Well, we had our annual goose dinner and this year it was positively the best, best, best goose ever. Roasted plain, just a bit of pepper, garlic and paprika for color. Okay, okay I also added a glass or two full of sweet white wine for basting and that may have made it so scrumptious.
There was the usual braised red cabbage, roasted potatoes (baby Yukon golds, parboiled and rubbed with olive oil and goose fat before cooking in a hot oven until crispy) and green peas.
I like to serve something with apple at my goose dinner. But didn’t this year, so later in the day, when it was time for dessert, I served Applesauce Spice Cake. It’s a simple, coffeecake type cake, warmly spicy, with a soft crumb and a crunchy crust. You can make this cake ahead and freeze it too (as I have many times).
Applesauce Sour Cream Coffee Cake
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup applesauce
1/3 cup sour cream
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon peel
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup milk
streusel topping:
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons cold butter, cut into smaller pieces
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chopped nuts
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease an 8” square cake pan. Beat the sugar and butter together with a hand mixer or electric mixer set at medium speed for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the applesauce, sour cream, egg and lemon peel and beat the ingredients for 1-2 minutes or until smooth. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into a bowl. Add half the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and beat until well blended. Add half the milk and beat until well blended. Repeat until all the flour and milk have been used up. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Combine the streusel topping ingredients and mix them with your fingers, a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture is mealy. Sprinkle over the batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan 10 minutes then carefully invert the cake twice onto a cake rack to cool completely. Turn the cake right side up to cool completely. Makes 8-10 servings