BethCato.com | Site of Author Beth Cato

Blood of Earth Trilogy

Breath of Earth – Call of Fire – Roar of Sky
Read More

Peripatetic Blogging and More

Posted by Beth on Sep 5, 2014 in anthology:poem, Blog, clockwork dagger, holy taco church, online publication, public speaking, reviews | Comments Off on Peripatetic Blogging and More

Another happy review from a major site!

Kirkus Reviews, Top Picks for Speculative Fiction Reads in September: “This steampunk fantasy includes all the right elements for a rip-roaring adventure.”

—

New publication! A poem – “To Walk Upon Clouds” at NewMyths.com.

Holy Taco Church post for September–a review of Gadzooks, an acclaimed restaurant in downtown Phoenix!

I’m also blogging, uh, everywhere.

Essay: “How OWW inspired Me to Write Steampunk” in the September Online Writing Workshop Newsletter.

Chat Log from Wednesday’s #sffrtcht can be found here.

Clockwork Cookie Blog Tour

– Pumpkin Snickerdoodles with Pam Wallace

– Shokupan Bread with Lee Hallison

– Buttery Beer Bread with Darusha Wehm

– Cheap Korean-Style Beef with Jodi Scaife

– Double Irish Cream Cookies with Erin Hartshorn

If I forgot something or someone, my apologies. The crazy OMG-BOOK-RELEASE stuff has definitely kicked in these past two days.

#sffwrtcht tonight and Reddit on the 16th

Posted by Beth on Sep 3, 2014 in Blog, clockwork dagger, public speaking | Comments Off on #sffwrtcht tonight and Reddit on the 16th

Want to ask me questions about writing, The Clockwork Dagger, cookies, cats, or most anything else? You’ll have a few chances! Tonight I’m taking part in #SFFWRTCHT on Twitter. It’s a live hour-long chat conducted by editor Bryan Thomas Schmidt. It starts at 9pm Eastern/8pm Central/6pm Pacific. You don’t have to be registered on Twitter to follow along through @sffwrtcht or #sffwrtcht, though you will need to be logged in to ask me questions.

On book release day on the 16th (less than two weeks away *gulp*) I’ll be doing an all-day Ask Me Anything (AMA) on reddit/Fantasy. I’ll set up the post early in the morning and you can drop in throughout the day to leave questions. I’ll be on there live (presuming I survived the day) at 7pm Eastern/6pm Central/4pm Pacific to interact with folks and undergo the full inquisition.

Also, do check out my guest post 5 Surprises As a Debut Novelist. Thanks to J.W. Alden for hosting me!

Bready or Not: Apple Cake

Posted by Beth on Sep 3, 2014 in apples, Blog, Bready or Not, cake | Comments Off on Bready or Not: Apple Cake

I declare September to be cake month. Why, you ask? WHY? Because The Clockwork Dagger comes out in less than two weeks!

Cake! A different kind of cake every week! Jazz hands!

We start out with an absolute classic: apple cake. I’m from a family that happens to love apple pie. It’s the favorite of both my dad and my husband. They both rate this cake version quite highly as well.

From the baker’s perspective, this is a whole lot faster than pie. No fuss over making a crust ahead of time. I set the apples to look pretty in the cake pan. I mix up the batter. Bake. Done. That’s why I’ve made this more than once for breakfast or brunch.

This is a straightforward cake that isn’t heavy on the sweetness, and that’s why it’s great for morning or snack or dessert.

But this is CAKE MONTH. We eat cake whenever we darn well please.

Recipe modified from Grandmother’s Apple Cake
in Chocolate & Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen by Clotilde Dusoulier.

Print Recipe

Bready or Not: Apple Cake

A classic French-style apple cake.

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Keyword: apple, cake, french

Author: Beth Cato

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 lb baking apples like Braeburn or Jonagold, 2-3 apples
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs room temperature

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Melt the butter and set it aside.
Cut a round of parchment paper to fit inside a nonstick 8-inch cake pan. Spray the pan with nonstick spray, place the paper inside, then spray again. (If you don't do all of this, slices of apple will stick when you flip it over. Trust me.)
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl.
Wash, peel, and core the apples. Cut them in eighths and arrange over the bottom of the pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar with the eggs until fluffy. Add the flour mixture and whisk until combined. Add the melted butter and whisk again until blended.
Pour the batter evenly over the fruit and bake for 40 minutes, until the top is set and golden brown.
Let the cake settle on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Run a plastic knife or toothpick around the pan's edge to loosen it and flip the cake onto a plate. Carefully peel off the parchment paper. Flip the cake again onto a serving plate, taking care not to squish the cake.
Cool and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.