Oh, it's so nice to be back writing about food. For the past few months, I have been busy with some marketing projects and have neglected this blog, a food blog I have been writing for 5 years. I'm hoping with the time off, I will come back with fresh ideas and a passion to share everything we create.
Back in March, my mother was raving about a cake my cousin had brought to her house that week. She said it was a dense apple cake that was delicious. As the week went on, she commented on "the cake got better and better." She remarked that the flavors were amazing with chunky apples, raisins and walnuts. With Easter a week away, I decided I would make the recipe and have it for Easter breakfast.
A quick story on holiday breakfasts. Jeff and I normally have the three major holidays at our house. When I say major holidays, for us it is Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Being a mixed family with 6 children between us, there are traditions to where everyone will spend the holidays and they aren't always at the same place. Our tradition is "last resort". If you don't have a place to go, or don't want to attend a holiday celebration at another relatives house, you can stay at home and celebrate with us. Every holiday, I bake a special treat which we enjoy at breakfast. Sometimes it's a sour cream coffee cake, other times it might be a quick bread, muffins or scones. The talk of an apple cake, just prior to the holiday, was perfect.
I had my mother get the recipe from my cousin and she had some crazy explanations for how to make this cake. It started with, "Beat the vegetable oil and sugar, in a mixer, for 5 minutes on high". OK, I can see eggs and oil or sugar and eggs...or anything with eggs but I didn't get the sugar and oil being blended for 5 minutes. I followed the instructions, put all the remaining ingredients together and it was a lumpy looking cake. There were lots of apples and it seemed like there wasn't enough batter to cover them. Then again, this cake seemed a little wacky from the beginning. I put the cake in the oven and waited to see if this was going to be a delicious treat or a bust!
As you can tell from the picture, it came out beautifully. It smelled heavenly with a hint of cinnamon in the air.
Family members were starting to mill through the kitchen, looking to taste this breakfast cake. It was extremely moist and flavorful, slightly dense but delicious. It was sweet but perfectly balanced with the apples, raisins and walnuts. And like my mother said, "Save a piece because it gets better every day." Jeff was able to squirrel away a piece that he enjoyed for a number of days. As he finished the last piece he said, "That got better every day, I can't believe it's gone"
My response, "Want me to make another?" and Jeff said, "Yeah, at Thanksgiving."
Extremely Moist Apple Cake Recipe
Ingredients:
- 3 cups of flour
- 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1-1/2 cups of vegetable oil
- 2 cups of sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
- 3 cups of apples, peeled and cut into chunks (1 inch)
- 1 cup of walnuts, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup of raisins
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 9 inch tube cake pan.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda, set aside.
3. In a mixer with a paddle blade, mix together the vegetable oil and sugar, beat on high for 5 minutes.
4. Add the eggs and beat until creamy, about 1 minute.
5. Add the vanilla and mix.
6. Add the dry ingredients and mix until blended.
7. Stir in, by hand, the apples, walnuts and raisins. The batter will be lumpy and you will feel like there isn't enough batter. Do not fear! :)
8. Bake for 55-65 minutes or until the top is golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
9. Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes. Remove from tube pan.
10. Serve warm alone or with ice cream.
11. Save some to eat over a few days. Like my mother says, "It gets better every day."
Feed 10-12 people.