It is a holiday tradition in my family to bake goodies to give to friend. For me, it just isn’t Christmas until the house is filled with the smell of cookies and cakes being baked for friends. Of all the holiday treats I give at Christmas, my favorite is this apple cake. My mom makes it for all of her friends, so I think it is her favorite, too. Filled with cinnamon, nutmeg, and apples, it is addictive. I like to use nice crisp apples like Granny Smith or Fuji. They stand up well during the baking so you have nice chunks of apple when you take a bite of cake.
The original apple cake recipe came from Prescriptions for Good Eating, a cookbook published by the Whitfield-Murray County Medical Auxiliary as a fund raiser in 1964. My uncle gave a copy to my mother when she got married to make sure she knew how to cook some of his favorite dishes. It has been one of my mom’s go-to cookbooks ever since. I love this cookbook because it predates computers – all of the recipes are handwritten copies signed by the contributor. Every Christmas when I bake apple cakes for friends I am thankful for Cora Rogers and her delicious apple cake recipe.
Skip to equipment notes and detailed instructions below.
Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ c. all purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. nutmeg
- 1 ½ c. granulated sugar
- ½ c. + 3 Tbsp. shortening (e.g., Crisco) plus extra to grease pan
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 3 medium or 2 large apples
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 325°. Use either 1 cast iron skillet or 2 medium loaf pans. Prepare the pan by lightly greasing with shortening and then dusting lightly with flour. If you are using loaf pans, you can line the pans with parchment paper instead.
- Step 2 Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl and set aside.
- Step 3 Peel apples and dice into small (about 1/3 inch) pieces. You should have 3 – 3 ½ cups of apples.
- Step 4 Cream together sugar and shortening until well blended. Add eggs one at a time then vanilla, blending well after each.
- Step 5 Add flour and mix in on low to medium speed until just starting to get incorporated. (Do not over mix!) Add the apples and mix just until they are incorporated evenly through the dough. (Did I mention – do not over mix!)
- Step 6 Pour into cast iron skillet OR 2 medium cake pans. Bake for about 1 hour – until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and cake starts to pull away from the side of the pan. Let cool for 10 min before removing from the pan to serve.
Equipment Note
Detailed Instructions
Step 1. Preheat oven to 325°. For this recipe, use either a 10″ cast iron skillet or 2 medium loaf pans. Prepare the pan(s) by lightly greasing with shortening and then dusting lightly with flour. If you are using loaf pans, you can line the pans with parchment paper instead.
Step 2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl and set aside.
Step 3. Peel apples and dice into small (about 1/3 inch) pieces. You should have 3 – 3 ½ cups of apples. Do not cut up the apples too far in advance or they will turn brown. To avoid the dreaded brown apples, my mom puts the diced apples in water until she is ready to add them. If you do this, be sure to drain the apples well before adding them to the batter.
Step 4. Cream together sugar and shortening until well blended. Add eggs one at a time then vanilla, blending well after each.
Step 5. Next add flour and mix in on low to medium speed until just starting to get incorporated. (Do not over mix!) Add the apples and mix just until they are incorporated evenly through the dough. (Did I mention – do not over mix!)
Step 6. Pour into cast iron skillet OR 2 medium cake pans. Bake for about 1 hour – until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and cake starts to pull away from the side of the pan. Let cool for 10 min before removing from the pan to serve. See these tips for getting the cake out of the pan.
Step 7. If you are giving cakes as gifts, put in a clear gift bag and tie with a bow OR wrap in aluminum foil and top tie with a bow.
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