Old-Fashioned Apple Cake

Ingredients

• 2 cups granulated sugar (400g)
• 1 cup vegetable or canola oil (225g)
• 3 large eggs, room temperature (168g)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (250g)
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon (8g)
• 1 tsp baking soda (6g)
• 1/2 tsp fine salt (2g)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (125g)
• 4-5 granny smith or honeycrisp apples, peeled and cut into 1 cm cubes (585g)
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature (113g)
• 1/2 cup salted butter, room temperature (113g)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (4g)
• 2 cups powdered sugar (250g)

Instructions

1. 1

   --- Apple Cake: ---

2. 2

   Preheat oven to 350 F/175 C, and line and grease 3, 6-inch or 2 8-inch cake pans.

3. 3

   Add 2 cups of granulated sugar and 1 cup vegetable oil into a large bowl. Whisk together until incorporated.

4. 4

   Next, mix in 3 eggs until combined.

5. 5

   In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt.

6. 6

   Add half of the dry ingredients and 1 cup of chopped walnuts into the wet ingredients. Mix together with a rubber spatula.

7. 7

   Mix in the remaining half of the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

8. 8

   Fold in the cubed apples into the batter with a rubber spatula.

9. 9

   Pour into the prepared cake pans and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.

10. 10

    Place the pans on a wire rack to cool fully.

11. 11

    --- Cream Cheese Frosting: ---

12. 12

    Beat together 1/2 cup of room temperature cream cheese and 1/2 cup of butter with a hand mixer or whisk attachment of a stand mixer.

13. 13

    Add in 1 tsp vanilla extract and mix on a low speed.

14. 14

    Mix in 2 cups powdered sugar on a low speed until combined. Cover and set aside.

15. 15

    --- Assembling This Old-Fashioned Apple Cake: ---

16. 16

    Once the cake layers are fully cooled, assemble this old-fashioned apple cake by frosting and stacking the cake layers with the cream cheese frosting.

17. 17

    Cover the outside of the cake with the remaining cream cheese frosting.

18. 18

    If desired, use a spoon to make some swooshes around the cake.