Apple Cake with Raisins

It seems almost every family has an Apple Cake recipe that gets past down through the generations.  My original inspiration for this cake came from one of my favorite food blogs, Smitten Kitchen, whose recipe was also inspired by her grandmother.  When I told my mom and my neighbor I was making an apple cake, both of them told me how the grandmothers in the family made the most delicious Apple Cake.

Apparently Apple Cakes were very popular back in the day!  I must say, after making this recipe which is a mixture of my mom's advice and the Smitten Kitchen's, I can see why.

Unlike apple pie which can overwhelm the apples with too much crust or sugar, this Apple and Raisin Cake lifts up the full flavor of the apples on a cloud of deliciously savory and not too sweet cake.  Add some raisins and the result is a delicious and easy dessert or you can eat it for breakfast as my husband and I did for about 3 days in a row.

Apple Cake with Raisins 

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

6 Apples (I used what I had left in my house, a combination of Macintosh and Gala)

1 Tablespoon of Cinnamon

5 Tablespoons of Sugar

2 3/4 Cups of Flour

1 Tablespoon of Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon of Salt

1 Cup of Vegetable Oil

1 Cup of Sugar (if you like your cake sweet, you can add additional cup, I thought 1 was just right)

1/4 Cup of Orange Juice

2 1/2 Teaspoons of Vanilla

4 Eggs

1 Cup of Raisins

1 Cup of Walnuts (optional, but would be delicious!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a Bundt pan and set aside.  Peel, core, and chop the apples into roughly 1 inch chunks.  Toss in medium sized bowl with cinnamon and sugar.  In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt.  In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar, and vanilla.  Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients and add eggs one at a time.  (Note, batter will be thick) Stir until well combined.

Pour half the batter into bottom of the Bundt pan.  Add half the apple mixture on top and sprinkle the raisins and walnuts on the apples evenly.  Add the rest of the batter and then the rest of the apples.  Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes.  Enjoy!