This is a deliciously moist cake that keeps getting better days after you bake it. This cake is amazing on the first day and tastes spectacular and pudding-like on the days that follow. So you can make it a day or two before you have to serve and store it at covered at room temperature.
It is Rosh Hashanah and this is the perfect cake to make for friends and family. It tastes like apple pie but in cake form. The most time-consuming part of making this recipe is cutting the apples. Besides that step, the cake comes together pretty quickly. I love adding orange juice to the cake and if you like the citrus flavor I would suggest adding a little more orange juice or even orange zest.
Every year for Rosh Hashanah I get together with family and friends to have apples dipped in honey and to have all types of apple desserts. Apples are chosen as the symbolic fruit from the Garden of Eden and apples are supposed to bring good luck. The honey brings sweetness and excitement for the new year. This cake has the sweetness paired with the apples that are great to serve during the holidays. This cake is a new rotation in my holiday dishes and is soon to become a regular rotation. I love the crunchy sweetness of the apple layered inside the moist sweet cake. You can make this for the holidays or serve at any gathering you have. Enjoy!
Apple Cake
Serving size: 12
Total Time: 2 hours
Source: Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen cookbook.
apple filling:
5-6 apples (I mix granny smith with a sweet apple variety)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
cake:
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10-inch tube pan, bundt pan, or 9x13 inch square pan. This cake does cook better in a deeper dish however, I make it in a brownie pan.
Step 2: Peel, core, and chop apples into 1-inch chunks. Toss with cinnamon and 5 tablespoons sugar and set aside.
Step 3: Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Mix wet ingredients into dry ones; scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated (honestly, I end up doing this in one bowl to save cleaning time. So I measure the dry ingredients into the bowl with wet ingredients).
Step 4: Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. Spread half of the apples (and their juices) over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean. My cake took a while to bake and I covered it with tin foil to prevent the top from browning too fast.
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