Holding my breath for an apple cake.

I love a good apple pie. Serve it up warm with some ice cream, and I'm in heaven. I love to see pictures of apple pies with their beautiful lattice designs and I always look at them and think, "Yeah, I could never do that." I was craving something apple-y, and something that I knew would make a little bit of a mess. Don't you feel like oftentimes, the bigger the mess, the better something tastes?

Anyway, I decided to try my hand at a nice and easy apple cake instead of a pie. There was something  slightly therapeutic about peeling and cutting the apples, and mixing things together on a cool fall day. As I was getting ready to put the cake in the oven, I did that thing where I held my breath as I slid it onto the cooking rack. And then I said a silent prayer saying, "Please, please, please turn out okay. Don't let it poison anyone. Please don't explode or burn or set the house on fire. And if it does set the house on fire, please let it not get to the fence because C just finished painting it, and I'm sure our HOA would not be happy about it."

Anyone else ever do that? Talk to your food before you're ready to cook it, and try to convince it not to turn into a disaster? That's totally a normal thing to do. Anyway. Here is the recipe I tried. I would suggest following the link because she gives a couple of great suggestions and additions...like if you're into raisins or nuts, for example. But, I'm a firm believer that nuts and raisins have no business being in desserts, so I left those out. 

Apple Cake (recipe found from Pretty. Simple. Sweet) 

Ingredients

1⅓ cups (180g/6.3oz) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon combination of your favorite spices (ground nutmeg, cloves, ginger)

½ cup (113g/4oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup (100g/3.5oz) granulated sugar

½ cup (100g/3.5oz) brown sugar

2 large eggs

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup (120ml) buttermilk

250g (about 2 cups/2 medium) apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch cubes (cut first, then measure)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Grease and flour an 8″ or 9″ round springform pan (8″ pan will yield a taller cake).

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and spices. Set aside.

In a mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until combined. Scrape down sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Beat in vanilla extract. On low speed, beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating it with buttermilk in 2 additions, starting and ending with the flour. Do not over mix. Fold in apples.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Serve cake warm or at room temperature.

Store cake at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days or refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Cake can be frozen for up to 2 months.

And in case you were wondering, yes, this tastes very good for breakfast, too :)