thank you, Phoebe!

A surprising number of you, who will probably otherwise never meet her, have heard of my roommate Phoebe. If you have eaten at our house more than once, you have probably either had Phoebe bread or pizza (which is made with Phoebe bread). And you have loved it, so we have passed on the recipe, specifically calling it Phoebe bread. I don't know if you have passed on the recipe under that name, but it would be interesting to know someday how many people are making Phoebe bread without knowing who she is.

What brought this to mind is that I resurrected another Phoebe recipe that I haven't made in years: apple cake! Instead of regaling you with a tale of how much Michael and Elanor loved it, I decided instead to share the recipe. So here it is:

6 c. Granny Smith apples, diced
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
3/4 c. oil
2 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 1/2 t. soda
1 t. salt
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. powdered sugar
milk

Combine apples and sugar; let stand 20-40 minutes (the apples will render a lot of juice).
Preheat oven to 350. Add eggs, oil, and vanilla. Then mix in the dry ingredients (that would be the flour, soda, salt, and cinnamon). Spread in a 9x13 pan and bake for 45 minutes.

Now for the glaze: melt butter and brown sugar; bring to a boil. Add in powdered sugar and however much milk you need to get the glaze to the right texture. Pour the glaze over the top of the cake. If you really want to get into it, poke holes in the top of the cake for the glaze to dribble through.

The cake is excellent when it's warm. It's also delightful when it's cold! My dad would recommend it for breakfast (he is probably regretting that I baked it after he left; better luck next time, Dad!). Despite the name, it is probably actually not very good for you, but since it does have apples in it, I think you can justify it any time of day. Enjoy, and think of Phoebe when you eat it!