There’s an old saying. “Everyone complains about the weather but no one does anything about it.” Well, one weekend in January, we got 18 inches of snow where I live. I didn’t complain about it…I saw it as the perfect baking day. Of course, I needed to use only ingredients I had at home because of the weather. Luckily that included some apples, so I figured I’d make an apple cake…but I wanted to experiment a little.
In my opinion, my apple cake was fine, but nothing to write home about…it could be moister and more flavorful. So, my experiment ended up with me almost doubling the number of apples in the original recipe (to help make the cake moister) and quadrupling the amount of cinnamon (I love cinnamon), besides adding a topping. So, some of the amounts in the ingredient list, like the cinnamon, may seem like typos to you. They’re not! This cake is full of cinnamon flavor…and aroma. And, to gild the lily a bit, there is even more cinnamon in the topping! Your house is going to be full of the aroma of cinnamon while it’s baking. Also, when folding in the apples, you’re going to think you have too many. You don’t…most of them will dissolve into the cake while baking and a few will remain as chunks.
Is a 9”x13” cake too much for you? No problem. This recipe is also easy to cut in half if you’d rather do an 8” square or round pan. I hope you enjoy.
Moist Apple Cinnamon Cake
INGREDIENTS:
- 5 Apples – peeled, cored and sliced (cut each apple into 8 wedges, then slice each wedge into ⅛” slices)
- 2 cups All-purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 4 teaspoons ground Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground Nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground Ginger
- 4 large Eggs
- 2 cups granulated Sugar
- 1 cup Vegetable Oil
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla
- 1 cup chopped Walnuts (optional)
- 4 teaspoons granulated Sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat your oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9”x13” pan.
- Sift the Flour, Salt, Baking Powder, Nutmeg, Ginger and 4 teaspoons of Cinnamon. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer (or whisk if you’d like a little workout) on high speed, beat the Eggs and 2 cups of Sugar until light in color…about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the Oil and Vanilla until combined. Add the Flour Mixture and mix until well combined. Fold in the Apples and Walnuts (if using). It’s going to look like way too many apples. Trust me, it’s not…you’ll see. Pour the batter in the prepared pan and, using a rubber spatula, roughly even out the top.
- Mix the 4 teaspoons of Sugar and 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon together in a small bowl. Sprinkle the mixture over the cake.
- Bake in your preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean…about 50 to 60 minutes, depending on your oven.
- Completely cool the cake in the pan on a rack so the air circulates underneath.
- Cut and enjoy. (This recipe supposedly serves 24, but I usually only get 18…LOL. You decide.)
