I know it’s a little early to really declare winter, nonetheless to abridge its predecessor in one form of a pound cake, but I can’t help it. In my head, it’s already winter, despite this haywire California weather.

Perhaps it’s because I had to pull out my extra blanket to make a burrito out of myself with, as the nights have been getting significantly chilly. And the birds – especially Chubs and Hoshi – are sharing beds now instead of going to their designated bed time areas. Its really cute, especially when you wiggle your finger in front of one end of the bed. They pop out like moray eels, trying to get a good blood draw out of you for invading their territory. 

But enough about how evil my kids are, back to the said pound cake.

As autumn makes way for the cold, rainy season, there is a huge influx of autumn offerings at the farmer’s market. Apples, yams, berries, pomegranates, everything – it’s like an end of the season sale, and the trees and plants back over at the farms squeezed everything out before their winter break. Beautiful specimens of yams, plump and still covered in dirt, and shiny pink lady apples were literally begging to me, ‘pick me! pick me!’

Now how could I resist that?

And with these, I sought to make something that was Japanese, but not really. A fusion, if you will (gawd I hate that word).

Stone roasted sweet potatoes are harbingers of the cold season in Japan. Street vendors will lug their carts (or in modern days, trucks) around residential areas and sing the luring song, kind of like a lorelei singing to a sailor (but without the dying part). The almost-caramelized aroma of the sweet potatoes and the song help to bring patrons out of hiding.

And apples. How can we not talk about apples when we’re talking about autumn foods? Apples in autumn are the juiciest and the most dense – when you cut an apple in half, you can see almost-transparent areas near the seeds that are just packed with juice. Each bite ends up dribbling all over the place. 

So come celebrate a psuedo-Japonesque autumn with me (I know it’s December, just play along), with this beautiful pound cake. The recipe is a little sugar-low, which is okay, because the apples and yam will give you enough of a flavor burst. It’s genious really. A slice of this, a nice cup of gingerbread coffee and some fresh blackberries will make a perfect Sunday morning breakfast.

Apples and Sweet Potatoes Pound Cake – 1 regular sized loaf
adapted from Crystal_6’s Apple Pound Cake recipe

1 small apple, preferably something tart like pink lady or jonathan

1/2 small Japanese sweet potato (or yams)

4 tbsp honey
1/2 lemon’s worth lemon juice.

1 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 c sugar
5 tbsp butter
2 eggs
1/4 c plain yogurt
1/4 tsp ground cardamon
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 
1/3 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Peel both apples and yams and chop up into little 1/2 inch cubes. Combine in a little sauce pan, and sprinkle lemon juice on it. Add water until half of the insides are covered, and add honey. Bring to a boil, and simmer until cooked through. Set aside and let cool.

2. Sift flour, baking powder, and spices together.
3. Take your butter (that’s been warmed to room temp) and mix until creamy. Add sugar and make sure that it’s well incorporated. Now add an egg at a time, making sure each is well incorporated as well. Then add yogurt and mix well.
4. Add the powder mix, a third at a time. Mix well, then add a third again. Repeat until powderiness is gone.
5. Add fruits (drained of honey-water) and give it a quick stir.

6. Line your regular sized pound cake pan with parchment paper and pour in mixture. Make sure that your fruits are mixed in evenly! Now bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until you jab it with a toothpick and it comes out clean.
7. Let its sit for a bit before nommage. Overnight is best. Then nom with a cup of morning jo.

Ava approved!