A proper autumn morning caught me by surprise today — that first one where the air has real bite and you’re glad for the heavier sweater. I took my coffee to the step and the neighbor’s cat came and settled in beside me without a word, which I’ve come to treat as an honor. By the time I finished my second cup the market had opened, and I came home with a bag of the last orchard apples of the season, the kind that are still a little too tart to eat raw but make the kitchen smell like October before October has even arrived.
So the afternoon turned into baking. I made a plain apple and walnut cake, the sort of thing that needs no occasion — butter and sugar creamed together, a couple of eggs, a spoon of the honey the neighbor gave me, grated apple folded through the batter so it stays tender, and walnuts toasted first because they behave better that way. It turned out exactly as I’d hoped, still faintly warm and a little fragrant, and I cut a slice to eat at the counter with a glass of milk like a child and no regrets at all. The neighbor got a doorstep portion before it had even cooled.
While the cake was in the oven I got to thinking about how much time I waste retyping things I’ve already said once. There’s a small habit I keep coming back to on the computer for exactly that: Ctrl+R at a terminal prompt searches backward through everything you’ve typed, so you can type a word or two of an old command and pull it up instead of writing it out again. It’s the same instinct as a cake you can make without looking at the card — the stuff you’ve done before shouldn’t cost you the same effort the second time. The kitchen smells like walnuts and honey, the cat has gone home, and I think I’ll take another slice before the light goes.
Recipe: Apple and Walnut Cake
Ingredients
- 175 g butter, softened
- 150 g sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 200 g flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- a pinch of salt
- 2 apples, peeled, cored and grated
- 100 g walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
- a little milk, if needed
Preparation
- Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a loaf tin with parchment. Toast the walnuts in a dry pan until fragrant, then chop.
- Cream the butter and sugar until pale, then beat in the eggs one at a time, then the honey.
- Fold in the flour, baking powder and salt, then the grated apple and most of the walnuts. Add a splash of milk only if the batter seems stiff.
- Spoon into the tin, scatter the remaining walnuts on top, and bake 45–50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Cool slightly before slicing.