I went out into the yard today and discovered a branch had fallen off one of the apple trees. My husband threw it in the yard waste site. I nicely reminded him that there was no reason to throw away perfectly good apples.
Jump to RecipeHe took it back out of the pile while I grabbed a bag.
The bag was nearly full when I realized the pears that were still hard on Sunday were rotting on the tree.
Two big problems:
1. We’d had the trees trimmed during the winter and most of the pears were beyond our reach from the ground. The ladder was still in the house from the last project we had done.
2. It was getting dark and we had a house full of teenage boys that wanted birthday cake.
We picked everything we could reach. Our homemade cherry pickers helped us reach more from the ground.
A counter full of apples and pears means that it’s time to start baking and canning. Great-grandma left me with lots of options from which to choose. Apple crisp is out until I have a good oat substitute. Apple pie requires making pie crust. We’ve discussed how much I dislike doing that. Breads and muffins require applesauce.
This leaves my options limited. I have those amazing Apple Walnut cookies. Those are on the list. They freeze beautifully. Apple coffeecakes have been a popular option around this house. You might remember this one from 2 years ago. That one was so popular my kids ate an entire cake before I got home.
But after a stressful week at work with my head down focusing on solving all the problems in the world, what I really want is a warm and spicy apple cake with chunks of apples. Something a little nutty. I pulled out this old favorite apple cake recipe. Apple cake is something that my children will always eat. Instead of eggs and bacon, I like to serve apple cake for breakfast.
The Recipe:
Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups Apples Chopped
- 1/2 cup Shortening
- 1 cup Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 1/2 cup Flour
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 cup Liquid (7-Up)
Topping
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 cup Chopped Nuts (Pecans)
Instructions
- Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix until combined. Mix together dry ingredients. Add alternately with the liquid. Add apples and stir. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x13x2 pan. Add topping. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
Topping
- Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts. Pour on top of cake batter.
Notes
Love this cake. I are it many times at Grandma’s and have made quite a few of my own. Do you peel your apples?
Honestly, it depends on how lazy I’m feeling. When I use the apples from our yard, I don’t because we don’t spray them or anything. But that also means that they get peeled from removing bad spots.
Sounds yummy! Especially with the special liquid. 🙂