Tags
apple and applesauce cake, apple cake, apple desserts, Apples, cake, desserts, double apple cake
I first started baking this apple cake when I was pregnant with my first daughter. It didn’t start out as a double apple cake. It was simply an apple cake, with apples, cinnamon and sugar mixed into the batter, and of course oil. I think by now some of you know how I feel about adding oil to my cake batter. If I can replace it with applesauce, I do. That’s where the double comes in. Applesauce and apples. Yummy! And rather than mix the apples into the batter, I layered them onto the batter in 2 layers and sprinkled cinnamon-sugar over them. Double yummy!
I can actually remember the very first time I made this cake. My dad loved sweets. Loved them! His on-set diabetes at the age of 60 did nothing to deter him from his beloved sugar addiction. He was in the hospital and I had gone to visit him with this freshly baked apple cake. A snack we would share together. It was lunchtime when I arrived and as he was having his lunch, he offered to share it with me. I replied that he was the one who needed to eat, not me. And being the sweet man that he was, he said, “Oh no. It’s not for you. It’s for the baby. The baby needs to eat more than you or I.” I shall always remember those words. He was already enamoured with this baby in my tummy! When the time came for the apple cake, one bite and he was smitten! And he was sure the baby was equally smitten. He believed the baby was enjoying it and would grow up loving this cake. Although my dad never got to meet my daughter, he was right. Charlotte just loves this cake. Emma does too, but it’s a comfort thing for Charlotte. And it’s comforting for me to know that Charlotte and my dad did in fact enjoy this double yummy apple cake together!
Ingredients
3/4 cups of sugar
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
2 or 3 large apples
2 eggs
1/4 cup of honey
2/3 cups of applesauce (I made my own with 2 or 3 apples in a food processor, adding about 1 tablespoon of water to turn it into a smooth consistency)
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
Preheat the oven the to 350 F. Lightly oil an 8-inch square pan, line with parchment paper or tin foil, and oil the paper. Lightly flour the paper.
Make cinnamon-sugar by combining the 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Set aside.
In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and baking soda, and set aside. Peel, halve and core the apples. Slice them into 1/4 inch thick slices and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand-held mixer, beat the eggs with the 3/4 cups of sugar. Add honey, applesauce, lemon zest and beat well. With the mixer running on low speed, add the flour mixture and diluted lemon juice and mix until just combined.
Pour 1/3 of the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Arrange half the apple slices on top of the batter and sprinkle with 1/3 of the cinnamon-sugar. Spoon another 1/3 of the batter over the apples and spread evenly. Sprinkle with more cinnamon-sugar. Top the apples with the remaining batter, spreading evenly, and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon-sugar.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 30 minutes. Good luck with this part. As soon as the cake pan hit the counter, both girls were in the kitchen demanding a slice. I told them to go away. Then hubby came into the kitchen and helped himself to a slice. The girls were back in a flash and before I knew it, all three were biting into piping hot slices of this double yummy apple cake. If you can make it past the 30 minute cooling time, remove the cake from the pan and allow to cool completely on the rack. Now, you can dig in.