This cake has made many friends and loved ones happy. You can do the same for the people in your life, and for you too, of course. Treat yo’self to this moist, cinnamon sugar-packed, apple-studded cake that lasts for days on your countertop (but probably will be eaten long before that).
Apple Cake
For the apples:
6 medium apples (about 3 1/2-3 3/4 lbs), a mix of whatever you like (I like pink lady, macintosh, and/or honey crisp)
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
For the cake:
2 3/4 cups (360 grams) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (235 ml) vegetable oil (melted butter also works, though not really needed here)
2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (60 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare your pan: You will need a 10 inch tube pan for this cake. Heavily grease the pan with cooking spray, making sure to coat all sides and the center tube, too.
Note: If you don’t have a tube pan, you can divide this recipe between two 9″ by 5″ loaf pans. Baking time may vary.
Prepare the apples: Peal and chop apples into 1/2-inch chunks and put into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Fold in the cinnamon and sugar and set aside.
Make the cake batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, orange juice, vanilla, and eggs. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until combined and no more lumps of flour remain. It’ll be pretty stiff. Switch to a rubber spatula halfway through if you need to, to finish folding.
Assemble the cake: Pour half of the cake batter into the bottom of the tube pan. Pour half of the apples (now all delicious and juicy) on top of the batter, pouring some of the juice over the batter, too. It’s a little tricky to do with the tube pan, but spin the pan around a bit while you pour and push the apples gently around to cover the surface of the batter. Cover the apples with the rest of the batter, pushing and nudging the batter so it mostly covers the first layer of apples. Pour the remaining half of the apples over the top and the rest of the juices. Nudge the apples around so that they are evenly distributed on top of the cake.
Bake the cake: This is a long bake- 1 1/2 hours. Turn the cake halfway through to promote even browning. If it begins to brown too quickly on top, loosely drape with foil for the remainder of the time. A toothpick or skewer inserted into the center should come out batter free after 1 1/2 hours. However, the juicy apples like to delay baking, so you may need some more time. Keep checking the cake for doneness every 5 minutes thereafter, until the toothpick/skewer comes out clean. Cool the cake completely on a wire rack before removing from the pan.
Release the cake: Once the cake is completely cool, run a butter knife around the edge of the pan and around the center tube to loosen. Flip the pan gently on top of the wire rack so that the cake drops out onto the rack. You may need to jiggle and shake the pan a bit to get the cake free. Pick up the cooled cake gently and set it right side up. Serve all week long for daily apple heaven.
The cake will keep wonderfully wrapped in foil at room temperature for a week.
A perfect autumn treat. Enjoy!
-Jess
