Cinnamon-Apple Cake

You may have noticed this picture of a slice of apple cake in my favorites. Served slightly warm with vanilla ice cream it truly is a slice of heaven. The recipe for this scrumptious Cinnamon-Apple Cake  is courtesy of Cooking Light magazine. It was first published in January of 2000 and has since become a perennial in our house. Depending on the time of the year I modify the recipe to include seasonal fruits. Apples and pears work well during the winter months, but peaches, nectarines or plums make an equally delicious cake. A quarter cup of raisins or cranberries adds nice flavor to the apple and pear variations. You can also experiment with different spices, such as nutmeg, cardamom or cloves. The original recipe calls for one and  three quarter cups of granulated sugar, but I usually substitute about half of it with brown sugar. The ingredients of this simple recipe make for a wonderfully moist and tender cake that keeps very well.

Ingredients:                                                                                                                                       

1  3/4 cups sugar, divided                                    

6 ounces fat free cream cheese, softened                                     

1/2 cup of butter, softened

1  teaspoon vanilla extract

2  large eggs

1  1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2  teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 cups chopped peeled apples

Cooking spray

 Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat an 8-inch springform pan with cooking spray.

Beat 1 1/2 cups sugar, cream cheese, butter, and vanilla at medium speed for about 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture, and beat at low speed until blended. Combine 1/4 cup sugar with cinnamon. In a bowl mix 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon sugar with chopped apples; stir coated apple mixture into batter.  Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Cool cake on a wire rack and cut using a serrated knife.

Dust lightly with powdered sugar and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.