkle top with coarse sugar.
3. Bake cake until golden and springy to touch, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly on rack. Cut around cake to loosen; remove pan sides and dust with powdered sugar.
4. Whip cream on medium speed to get some air into it. Add maple syrup and whip on high until soft, pillowy peaks form. Serve each slice of cake with a dollop of cream and a dusting of cinnamon.