One of the very few things I miss about living in New England is the apple harvest. We used to go every year and pick bushels of them, then make apple pie, apple cake, apple jelly, apple turnovers, apple sauce, apple just-about-everything. It just isn’t the same here in Tucson!

Listening to Char talk about her apple bounty inspires me. Here’s my favorite apple cake recipe, courtesy of “Mrs. B” from Newton. Mrs. B was a wonderful influence in my growing up, and was the person who first told me to always wear clean underwear because a girl never knows what might happen. I’m pretty sure she was referencing hospital or ambulance workers, but it has turned out to be good advice in general.

Mrs. B’s Apple Cake:

1 and 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups diced apples (small dice – like a quarter-inch)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla

Topping: 1/2 to 1 cup sugar mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon

1. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix first three ingredients, then add the next 5. Trust me, it just works better in that order!
3. Pour into greased 9″ square pan – you can use Pam if you want, or other sizes of pan, just be careful with the cooking time.
4. Mix together sugar and cinnamon for topping, then sprinkle over the raw batter in the pan.
5. Bake for 45 minutes.

YUM!