Ok, I know this has nothing to do with ice cream, but we do occasionally bake here at the scoop, so I present to you a mild yet satisfying treat. Traditionally served as or with breakfast, Appie cake is great plain or served with butter. (excuse me while I add Appie to my spelling dictionary so it stops trying to correct it). Where does it come from? I don't really know. Amish? not sure. Pennsylvania Dutch? yeah, maybe...probably, iunno, maybe someone can chime in and let us know.
Appie Cake Recipe
1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter/margarine
2.5 Cups of Flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
(Cane) Sugar for sprinkles
Here goes: Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Mix the Flour, baking soda and baking powder. Next, stir in the dark brown sugar. Now, thoroughly blend in the (room temp) butter or margarine [my mom always used margarine, though we've been trying it with butter recently].
Beat the egg into the half cup of milk and put into the mixture.You're going to windy up with a pasty batter. Spread this into a 9" pie plate (nice and flat). Sprinkle with sugar (Cane sugar works great). Now put it in the oven for 40-45 minutes.
I took mine out at 42 minutes (when a toothpick came clean from the center)
That's it, you're done! Pretty simple! I've stated before I'm no chef, and this recipe may not be perfect, but it should get you pretty close to what you are looking for. I think I remember it being just a little more moist, but maybe I just need to keep adding milk til I get it perfect. Then I was wondering if I should have used unsalted butter, but considering my mom always used margarine (which is salted), I don't really know. If you have any suggestions (or an alternate recipe), let me know! [below is a close up of final result]
Serving Suggestion: We use to cut it like a pie as a kid, but a 3/4" thick rectangular piece works as well. Spread on some butter or margarine to make it perfect.
I just wanted to say that I'm definitely going to have to add that to my Recipes to Make list! And I just discovered your blog today, and I am loving it!!! Great job!
ReplyDeleteIts A-P cake as in All Purpose Cake and it is PA Dutch Amish make as a simple dessert with dinner or as a coffee cake for breakfast.
ReplyDeletethat's what I pretty much figured, but it's tough to be 100% sure nowadays.
DeleteHave I mentioned it's tasty?
I READ THEY ARE NAMED FOR ANN PAGE OF PHILADELPHIA. THAT SHE DEVELOPED THEM.
ReplyDeleteYes
Deleteinteresting, though everything Ann Page related seems to refer to cookies, though the general area (Philly) seems appropriate.
ReplyDeleteThey're named that because they're an all-purpose cake, made to be eaten as breakfast or dessert and when they get a little stale, you dunk them in coffee or warm milk. Most men in my family prefer to let them get a little stale so they can dunk them. The recipe has existed since at least the early 1900's.
ReplyDeleteHow can this be AP cake without molasses? I'm from Lancaster PA and I've been eating AP cake since I can remember. My mother made it every year in huge batches. A recipe passed down from my PA Dutch grandmother. I can't imagine it without molasses. All the recipes I'm seeing online don't include it. I may have to post it somewhere. It's amazing.
ReplyDeleteShoefly pie has the molasses. Molasses= wet sugar
DeleteBrown sugar=dry for apie (AP) cake
molasses? hmmm, dont know, had it a million times but never with molasses.... but when you say molasses I start thinking shoo fly pie!
ReplyDeleteYou're right
DeleteBrown sugar for Apee cake (AP)
Molasses for shoofly
My grandmother baked these for my grandfather every week as he had a piece every AM for as long as I remember,but she made hers with Crisco. Never used molasses! Thanks
ReplyDeletefor the recipe.
@Sparky: enjoy! AP cake should be passed on from generation to generation :)
ReplyDeleteWe always used Crisco for the shortening and Turkey Brand syrup instead of molasses.
