Author Notes
I found a similar recipe on the internet many years ago when I was looking to use up some apples from apple-picking. I made some minor tweaking including less sugar and more cinnamon. It is so good that I don't make it too often because I have no control. I use whatever apple variety is available; if it is a soft variety I just slice them thicker. I use 6 medium-large apples and after slicing they nearly fill a two-quart mixing bowl. That's a lot of apples . . . —Sadassa_Ulna
Ingredients
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small amount oil, butter or shortening to grease the pan
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small amount sugar for the pan
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6
apples, any variety
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1
rounded tablespoon cinnamon
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1-1/3 cups
white sugar, separated
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1 cup
brown sugar
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3 cups
all purpose unbleached flour
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1 tablespoon
baking powder
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1/2 teaspoon
salt
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4
eggs
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1 cup
vegetable oil
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1 tablespoon
vanilla extract
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1/3 cup
orange juice
Directions
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In a large bowl mix the cinnamon with 1/3 cup sugar. Peel, core and slice the apples right into the cinnamon mixture; I like to slice some very thin and some nearly a 1/2" thick for variety. Toss to coat and allow apples to sit for 20 minutes or up to 2 hours.
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In a second large bowl mix the remaining 1 cup sugar with the brown sugar with a fork until brown sugar is mostly lump free. Add flour, baking powder and salt and blend.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube pan and toss some sugar around in it like you would flour, and empty the excess.
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Add remaining wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Stir by hand until batter is smooth. It will be very thick. Strain the apples over the mixing bowl to collect apple cinnamon juice, and stir batter to incorporate this juice.
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Drop batter by a tablespoon into the prepared pan and smooth around so that the bottom covered. Place apple slices to cover. Repeat this process until all is in the pan. It is a crazy amount of apples to cram in but push the apples down if you have to. If you still have extra apples chop them into smaller pieces and cram them onto the top. Push them down so at least some batter oozes through to the top; the batter is the glue that holds the apples together.
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Bake 1-3/4 hours - yes almost 2 hours. Turn pan 180 degrees every 1/2 hour to promote uniform crunchy crust. Cover with a loose piece of foil for the last 15 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before carefully removing, it will still be pretty hot. Cool completely on a rack.
Growing up I was the world's pickiest eater, that is, until my children were born. Karma. Neither of my parents were much into cooking; it was the height of eating fat-free or anything with oat bran added. I taught myself some basics, mostly baking, following the guidelines of a well-worn copy of Joy of Cooking. I was a ballet dancer and a teacher suggested I lose weight. As I began reading about diet and nutrition I became interested in natural foods, which led to a job at a macrobiotic natural foods market in Center City Philadelphia; this was way before Whole Foods came to the area. I learned a lot about food in general. I ate strictly vegan for a while, although I don't now, but I still like it when a recipe can taste great without butter or bacon! In short, my approach to cooking is idiosyncratic, and I don't know very much about cooking meat or proper technique. I love to bake and I am still working on expanding my palate and my repertoire. The hardest part is getting the whole family to try new things!
So aside from my food status, I am an architect who likes to garden and play music. I'm married with two kids, and I hope to get a dog someday.
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