Apple Cake

There’s logic and then there’s food logic.

For instance, I don’t feel guilty about eating this cake because there’s more fruit and nuts in it than say, flour.

When applied to the laws of normal logic, that justification doesn’t work. It’s a good thing the laws of normal logic don’t apply here. Right? Right?

Before making my grandma’s apple cake recipe this week, I had a conference with my 3 favorite aunts about the recipe ingredients.

Aunts are a gift from God. They bring so much perspective to your life.

My question to my aunts was about whether or not the right amount of sugar was listed on the recipe. It seemed like a lot, especially by today’s standards. They assured me the recipe was DELICIOUS as is.

Well, it still seemed like a lot of sugar and I don’t have the perspective or experience that my favorite aunts do. So, I decided to live dangerously and cut the amount of sugar in half.

The cake was done and warm from the oven. I took a little bite – from the bottom – to see how it tasted. It was YUM-my. But, I thought it could use a little something.

When in doubt, add a glaze. Words to live by, my friend.

I used a powdered sugar-based glaze with cinnamon and a spicy ginger ale as the liquid. It added the somethin’-somethin’ that I was looking for. (We like Red Rock Ginger Ale.)

(Look at all the apples in that slice below! Yum!)

The irony is not lost on me that I added back in all of the sugar that I took out by making this glaze. My 3 favorite aunts can go ahead and shake their heads now at this foolish not so youngin’. Whichever way you decide to make this recipe, it will make your tastebuds happy!

Apple Cake

Ingredients:
4 cups diced and peeled fresh apples
2 cups sugar (reduce to 1 cup if using a glaze)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs beaten
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans (or any nut you prefer)
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon (be generous with your measuring here)
1 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix diced and peeled apples with sugar.  (Grandma’s recipe says you don’t have to peel the apples, but I think you’d want to. You also don’t need to dice them too thin.)
3. To the apple mixture add oil, eggs, vanilla and nuts. Combine thoroughly.
4. In a separate bowl mix flour, soda, cinnamon and salt.
5. Add dry ingredient mixture to your apple mixture and combine thoroughly.
6. Grease a 9×13 pan or you can grease & flour a bundt plan.
7. Optional: Lay thin apple slices in the bottom of your bundt pan. (that’s what the above pictures show).
8. Pour mixture into pan and bake 50 – 60 minutes at 350 degrees until cake shrinks from edges. (Mine was done right at 55 minutes.)

Optional Glaze
If you’ve cut the sugar in the recipe down to 1 cup, you may want to add a glaze on top of the cake. Combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 heaping tsp cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of ginger ale. (You could also use apple juice instead.) Mix until powdered sugar is all incorporated into the liquid. You can use a tad more liquid if needed to make the glaze more runny. Pour carefully over the warm cake. Enjoy!

If you’re still hungry after reading this, try these posts! 

Whiskey Cake

Easy Strawberry Freezer Jam

Dave’s Killer Bread Knock Off

Fresh Raspberry Peach Pie

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