ReplyDeleteBROWN SUGAR FOR AP CAKE MOLASSES FOR SHOEFLY PIE
ReplyDeleteMOLASSES AND BROWN SUGAR IN THE SAME FAMILY FROM A PA DUTCH FAMILY
The name, AP, does not derive from "all purpose" or from "Ann Page." Rather, AP (Apee) derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch (Pennsylvania German) word, Eepikuche (pronounced Apee-koocha). The origin of this word was discussed in Professor Barba's Deitsch Eck in the Allentown Morning Call on June 12: 1954:
ReplyDelete"The word apee cake is a partial translation of Pennsylvania German Eepikuche, which in turn is derived from French pain d'epice. The French word, which means literally 'spice bread' or 'spice loaf,' is generally explained as 'gingerbread' in bilingual dictionaries. Actually, however, this word denotes a popular honey-flavored cake for which Dijon is as famous as Nürnberg is for Lebkuchen. Lambert lists only the form eepies (with correct etymology) in the sense of 'cookie, Christmas cookie (frequently cut in the shape of animals.' How did this French word get to PA via Germany? Unable to find the word in any German dialect dictionary, Barba wrote to Professor Walter Mitzka of the University of Marburg for information. Professor Mitzka, director of the Deutscher Sprachatlas and the editor of the Zeitschrift für Mundartforschung, forwarded my request to Professor Ernst Christmann of Kaiserslautern, who is one of the greatest living experts on the Palantine dialects. Professor Christmann assured me that the word Eepikuche is not known in the Palatinate, and requested information regarding its appearance and manner of preparation. The French origin of the word plus its present geographic spread permit one to hazard the guess that the word was brought to America by the German-speaking Huguenots; for while Eepikuche and its English form apee cake are current in and around the Oley Valley, they seem to be virtually unknown in the western part of the Pennsylvania German area. Indeed, these dry breakfast cakes similar to shoofly cakes are called Dutch cakes. It might be added here that popular etymology has connected this French-German-American word with A. P. (Ann Page) cakes!"
My Father, born 1914 and grew up on a Pennsylvania Dutch farm in the Oley Valley talked about eating APees Cake (spelling). A long time ago I asked if he knew where the name came from ... he was not sure but thought it was a Pennsylvania Dutch word, not the name of a person. About 20 years ago, when he was still alive I bought him an Apees Cake at the Kutztown PA Dutch Folk Festival, he said it tasted very different from the one my Grandmother made ... makes me think each cook had their own recipe. Interestingly, the Kutztown Folk Festival attributes APees Cake to someone from the Philadelphia area. Just as we may never know the source for the name Oley in Oley Valley we may never know the real source or original recipe for Apees Cake. Play with the recipe and enjoy it with your coffee for me I'll stick to a slice of chocolate cake and big glass of cold milk. And real "Dutch" shoofly pies always have a "wet bottom".
ReplyDeleteI moved from berks co to western NY. Miss them, my MIL finally gave me her recipe, (and they all have their tweeks) They are local to PA, as the western NY Amish and Ohio don't make them.
DeleteThank goodness for Pinterest!!! Ive made AP cakes for years and outside my family i couldn't gind anything on them. Thanks for all the info! Tho my Grammys recipe is different too, flour, brown sugar, milk,egg and baking soda. I LOVE this stuff
ReplyDeleteall I have to say is Aint nobody got anything on us Pennsylvania cooks. I grew up on stuff like this myself. This really is a great thing, don't 2nd guess it get this recipe and you will be hooked.
ReplyDeleteLiving in Pottstown, PA. Just made 6 of these for out of state guests. They all loved them and the 6 were gone in no time....
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know of a place to buy Apie cakes in PA???
ReplyDeleteRedner’s supermarket in Douglassville, PA sells Apie Cakes. I grew up on this cake myself... my PA German-French grandmother made these all the time to dip in her coffee. I’ve seen different recipes of this cake in Berks County, PA; however, I like Redner’s Apie cakes the best, as they are similar to my grandmother’s and mother’s. Wixon’s Bakery just closed recently, but they had the best PA Dutch baked goods, such as Shoo-fly pie (made with molasses) and LEP cookies (also yummy when dipped in coffee. You can find shoo-fly pies and other pa Fitch and Amish baked goods at Shady Maple in Lancaster County, PA and local stores or farmer’s markets (like Frecon Orchards in Boyertown) in Berks (Oley, Reading, Boyertown) and Lancaster counties. I also was interested in finding the origin of these two types of PA Dutch cakes which brought me here. My family on my mother’s side are pa Dutch with German & French heritage linked to Oley, PA. Our ancestors originated in France as Huguenots then fled to Sweden and then Germany (Baden-Wutterburg?) to escape religious persecution. They left Germany in the early 1700’s for the US, landing them in and around Oley, PA. I’ve seen APie, AP, Apee spellings for this same cake.
DeleteFarmer's Market? :)
ReplyDelete(or make it yourself, it's pretty easy!)
