When I was a kid, I remember being in awe of my mom’s sisters because they were such good cooks. They could make everything from traditional Filipino food to New York Style Cheesecake, Mille Feuille, and beautiful, delicious, homemade apple cake.
Being a kid in the kitchen was fun. I loved watching my aunts cook together and laugh together. It was the stuff childhood memories are made of.
Oh, and that apple cake my aunt used to make was delicious. The slight tartness from the apples and the fact that the cake was always so moist and not overly sweet made it a very appealing cake to me.
I decided to make my own version of my aunt’s apple cake, because I couldn’t find her original handwritten recipe in my recipe folder. I really wanted to make apple cake because we had a couple of apples that weren’t being consumed. We seem to either never have enough apples and eat them quickly, or have too many left over that I need to either use them in recipes or make homemade applesauce.
- 3 - 4 apples (I use 3 and the apples I use are Honey Crisp, Cortland, and Gala)
- ½ c butter
- 1 c granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1¼ c all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp milk
- Confectioners sugar for light dusting (optional)
- **I used to use a bit of nutmeg with the cinnamon, but have stopped including it due to some of our friends and family having allergies.
- Greast 9" spring form pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Wash apples and then peel and core them. Cut apples in quarters and then make careful slices - making sure not to slice all the way through (similar to how you make Hasselback Potatoes).
- In a mixing bowl, cream butter and add sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time.
- Add lemon juice, vanilla and salt. Beat until mixture is combined well.
- In a sieve, add flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Tapping gently at the sides of the sieve, add flour mixture to wet mixture. Mix and add milk, and mix until combined.
- Pour batter into prepared spring form pan and arrange apples (sliced side up).
- Bake in 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes.
- ** I sometimes put a little bit of liquid honey in a small dish with warm water and then brush it onto the apples once the cake is cooked. It gives the apples a bit of sweetness and it makes a pretty glaze. You can also use apricot jam if you wish instead of honey. Also optional, give the cake a light dusting of confectioners sugar right before you serve the cake!
My aunt’s recipe is much lighter and fluffier than mine is. I am going to ask her for her original recipes again. I also arrange my apples differently than she does. She slices her apples and then arranges them in layers so that there is apple in every bite of cake. I love her simple and rustic cake. For my own, I chose to arrange my apples differently. I made slices (not all the way through) and arranged the quarters alternating different apple varieties. 
I hope you try this apple cake recipe. If you do, let me know what you think!
Impressive cake! It’s great to see the apple sliced up. I am very fond of seeing all those eggs from home raised hens