A big box of aging Granny Smith apples showed up at school. They were bumped and bruised but still firm and perfect for baking. With no one else showing interest in them, I took half-a-dozen home.

The grocery store reduces the price of overstocked items and expired items. We are always on the lookout for deals at the store because prices are through the roof up here. Remember the $8 red bell pepper?

A few Granny Smith apples and a package of just-expired but still perfectly good cream cheese were the inspiration for last weekend’s baking wonder. I searched allrecipes.com, which has a cool feature where the user can enter ingredients and matching recipes will be generated. A Bavarian Apple Torte recipe sounded great. The torte is built on a layer of shortbread cookie followed by vanilla cheesecake. This in turn is topped with baked apple slices tossed with cinnamon and sprinkled with sliced almonds.

Jack and I had a slice with our dinner that evening. It was incredible! The next morning, I took the rest of the torte to the school office where it disappeared in minutes (or seconds). The verdict was unanimous: this dessert is phenomenal. Hands down the best dessert I’ve ever made — and I’ve made lots! The other point in its favor? It’s incredibly easy to make. You will impress anyone you serve this to.

So, what are you waiting for?

Bavarian Apple Torte

12 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar, divided into thirds
• 1 cup flour
• 1 (250 g/8 oz.) brick of cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Beat butter and 1/3 cup of the sugar in small bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add flour; mix well. Spread onto bottom and 1 inch up side of 9-inch springform pan.
2. Beat cream cheese and 1/3 cup of the remaining sugar in same bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Spread evenly over crust. In a large bowl, combine remaining 1/3 cup sugar and the cinnamon. Add apples; toss to coat. Spoon over cream cheese layer; sprinkle with almonds.
3. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 375 degrees F; continue baking 25 minutes or until center is set. Cool on wire rack. Loosen torte from rim of pan. Cover and refrigerate 3 hours before serving. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Recipe from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/philly-bavarian-apple-torte/detail.aspx.