The Leen

My friend Emily went to an apple farm a couple of weeks ago and brought me back a whole bunch of apples that I need to use up, so today I decided to make one of my favorite fall/winter treats: Apple Pound Cake.

This is my mom’s recipe, and I have no idea where she got it. She’s always made it at Christmas, and up until we moved to Maine and I made it for myself, I never liked it because my mom always puts nuts in hers. (I hate nuts in baked goods.) But after we moved, it was cold, I was lonely, and I wanted to bake it, so she emailed me the recipe and it’s been a staple for us during the winter ever since.

It is by no means healthy (the amount of sugar and oil make me cringe every time, although I have replaced some of the oil with applesauce with no noticeable change in taste) but it’s really, really good, especially when it’s still a little warm from the oven.

Enjoy, and let me know if you make it!

~~~~~~~~~

Apple Pound Cake

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups peeled, cored, chopped apple
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
• 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325. Combine dry ingredients. Beat oil, sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Add eggs. Add dry ingredients to sugar mixture in three parts, beating well after each addition. Stir in apple, and, if using, nuts and raisins.

Spoon into a well-greased and floured 10-inch tube pan. Bake for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes or until done; test for doneness by inserting a clean knife into the center area. If it comes out clean, the cake is done.

Cool in pan, remove to cake plate.

*My notes: It’s really easy to overcook this cake, and part of the beauty of this cake is in the way the top crust gets when it’s perfectly done, so you don’t want to burn it. I usually set the timer for 50 minutes and then check it every 5 minutes from that point; that way I won’t let it go too long and risk overcooking it. And, for what it’s worth, I always put raisins in mine instead of the nuts, although my mom considers adding raisins and omitting nuts to be a sacrilege.