There are so many desserts and cakes that are sophisticated, elegant and just plain fancy, like the perfect little black dress, diamonds and heels. Well…this isn’t that dessert! To my family, this cake is dessert comfort food – like your favorite, broken-in pair of jeans and comfy T-shirt. This cake, moist with just the right amount of sweetness and brimming with apples and cinnamon, says home, family and lazy Sunday afternoons. This recipe was shared in a cookbook put together by my husband’s family at a huge family reunion a number of years ago.
After cheesecake, anything chocolate, pound cake and cannoli, (Ha!) this is my husband’s favorite cake. I know, we usually think of apple for Autumn, but really, isn’t a homey cake like this perfect any time of the year? It’s a great end of the winter season treat!
Use Granny Smith or Rome apples for this cake. I love that the batter goes together in a flash! This batter is super thick, almost like dough. You can let the batter sit and rest a bit while you’re peeling the apples.
I actually stepped out of my Crisco and flour comfort zone on this cake and tried the Pam baking spray. It worked beautifully! The cake popped right out of the pan after cooling. I had my fingers crossed the whole time, which isn’t a good when you’re trying to invert a cake! If you haven’t tried the Pam baking spray yet, go for it! It works!
Ingredients:
- 3 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons of baking powder
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 ½ teaspoons vanilla
- 6 medium or 3 large Granny Smith or Rome Applies
- 6 tablespoon sugar
- 3 tablespoons cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour, (or spray with Pam baking spray) a tube pan. Core apples and set aside.
Mix all dry ingredients together in mixer bowl (flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.) Beat eggs with a fork in a separate bowl.
Add eggs to dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until blended. Add vegetable oil, orange juice, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until blended. See, this batter is really thick! It’s totally ok to let this sit while you peel the apples.
Peel and slice apples medium thickness – not too thin! Combine the 6 tablespoons of sugar and 3 tablespoons of cinnamon. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over apples slices.
Get your bowl of batter and give a stir! Put a layer of batter in the tube pan. Just drop the batter by a tablespoon. Next, put a layer of apples. Continuing layering batter and apples, finishing with a layer of apples on top.
As this cake bakes, the batter fills in, so don’t worry if there are spaces in the pan with no batter as you’re layering. It’s normal with this cake! Here’s the cake, ready for the oven!
Bake the cake up to 1 ½ hours, depending on your oven. This cake puffs up like a balloon! It’s a good idea to put a rimmed baking sheet under it just in case any of the batter overflows the pan. It didn’t for me today, but I thought it was going to! Check the cake at about the 55-60 minute baking mark; if the top is getting too brown, cover it with aluminum foil for the remainder of baking. Test for doneness with a cake tester or wooden skewer; when the skewer comes out clean, it’s done! My total baking time took 75 minutes.
This cake develops some cracks on the top, which is part of its homey charm! Let the cake cool on a wire rack for ten minutes, remove (carefully!) from pan and cool completely on the wire rack.
The house smells divine while this is baking. Doesn’t it look just delicious? It tastes so good! For a really awesome treat, warm a slice in the microwave for a bit and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
I hope you try this apple cake. Thanks for stopping in on the first Sunday of Daylight Savings Time – more sunshine! I am psyched about that! Less sleep, but I’ll take more light at the end of the day, won’t you? Well, at least until that darn alarm rings on Monday morning!
Enjoy your day!
Great pictures. I just ate an apple before I read this post. Looks great.
Thanks for the kind words over at my blog. This cake looks great. Please stop over at Two Cup Tuesday at Pint Sized Baker to share it. It’ll open tomorrow night!
Karyn, my pleasure and thanks so much for the visit. I will definitely stop over tomorrow evening and thanks for inviting me. Have a good Monday!
That looks delicious! I will definitely be trying this recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Have a lovely week!
Angie at http://snackcupsandsmiles.blogspot.com/
Hi Angie! Thank you so much for your visit and kind comment. I really appreciate it! You’ll like this cake and it’s pretty easy to put together. You have a fantastic week, too!
Gorgeous cake! I live the layered apples, stopping by from Thisgalcooks
Emily, thank you so much for stopping by and for your kind comment! Have a great week!
Cindy,
Your cake looks amazing! I’ve been thinking about making something with apples. Perhaps I should give this cake a try. You know what else I need to do? Purchase and apple corer. Your photos just reminded me how desperately I need one. My apples always look pitiful after I remove the cores!
Have a wonderful week.
Julie
Julie, thank you you SO much for stopping by and for your nice comment – I truly appreciate it! Ann apple corer is so helpful – I’m impressed that you can even remove the core without one! I would probably slice my finger off! Thanks again for the party and have a good Monday!
Cindy this looks AWESOME! And I finally started using the baking spray on some of my Bundt cakes a while back (I was a butter and flour girl!) and have had good luck too. Love this and will have to try it! Pinning!
