Apple Butterscotch Bar

I can't recall when was the last time I bake... but I have received two cookbooks from my sister AIRMAIL from Hong Kong yesterday (Thanks, love them!) and they remind me how much I miss making desserts! The two cookbooks are written by Tong Wong. I have never had a chance to visit his dessert place in Kowloon City yet though I have heard so many good things about it. The recipe books are amazing. 1) They have step by step pictures. 2) They give tips on how to make things perfect. 3) Their first section will teach you how to make basic thing, such as sponge cake, puff, pastry etc. They are all very useful tips. I can't wait to try making them but this apple butterscotch bar I am going to share is not from Tony Wong cookbooks. Why? Because Tony's cakes recipes are more complicated, I am missing some tools and I'd rather find a weekend, take my time and try his recipes, and I will also have time to make decorations for my cake (there's a section teaching how to make chocolate decorations in the book). My Tony Wong products will be coming very soon.

Apple + Cinnamon + Butterscotch = Heaven 

My kitchen is now filled with the warming and comforting aroma of the apple bars. The texture is more like a "cake" than a "bar". Its texture is similar to a banana cake, but lighter. The original recipe calls for an unreasonable amount of sugar, so I cut it down to 1-1/3 cups, and the sweetness is perfect as the butterscotch chips also add sweetness to the cake.

The ingredients are simple and you probably have most of them in hand. Spare some time to chop the apples into small dices though. It takes me quite a while to chop the 3 apples. Other than that, it requires no preparation time except the 45 minutes for baking. It can be served warm or cold. I like it warm served with whipped cream or just by itself. This is perfect for dessert, tea time snacks, work parties, movie parties, potluck gatherings.

Recipes

Adapted from The Runaway Spoon

Yield: 16 servings, 9 x 13 inch pan

Ingredients

1 cup vegetable oil

1 1/3 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and finely diced

1 cup butterscotch chips

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 13x9 baking dish.

2) In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and spices. 

3) In a big bowl, beat the oil, sugar, and eggs until fully combined.

4) Add to the sugar mixture in the mixer and beat until completely combined. 

5) Fold in the apples and half of the butterscotch chips using a spatula.  The batter should be very thick.

6) Pour the batter into the greased pan and sprinkle the rest of the butterscotch chips on the top evenly.

7) Bake for 45 minutes.

As usual.... I could not resist before taking a picture......