Sweet Sweet Apple Cake

Sometime Sunday morning I decided it would be a good idea to bake a cake and bring it to Rosh Hashana dinner in OC with my family and close friends.

So ya, a cake, you're thinking it's no big deal right? Wellll, I had never, ever baked a cake from scratch in my life which made this a pretty big deal.

On Rosh Hashana it's customary to eat lots of sweet foods, specifically apples and honey to welcome in a sweet new year. I found this recipe on my favorite food blog, Smitten Kitchen and decided to give it a try.

Sure, there were some issues that ensued along the way.

Like the time I mistook 2.5 teaspoons for 2.5 tablespoons and basically dumped the entire bottle of vanilla into the mixing bowl, oh and the time I accidentally poured the entire open bottle of cinnamon onto the apples. Lets not forget about the time I forget to grease the pan before pouring in the batter and had to pour all the batter back into the bowl, clean the pan, and grease it.. and and anddd.. 

Needless to say I was sweating by the time I called Nadav into the kitchen to help me get the cake out of the pan. 

But in the end, the cake was a majorly sweet success.   

Photo from Smitten Kitchen

If you're on the lookout for a yummy fall recipe give this cake a try =)

Mom’s Apple Cake
6 apples, Smitten Kitchen recommends using McIntosh apples
1 tablespoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar
2 3/4 cups flour, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube pan. Peel, core and chop apples into chunks. Toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.
 Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones, then add eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.
Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean.

Hope you have a great day :)