Alien Soda Bread

I made a loaf of Irish Soda Bread this morning, following James Beard's recipe for the all-white flour version.  I never buy buttermilk, so I typically either use milk that's starting to go sour, or sour regular milk with lemon juice.  Aside from that, it's Beard's recipe.

Evidently, I did not slit the cross on the top to a uniform depth before I baked it.  The result was hilarious.  It looks like an alien skull.

Recipe: Raw Apple Bread

Yield: 1 loaf
Time: 20 minutes prep; 50-60 minutes at 350F
Source: Beard on Bread, Ballantine paperback edition, 1981, pg. 153

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. butter or margarine (1 stick)
• 1 c. of granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 c. of flour
• 1/2 tsp. of baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. of salt
• 1 tsp. of baking powder
• 1 tsp. of vanilla extract
• 2 Tbs. of buttermilk, or soured milk
• 1 c. coarsly chopped unpeeled apples
• 1/2 c. of chopped walnuts

Method:

1. cream the butter
2. mix in the sugar, a little at a time, creaming it into the butter thoroughly between additions
3. beat in the eggs, milk, and vanilla
4. sift together the dry ingredients
5. mix them into the wet ingredients, a little at a time
   
6. stir in the chopped apple and walnuts
7. spoon it into a greased loaf tin
8. bake at 350F for 50-60 minutes

Notes:

1. this makes a pretty sticky batter
2. I used approx. 2 cups of chopped apple, and 3/4 c. of chopped walnuts; everything else I measured pretty accurately, as per the recipe
   
3. according to James Beard, this tastes better left to sit for a day (it tastes pretty good still slightly warm from the oven, though, IMHO)
4. it supposedly stores really well