# Looking for specific Apple Cake recipe



## lensam69 (Sep 22, 2012)

Hello everyone.

I've been trying to locate a recipe for an apple cake that my grandmother used to make (Yeah, I know, the fabled grandma recipe. Very cliched...)

Here's the thing, pretty much all apple cakes recipes I've found are white or cream colored. This particular apple cake was decidedly brown in color (Like dark brown sugar).

I'm sure that the exact recipe is not around, but at least I'm trying to find a starting point, so I can experiment a bit to see if I can get it right.

This is what I know / remember

Look and feel:

It was a *very* dense cake, with a crumbly texture similar to a muffin. It was moist, and as I mentioned a rich brown color. She used to make it in a loaf pan.

Known ingredients:

Apples: (I remember she shredded the apples to make it)

Flour

Walnuts

Raisins

Vegetable oil  (I remember my mother complaining that she used way too much, but then again that's probably why it was so moist)

Brown sugar

Some extra info, she was Jewish originally from Poland/Warsaw with Yiddish influences, if this helps narrow down the possible sources for this recipe.

I'd be very grateful for any leads on pointers on a cake like this!


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

CINNOMIN was most likely used and maybe Nutmeg and Allspice. Combined with brown sugar or even white , this would account for the color of grandmas cake.  It's texture and from where she was from seems to lean towards a Bakva type dense, crumbly cake. Good luck in your search.


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## lensam69 (Sep 22, 2012)

Thanks ChefDB.

I spent all Saturday playing with a few different recipes, and in the end I found that the closets match was a recipe for carrot cake (Substituting carrots with apples, of course). It used all the spices you mentioned, and indeed the color was brownish. 

I sweetened it up with brown sugar and honey.  It wasn't as brown as I remember it, but then again, that could be a distorted childhood memory.  The flavor however was really good.  I might need to do some minor tweaking to the recipe, but all in all I was pretty happy with the result.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

Did you use brown sugar or dark brown sugar? Grandma might have added a touch of molasiss to it this would also much darken color.. Glad it came out good  EDB


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## donna abbott (Dec 15, 2012)

My Grand mother was from Boheima (a part of Poland) this was her mothers Apple cake receipe. She would be 115 years old so this is a old receipe.

350 degree oven for approx 80 minutes

Mix together:

4 cups cubed apples

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups oil (veg or blended)

2 tbs Cinnamon

Sift together

3 cups flour\1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp vanilla

mix dry and wet ingredients together

then  optional

1 cup walnuts

1 cup golden raisins

Bake in a tube pan that is well greased and floured

This cake will have a crunchy top and super moist inside

Enjoy


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## lensam69 (Sep 22, 2012)

That last recipe actually nailed it (Down to the "too much oil" part /img/vbsmilies/smilies/lol.gif)
Only used one cup of oil, brown instead of white sugar, and baking powder instead of baking soda (Figured there's no acid to react with the baking soda)

Thanks for sharing!


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

Actually there is acid, in the apples, and i believe in the molasses of the brown sugar.

I have a recipe that meets your description, but from a very american source from the 50s.  Are you sure it was a traditional Polish recipe?  If your grandmother ever cooked from american cookbooks or passed recipes with american friends,  it might not have been a traditional recipe from poland    If you want it, it's a wonderful recipe for applesauce cake, comes out brown and moist and wonderful.  Let me know and i;ll post it.


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## chrisbelgium (Oct 2, 2010)

I'm so surprised to read there's another person seeking a recipe like this. I looked e-ve-ry-where and tried out so many other applecake recipes, but this one is from Mary Berry, thé queen of baking from the UK. So, all credits to Mary Berry. I made only a few changes; I used pecan nuts instead of walnuts and I chopped the apples in small cubes. Since I don't remember which source I copied this recipe from, I'm adding it exactly as I copied it. The picture is mine, maybe it will stimulate your memory? Anyway, enjoy!





