Birthdays

Lori's Birthday Cake - This was a special request for "something apple". So, that left me with plenty of discretion, except that pie of course isn't for birthdays, and the size had to be big enough to feed at least 16 people, because unlike the rest of us greedy and cake-hungry souls who don't want to share, Lori always invites everyone on the entire floor!

This was my first run with this particular square cake pan - for some reason I am loving everything square these days - picture frames, rugs, and now cakes. This pan is fabulous - it's Wilton, either 10"x10" or 11"x11" square - really a perfect size for brownies or cakes. The apple cake is a carrot-cake-like concoction - lots of oil and eggs and sugar, a dash of cinnamon and some diced Pink Lady apples - nuts optional. It's very dense and moist. I made two full cakes and used them as layers - sandwiched and frosted with nearly 2 pounds (!) of cream cheese frosting! So the entire structure was somewhere in the neighborhood of 11 pounds! omg. OK, maybe 9 pounds. But still. And we did get close to 20 servings. Anyway, it was quite the cake.

Apple cake

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups apples, peeled and chopped

(optional - 1 cup walnuts or pecans)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, sugars, cinnamon, salt and baking soda) until thoroughly combined.
Whisk together the wet ingredients (eggs, oil and vanilla) and stir into the dry ingredients. Stir to just combine. Fold in the apples and nuts if using.
Spread the batter into a greased and floured pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Make sure the cream cheese and butter are at room temperature!

Mix 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, 1 stick unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla and confectioner's sugar to taste with an electric mixer. Beat until really light and fluffy. Spread over top (and sides if you want) of cooled cake.