Much of my family is from Iowa. It is a state with very nice highways (well maintained, no potholes like Michigan and Illinois although they do sometimes come with the stench of surrounding pig farms), miles of cornfields, a State Fair that teaches a city girl a thing or two, and comfort food. If I were to decide what phrase to print on all Iowa license plates it would be “Home of Comfort Foods.”
Every time we make the five-hour drive from Chicago to visit my grandmother and my sister, we start to anticipate all of the delicious, sinful food we will eat. Our visits to Iowa are a time and place when any knowledge I have of fat grams or partiality for all fresh ingredients gets tossed out the window in exchange for good, home, Iowa cooking.
My sister is an amazing cook. She is older than I am and was out of the house before I was born. So, it has been as an adult that I have started learning from her in the kitchen. Every time I leave her house, I have a newly scribbled recipe in my purse. Certainly, this is not the last time I will reference her or one of her recipes on this blog.
One of my favorites, which is one of the easiest recipes ever and ALWAYS pleases the crowd is her Apple Crunch Cake. I now make it almost every time we have houseguests in the fall or winter just to have it around to nibble on in the afternoon. Actually, I have often noticed quite a bit of it disappearing around breakfast time. It could almost serve as a coffee cake.
Humans aren’t the only ones in our house that salivate over this cake. Our dog found his way to the window ledge to watch the photoshoot.
I have been asked for this recipe dozens of times and have never passed it along to anyone. But, since I am going to start blogging, the recipe sharing must begin! So, here, it is…. my sister’s Apple Crunch Cake. Enjoy!
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Apple Crunch Cake
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 50
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 15 servings 1x
Description
An easy, fall cake packed with fresh apples.
Ingredients
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups chopped, fresh apples (Granny Smith is my favorite for this recipe)
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
- Sift together flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.
- Beat eggs lightly. Add oil, sugar and vanilla and continue to mix.
- Add dry ingredients and incorporate.
- Stir in chopped apples and nuts, if you are using them. Batter will be very stiff.
- Pour batter into prepared dish and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until center is set and inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or cold.
- Cover with plastic wrap to store. Stays good for at least 3 days on the counter.
Notes
This cake is sweet enough but tastes extra delicious with a drizzle of caramel sauce!
Granny Smith is my favorite apple variety to bake in this cake.