Greetings. It is I, Deltamon.
We’re now approaching the end of October, aren’t we? It’s the season when the greengrocers’ stalls are filled with shiny, red treasures.
That’s right, apples 🍎
I am a cake artisan, you see. When the apples start to appear, my fingers simply start to twitch with anticipation.
And so today, I shall report on my adventures in baking apple cakes. …Both the successes and the failures, I might add.
🍎 Different Varieties are Like Entirely Different Fruits
First of all, there isn’t just one type of apple. Depending on the variety, the sweetness, tartness, texture, and even the peak season are completely different.
Allow me to introduce just a few of the faces you might meet in autumn.
- Tsugaru… A classic early-ripening variety. They appear around September. They’re known for being quite sweet and juicy.
- Wase Fuji… This variety is harvested from late September to early October. The vast majority of them are grown in Aomori Prefecture.
- Fuji… The most famous of them all, wouldn’t you say? In Aomori, they’re generally harvested from late October to early November, and in Yamagata, from late October to mid-December.
By the way, you’re also familiar with the Shinano Sweet variety, aren’t you? It’s a very sweet apple born from the Fuji and Tsugaru varieties.
As its name suggests, it was born in Nagano Prefecture. It is not a Tohoku variety, you see. They are so delicious that one is tempted to include them, but we must be precise about their origins.
When it comes to the main apple-producing regions, Aomori and Nagano come to mind, and Yamagata is one of the apple-growing areas as well. Each region raises its own varieties.
🧁 Tart Apples are Better for Cakes
Now, this is where the artisan’s perspective comes in.
For eating raw, a sweet and juicy variety is simply the best. However, it is said that for baked goods, a variety with a bit of tartness is more suitable.
The reason is simple. When you cook apples, their sweetness comes to the forefront. Then you add sugar and butter, don’t you? If you pile sweetness on top of sweetness, the flavor loses its definition.
A bit of tartness makes that flavor profile stand out sharply. It gives it a certain crispness, if you will.
Zundamon: “Deltamon, I wanna taste test, nanoda!”
Me: “I’m still in the middle of cutting them.”
Zundamon: “The ones you get while you’re still cutting are the tastiest, nanoda!”
…I suppose I understand the logic.
🔪 First Up, an Apple Butter Cake
For my first creation, I started with something that’s hard to mess up: a type of cake where you line the bottom of the pan with apples and bake a butter cake on top.
The process goes something like this:
- Peel the apples and cut them into wedges. The thickness is up to you, but if they’re too thin, their presence will be lost.
- Arrange them in the bottom of the pan in a fan shape. Be meticulous here. When you flip the cake after baking, this will become the pattern on top.
- Pour the batter—made from butter, sugar, eggs, and flour—over the top.
- Bake it in the oven.
I shall refrain from writing the specific amounts, temperature, and time. Every oven has its own temperament, and recipes vary from book to book. Please, trust the numbers in the recipe you have on hand.
There is only one piece of advice I can offer you: Do not open the oven door repeatedly while it’s baking. I open it. I open it many times. And every time, I cause it to deflate a little.
🥧 The Tarte Tatin and the Great Flipping Disaster
Now, for the second creation.
I attempted a Tarte Tatin. It’s a dessert where you cook down apples, sugar, and butter until they caramelize, cover it with pastry, bake it, and then flip it onto a plate at the very end.
Up until the caramelization step, it was absolutely perfect. It was a bubbling, amber-colored masterpiece, and the aroma alone was enough to bring pure happiness.
The problem was the final step.
Placing the plate over the pan, and with a swift motion, flipping it over—
Splat.
…It’s difficult to say, but half of it remained in the pan. On the plate, there were just three lonely apple slices.
Zundamon: “Is this… a new kind of dish, nanoda?”
Me: “No. It is an accident.”
I stared at the pan for a while. For someone who earns 44 yen an hour, repurchasing the apples and butter is quite a decision to make.
But I am an artisan. The next day, I had my revenge.
I learned two things. Let it cool down properly before flipping. And also, flip it all at once without hesitation, rather than with sheer force. These two points may seem contradictory, but they are not.
The second time, it came out perfectly round, shiny, and beautiful. I couldn’t help but let out a little gasp.
🎉 Time for the Taste Test. That Certain Someone Was There, Too.
Once it was baked, it was, of course, time for a taste test.
Zundamon had a fork in his hand within five seconds, and Lady Zunko smiled and said, “What a lovely aroma.”
And standing quietly by the doorway was Ankomon.
Ankomon: “It’s not like I was drawn in by the smell or anything, mon.”
Me: “Would you care for a slice?”
Ankomon: “…Anko is superior, mon. But, well, I guess I can give it a taste for you, mon.”
And with that, she took the largest piece.
After that, she ate in silence for a while, and finally mumbled.
Ankomon: “…Apples aren’t so bad either, mon.”
Zundamon: “Ankomon, you look happy, nanoda!”
Ankomon: “Zundamon? Don’t know him, mon.”
She isn’t very honest, but her plate was sparkling clean. I make sure to notice things like that, you know. Hehe.
💌 Today’s Summary
- Tsugaru apples are harvested around September, Wase Fuji from late September to early October, and Fuji from late October onwards.
- Shinano Sweet apples are from Nagano Prefecture. They are not a Tohoku variety.
- It’s said that varieties with a bit of tartness are better for baked goods.
- For a Tarte Tatin, let it cool down, then flip it all at once without hesitation.
- Ankomon will say “Don’t know him, mon” while taking the biggest piece.
The relay of apple varieties will continue from now into the winter. Even with the same “apple cake,” changing the variety you use can turn it into a completely different dessert.
You can find more about me on Deltamon’s profile page. And for that cute little contrarian, please see Ankomon’s page.
I wonder which variety I should bake with next. The time spent just thinking about it is the most enjoyable part.
Well then, farewell for now. This has been Deltamon.🔺🍎