Rustic, moist cake loaded with juicy apple chunks and crunchy walnuts. A truly Southern dessert.
My grandma never learned how to read or write. Most people don’t believe me when I say this but it is true. My grandma was born into a very poor family in the deep South. Her parents pulled her out of school in the second grade to take care of her younger siblings and she was never able to return. I remember as a young girl trying to teach her how to read “Hop on Pop” by Dr. Seuss, if that gives you an idea of her reading level. As far as writing goes she had the ability to write her name and the labels for her jams, but that was about it.
So unfortunately I do not have many of her recipes. The ones I do have I’ve gathered from people she taught to make her dishes. There are a few recipes that she had people write down for her. This raw apple cake is one of those that got recorded.
This is a very old recipe, one she made long before I was born. I actually don’t remember this cake but it holds a very dear place in my dad’s heart. My dad has been asking me to make it for him ever since we found the recipe amongst her things.
When it came time to do this week’s blog post I was brainstorming the most seasonly appropriate recipe. I was tempted to do something pumpkin but decided it was a little bit too early yet. Then I remembered everyone is heading back to school right now. This time of year always reminds me of kids giving their teachers apples. (Even though I’m not sure they do that anymore; now they probably give their teachers Apple watches.)
As I was thinking about apple recipes I remembered I had my grandma’s in my recipe box. I immediately went and got it. I realized I had all the ingredients on hand so I crossed my fingers and started right away.
The directions are a bit vague, which made me slightly nervous. However, I followed them and low and behold the cake came out wonderfully!
I decided to add some thinly sliced apples on top for decoration. As you can see in the instructions below I reduced the apples inside the cake from 3 cups to 2 cups since I was adding additional apples on top. I decided not to peel the apples on the top as I like the dimension given by the peels. My grandma’s original recipe only has diced apple inside. She would have thought adding the extra frills made it too pretty for eating.
With Fall officially beginning in just a few short days I thought this was the perfect recipe to share with y’all. I love how this cake fills your house with the most heavenly aroma! It is the perfect thing for baking on a crisp Fall day. I recommend serving it warm with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice-cream. If you add some caramel sauce it’s like a caramel apple. So good! Or you can be like my dad and eat it for breakfast. This rustic cake is near and dear to my heart and I hope if brings some warmth to your home this Fall.
Recipe:
2 eggs
2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups oil
3 cups (375 g) flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups peeled diced apples (*2 cups if you are putting apple slices on top)
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Optional: 2 medium apples thinly sliced (not peeled) for topping
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the sugar and oil, mixing until well incorporated. Mix in vanilla.
3. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix well.
4. Fold in the apples and walnuts.
5. Spread into well-greased pan. Top with thin apple slices if desired.
6. Bake for and hour (or longer depending on the size of the pan).
