Apple Cake

Apples and I have a love hate relationship. I love them, but they do not love me back. I can't get enough of that fresh flavor of a Honeycrisp or Gala, but the acidy tartness sends shivers through my teeth, so it's hard for me to eat them raw. It's a truly heartbreaking scenario, I know. The real problem is that they always look so good in the store, all snuggled in their apple crates, just begging me to buy them. And, like a fool, I buy them every time. This weekend I found myself with 3 bags of apples just hanging around! There were apple treats galore in the foodie household: baked apples, Roasted Acorn Squash and Apples, and Layered Apple Cake. 

To make the cake I just used a standard yellow cake recipe, like this one from Smitten Kitchen. It would also be really delightful with a spice cake, then you could probably nix the spices on the apples. Maybe cover them in caramel sauce instead. Or throw on some rum-soaked raisins? Yes, please. 

What was I saying? 

Oh, right. Start with a yellow cake batter. Once you have that prepared, cover and refrigerate it while you ready the other ingredients. 

Take about 5 or 6 apples, any kind you want or have lying around. Peel 'em and slice 'em into nice, thin wedges (about 1/4-1/8 inch). If you have a mandolin slicer, now is the time to get that out. I don't, so I sliced them by hand like a pilgrim. Set those aside too. They'll probably turn a little brown while you are not looking. Don't worry about it. A little enzymatic browning never hurt anyone. 

Mix together cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and brown sugar. What the heck, melt some butter and throw that in there too. I mean, you already put a cup in the cake, no need to skimp now. 

Now grease a 9"x13" cake pan. Pour in half of your yellow cake batter. Layer on half of your apple slices, about 2 slices thick. Drizzle half of your melted butter/spice/delicious mixture over the top. 

Top that with the other half of the batter, then your apples, then the rest of your butter mixture. 

Bake it for about an hour, until a toothpick comes out clean. 

You could drizzle on some caramel sauce or dust it with powdered sugar or both, if you have those kinds of things lying around. 

Stand in awe of your culinary prowess. You just made a layer cake.

You are awesome. 

(Side note: You can see in this picture that I didn't put enough apples in the layers, so I have modified this recipe from the version I did to save you from a similar fate. You are so welcome.)

Apple Cake

Ingredients:

Prepared yellow cake batter for one 9"x13" cake

5-6 apples, any variety

2 tablespoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons nutmeg

1 teaspoon allspice

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

Suggested Toppings: 

Caramel Sauce

Powdered Sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Clean, peel, and slice apples into thin wedges, about 1/4-1/8" thick. 

3. Combine cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and brown sugar. 

4. Melt butter and add it to spice/sugar blend. Mix well. 

5. Pour half of the cake batter in a greased 9"x13" pan. Layer half of the apple slices about 2 slices thick, to cover the entire surface of the cake batter. Drizzle half of the butter mixture evenly over the apples. 

6. Pour on remaining half  of cake batter, top with another layer of apples and a drizzle of butter mixture. 

7. Bake 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Top as desired.