Old-fashioned apple cake

I love this cake! Since I first made it a couple of weeks ago, I've baked it at least half a dozen times for different occasions. Let's put it this way- I find reasons to make it! :)) It is so moist, yet so simple, pure old-fashioned goodness! And perfect for the fall with all these wonderful, sweet, juicy apples that are in season right now! I know the recipe by heart now, since it is so easy to remember- I call it my 1-2-3-4 cake (because it has 1 cup oil, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups flour, 4 eggs plus a few other ingredients) :)))

Old-fashioned apple cake

Preheat oven to 350F.

Indredients:

5-6 medium apples (4 if large) cored and sliced thinly in small pieces (but not peeled)
5 tbsps granulated sugar
1-2 tsps cinnamon

Mix the apples, sugar and cinnamon together in a large mixing bowl and set aside. Drain any juices that the mixture may produce.

In a large bowl, blend together:

1 cup oil
2 cups granulated sugar
3 cups all-purple flour
1/4 cup orange juice
3 tsps baking powder

To this batter, add:
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Blend all ingredients.  Batter will appear thick and heavy, not runny like traditional cake batters, but do not worry- this cake is one of the moistest cakes you will ever taste!

In a well greased angel food pan or bundt pan, pour 1/3 of the batter, add half of the apples, pour another 1/3 of batter over apples, add remaining apples and cover with remaining batter. Bake at 350F for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Note: If using a dark or non-stick pan, start checking for doneness at 1 hour.

After it cools, and you turn it over in an air-tight container, you could dust it with some powdered sugar too, if you want. This part is optional, of course.

Variations:

The first time I made this cake, I followed the directions- and list of ingredients- to the letter. However, since then, I have made it using a combination of apples and pears (delicious!), added chopped walnuts and slivered almonds, threw in raisins and cranberries- you can come up with so many delicious variations! I have also made it without the cinnamon because my mother has an aversion to it and I thought it would be nice to bake a cake that she could have with her coffee too. :)
She really appreciated it! It is truly perfect with a cup of coffee or tea!

Here is a picture of one of my variations: it has apples and pears, cranberries, walnuts and no cinnamon. My family- and everyone else who has tasted it- loves it!

Special thanks to my husband's co-worker, Don Cottrell, for this fabulous recipe!