my mom's apple cake

Here is a simple apple cake recipe that my mother has been making for as long as I can remember.  When my siblings and I were little, she made these every Christmas for us to take to our teachers.  I'll never forget the sweet note to me from my second grade teacher, thanking me for the gift of delicious cake.

Mom used to bake the whole recipe in one tube pan which is what the recipe calls for.  Today I mixed up the batter and baked five small 3X5" cakes to give as gifts.  I reduced the time from 1 hr and 15 min down to 50 minutes and they turned out great.

I was daydreaming and dumped the sugar on top of the apples.  That was not a good idea.  It took a lot of stirring to make sure I had all the sugar incorporated into the batter.   It turned out fine, anyway.  But you'll be better off mixing the sugar with the flour first.

It's a thick, lumpy batter.  Stir well!!

In the pans, ready to bake. 

And cooling on the rack.

Mom's Fresh Apple Cake

• 3 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 3 cups chopped apples (about 4)

Mix the dry ingredients well.  Mix the oil and eggs and add to the dry ingredients, stirring well.  The batter will be very thick.  Mix in the apples and the nuts.  Pile into a tube or bundt pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  

If using smaller pans, reduce the time accordingly.  Test for doneness with a toothpick.

This Christmas, I hope you enjoy baking for the ones you love!

love,