– Claire
Thanks, Claire! I appreciate all of your great support so much and thanks for pinning! I do like that baking spray, except I have to remember to keep it IN the pan and off the floor…of course, I made a mess, slipped and fell right in the Pam!
Have a great day! Hugs!!
That looks so delicious! I’ve been using the baking spray for a while now only because I was a messy marvin with the flour & butter
I have added this recipe to my bookmarks so I don’t forget to try it. Thanks so much for sharing…..& it turned out so beautifully.
Thank you, Stacy Anne! It’s so sweet of you stop by and leave such a nice comment. I like the spray, but I need to get a better aim AT the pan…there was kind of lot on the floor and I wound up falling in Pam!
Thank goodness I didn’t have the cake in my hands at the time! Have a great week and if you make this, let me know how it turns out!
This sure looks very elegant to me, but it looks even more scrumptious! Thank you for sharing this family recipe at the ALL MY BLOGGY FRIENDS party
Linda, thanks for your visit and it was a pleasure to join in the party! Maybe the ribbon on the plate is making the cake look look elegant…it really is a simple, comfortable cake! It is delicious! Thanks again for co-hosting and for letting me be part of the fun! Have a good day!
Hey Cindy!! Wow, this cake looks so yummy! It is totally making my mouth water… thanks for the recipe! I’m pinning so that I can make it soon! Have a great week!! Cheryl
Hi Cheryl, thanks so much for stopping by! So nice of you to comment and pin…what would we do without Pinterest to save all our atuff? If you make this, I would love to know how you like it. Please have a great week too!
This cake is amazing! I love, love, LOVE apples in anything. So pretty!
Thanks, Dorothy! After lemon, I like apples, too! I appreciate your nice comment, it means a lot! Have a good week and keep that oven in line!
This cake looks really great! I’m stopping by from Marvelous Monday linky party. I’m hosting a party and hope you will post a few great recipes! http://rediscovermom.blogspot.com/2013/03/tried-and-true-recipe-party-3.html
Hi Jackie, it’s so nice of you to stop by! Thanks so much and I am always ready for a party!
OH MY GOSH!! This looks absolutely delicious. I think I may be drooling right now at the thought of that going in my mouth with vanilla ice cream! Yum… thanks for the recipe!!
Thanks, Krista..and I’m totally with you on the vanilla ice cream! Thanks so much for your visit and sweet comment. Have a great week!
Cindy, this looks amazing! I’m pinning to try in the future.
Thank you for partying with the Wildly Original Crowd.
<3 Christina at I Gotta Create!
Thanks, Christina! It is so sweet of you to stop by. Thanks so much for the party and the pin!
Hi Cindy!
Just stopping by to let you know that Carrie and I will be featuring this at Sunday’s Marvelous Mondays party. Hope to see you at the party again Sunday evening.
Julie
Julie, that is so awesome, thank you so much to you and Carrie! Of course, I will be there on Sunday!
I’m back to feature your mouth-watering cake. You’re a STAR over at I Gotta Create! tonight:
http://igottacreate.blogspot.com/2013/03/wildly-original-link-party-44.html
<3 Christina
I saw that! Thank you SO much, I’m excited! I appreciate it very much and left a comment on your blog. Thanks, Christina!
What a yummy looking recipe!
I follow you on Pinterest – your boards are ALL amazing – AMAZING!
Hi Joyce, it’s so nice of you to stop by! This cake is delish, you have to try it! So glad you enjoy Pinterest as much as I do…it’s an addiction that has lessened just a bit since starting the blog, but I still squeeze it in! Thanks so much for your kind comment!
Hi Cindy, thank you so much for sharing your awesome Apple Cake recipe at Inspiration Cafe’s Link Party! Such a pretty cake!!! It looks and sounds delicious! Pinning!!!
Thanks, Mary, so sweet and kind of you to stop by! Thanks so much for the party, so much fun! I appreciate the pin.
Enjoy your week!
This cake looks like a lot of fun to make!! And I bet it is so yummy!
Hi Heather, it is really fun and easy to make – and way too easy to eat, too!
Thank you so much for your visit and comment, I really appreciate it! Have a wonderful rest of the week!
Yum!!!! I love apple cake – apple anything! Thank you so much for linking up to Inspiration Cafe’s very first link party xx Nat
Hi Natalie, thank you so much for visiting – I appreciate it very much! It was my pleasure to join in the party and thanks for hosting!! Have a great rest of the week.
What a beautiful cake! I have never heard of this recipe, but I think it’s a keeper already! Thanks for sharing it at the Inspiration Cafe’s first ever link party!
Hi Danni – The party was fun and I was happy to join in! This cake is really delicious and one of my hubby’s favorites! Easy to make, too! Have a wonderful weekend and thank you so much for visiting.