  








AppelCakeMaryBerry2.jpg




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chrisbelgium


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Apr 26, 2013








*Apple Cinnamon cake Mary Berry*

_225 g soft butter 225 g light muscovado or light brown sugar 3 medium eggs 100 g walnut pieces, chopped 100 g sultanas 225 g self-raising flour 2 tsp baking powder 400 g cooking apples, peeled, cored and grated 1 tsp ground cinnamon light muscovado sugar for sprinkling extra chopped walnuts for sprinkling (optional) icing sugar for dusting (optional)_

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly grease and base line a 9 inch (23 cm) deep round cake tin with greased greaseproof paper. Measure the margarine, sugar, eggs, chopped walnuts, sultanas, flour and baking powder into a large bowl and beat well for about 2 minutes until thoroughly blended. Spoon half the mixture into the prepared tin then spread the grated apple and ground cinnamon in an even layer on top. (I fancied a nice layer of apple so I thinly sliced the apple instead of grating it, but its down to personal preference) Spread the remaining cake mixture on top, level the surface then sprinkle generously with light muscovado sugar and walnuts. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours or until the cake is well risen and golden brown (mine was cooked after 1 hour). Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out and leaving to cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar to serve.


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## ishbel (Jan 5, 2007)

I adore Mary Berry. I am still making a carrot cake she made on TV over30 years ago!


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

Nobody asked, but when has that ever stopped me?

An old fashioned applesauce cake from the old betty crocker (yes, again) cookbook. Guaranteed not to fail. NIce dark brown, without using any brown sugar.

*APPLESAUCE CAKE*

*make 1 1/2 cups applesauce:*

cut up

6 to 8 tart apples, add

1/4 cup water, cover and cook to a mush and sieve. (I don't sieve, i just squash with the fork, and you can peel or not, as long as the pieces are not too big (if you don;t peel and don't sieve, just make sure the peel is no bigger than 1/2 inch - slice the apple vertically parallel to the core, then lay those pieces flat side down on your cutting board and chop across roughly, zap zap zap in one direction and zap in the other - a technique i learned from the galloping gourmet, whatever his name was)

*Meanwhile, as they cook, grease and flour a 13 X 9 rectangular pan*

*preheat oven to 350 degrees*

*Cream together:*

1/2 cups soft butter

2 cups white sugar (it comes out very dark, even with white sugar)

*add and beat in:*

1 large egg

*stir in *

1 1/2 cups of the above applesauce

*Mix together:*

2-1/2 cups all purpose flour

1-1/2 tsp soda

1-1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp allspice

*add the dry mixture above alternately with *

1/2 cup water

*beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, stirring only enough to combine each time*

*stir in :*

1/2 cups cut up walnuts (optional)

1 cup raisins (they call for seeded, cut up, but i always use regular)

*bake for about 45 to 50 minutes till the top tests done (you can touch it lightly and it feels springy, a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a couple of crumbs attached. *


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## lensam69 (Sep 22, 2012)

Thanks to everyone for the great recipes.
At this point I no longer know what my grandma's apple cake should taste like, But I do know that over the past few months since I originally posted this, I've incorporated bits and pieces from your recipes, and I now have my very own cake recipe.

Hopefully it's good enough that my grandkids will never forget it, liek I didn't


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## cookie45133 (Jun 12, 2013)

Donna,

This looks like the recipe we use at work for our apple cake it is so Good! Some of the best recipes are the old ones. I have a cook book that is well worn and used with love from 1925 called 'the home makers cooking school cook book, My mother used it alot.


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## kaylinda (Jul 30, 2004)

Wondering if the cake you were looking for is a German Apple Cake?

GERMAN APPLE CAKE

13X9X2 OR TWO LAYER

MIX TOGETHER:

2 CUPS FLOUR

2 CUPS SUGAR

2 TEASPOONS CINNAMON

1 TEASPOON SODA

1/2 TEASPOON SALT

ADD:

3 EGGS

1 CUP OIL

4 CUPS DICED APPLES

1 CUP CHOPPED PECANS

1 TEASPOON VANILLA

MIXTURE WILL BE THICK

BAKE AT 350 FOR 45-60 MINUTES


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## cookie45133 (Jun 12, 2013)

Hi there,

i have a 'German Apple Cake Recipe that we have used at work for over 20 years, very moist and is a brown in color.

This recipe is for 48 portions.

6 eggs

2C Salad Oil _{Beat till foamy}

Then in separate bowl mix together

4C Sugar

2t vanilla

4 c flour

4t cinnamon

2t salt

2t soda Mix all these ingredients together and add to egg mixture, blend well.

Add

8C of apples, pelled and chopped

2 C Nuts, chopped

Add these to mixture and fold in well

Place mixture in greased 12x18 pan bake 50 to 60 mins at 350 degrees. test for dneness, let cool, Ice with cream cheese frosting and refrigerate

You can also portion the batter and bake in Bundt pans


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