My grandparents lived on Queen Street in Pottstown. That whole area will always have a special place in my heart. This year I was fortunate enough that I spent my birthday in Barto and went to Longacres and some other places. Pottstown, Boyertown, Limerick, Reading, Perk, Barto, Bally, Gilbertsville, Allentown, Quakertown..... they are all.... home.
ReplyDeleteMy grandparents lived on Queen St too. Are we related?
DeleteGosh, reading all these comments brought back lots of memories of Berks County. And the Wixon Bakery. I was actually searching for a recipe to make the Baby Cake Cookies that looked like sugar cookie in the shape of Gingerbread men. Anyone remember those? Haven't found the recipe yet. But found that Wixon made them. You were able to buy like six in a cellophane package.They were big and tasty.
ReplyDeleteI happened upon this site while looking for AP cake recipes!! I’m originally from Pottstown, PA and was ecstatic to see some other people were from my home town, I’m related to Tokarski’s and I’m a Horosky, my mother is PA Dutch and a baker. My Grandmother worked at Fegely’s restaurant on 422 before going into Reading. I now have many of my mom’s recipes for all things PA Dutch. I’ve eaten her AP cakes since I was little, I’m now super anxious to make them using her recipe, and then compare hers to similar ones posted here, I’d love to chat with those from Pottstown, I Hope use read this and respond!!!!
ReplyDeleteHas anyone heard of something similar to this but called "frymobber"? I'm not sure how to spell it, but my grandmother used to talk about making it for my father and his siblings.
ReplyDeleteMy family is from this area and we are part PA Dutch. Over the years we lost recipes with people passing and I have been searching for AP cakes for years. I live in Barto and my family is from Boyertown.
ReplyDeleteI grew up on these, we'd go out sledding and come in to AP cakes and hot chocolate, which later turned into AP cakes and tea/coffee. I have been reading up on the various recipes and most just seem too complicated from the one I remember. PA Dutch didn't really do complicated or even measure things out - like a tsp of salt - everything was eyed.
Wixon's was by far the closest to the ones my Nana used to make. I was sad to hear that they went out of business years ago, because I used to buy their AP cakes all the time. I have tried different ones over the years but they are never quite the same. Landis store has one that is made with molasses and is called a tack cake - it's similar in consistency but the taste and color are off. Redner's used to sell Wixons, then started making their own and the cake is just off in consistency and taste.
The Lepp cookies were also sold at Redner's and the taste was spot on but the consistency was too soft - AP cakes are on the dry side and are not soft. They are made for dunking. At least the ones of my childhood were.
I actually made a recipe today that my Aunt sent to me, but she found it online since she couldn't find our family recipe. Turned out much different and quite salty. I am pretty sure our recipe did not contain eggs, sour milk or molasses. I remember that it was simple - as in things most would have on hand all the time.
Wish I could somehow get in touch with the Wixon family to get that recipe. I guess I will just have to keep trying recipes that I find for them. Hopefully some day I will come across it.
It's sad that we lose things like this when a generation or two had passed. My kids and grandkids will never get to experience things like we used to.
Try the recipe my family used, I still make it!
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Pottstown and still have my childhood home near Sunnybrooke. Being PA Dutch, I grew up on AP cakes and shoo fly pies. Here's my question: I remember going to Frank Rosenberry's grocery store with my mother to get "Barrel Molasses" in mason jars. This is what she used in her shoo fly pies. I come home several times a year (this year in November) and try to find barrel molasses but no one seems to knnow what I'm talking about much less where to find any. The molasses in the store just don't taste the same - -they are usuually way too bitter.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know where to find real Barrel molasses near Pottstown or even up in the Amish country. I'll drive almost anywhere to get some to bring back to Florida.
By the way, I loved reading all the comments from you all about Apee cakes. Brought back some seriously good memories. Thanks "you all" oops that's not Dutchy. Picked that up down here. Sorry
Is that a brand or a the type of molasses? I personally don't remember it, I just know the modern molasses vs blackstrap molasses (which according to the internet, blackstrap is much less sweet). I'll ask my mom to see if she remembers.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how many people who find this post are from the same general area :)
I followed the instructions as shown, when I tasted the AP cake it has no flavor? It looks good, but absolutely no flavor? Very disappointed, wasted all that flour, butter, and sugar and its going in the garbage. I wish I knew why it is so tasteless?
ReplyDeleteI literally said it was mild and at no point said it was abundantly flavorful. I also suggested spreading butter on it. This is a breakfast "cake", not a dessert cake.
Delete