My Favorite Fresh Apple Cake

Today starts the unofficial day of apple harvest. I read that someplace. I've been getting apples for a month. This is the cake that I keep in the freezer during the fall and winter months. It's also the cake I make for our annual Lord's Auction at church each year, which is October 1st.

It's important to make this cake a couple of days ahead of serving. During the holidays I also give it a generous soaking of bourbon after the sauce has soaked in.

Fresh Apple Cake
About 16 servings
print recipe

Butter for greasing pan
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1/4 cup orange juice
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups peeled and small chopped apples
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Sauce:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Generously grease a tube pan.

For the cake: Inn a large bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, oil, orange juice, flour baking soda, salt, cinnamon and vanilla extract, and mix well. Fold apples, coconut, and walnuts/pecans into batter

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours.

Shortly before the cake is done, make the sauce; Melt the butter in a large saucepan, stir in the sugar, buttermilk, and baking soda, and bring to a good rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Pour the sauce over the hot cake in the pan as soon as you remove it from the oven. Let stand 1 hour, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.