Apple Cinnamon Cake

In fall during apple season my family and I go on our annual visit to the apple orchard.  We have visited many throughout the years but by far our favourite is Karl Laidlaw Farms.  This is a family fun orchard where you can pick apples, jump in hay bales, play in a corn pit, roast a hot dog over an open flame and make your own apple  pie on site.  It never fails that we pick way too many apples and I am always  looking for recipes for the many, many, many apples the come home with us.  This year my favourite apple dessert was an apple cinnamon cake with chunks of apples and a layer of a rich brown sugar and cinnamon baked in the middle.  The smell of this baking is a perfect fall aroma as it wafts through the house.  The best way to eat this is warm out of the oven and serving it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream doesn't hurt.

For the cake

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup butter (or for a slightly lighter version use 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup applesauce)

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup milk

2 medium apples, peeled, cored and chopped

For the filling

3 Tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

For the topping

3 Tbsp Brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp butter, melted

In a medium bowl cream both sugars with butter until fluffy.  Mix in eggs, milk and vanilla.

In a second bowl mix together flour and baking powder.  Add dry mixture to wet mixture and stir until just combined.  Fold in half the apples.

Prepare filling and topping in separate small bowls by adding ingredients and mixing to combine.

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Grease and flour an 8x4 cake pan. 

Pour half the batter to the pan, sprinkle the remaining apples and sprinkle the filling over top of the apples. Pour the remaining batter and crumble the topping mixture over top.

Bake approximately 45-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Remove from oven to cooling rack and let rest 10 minutes.  Turn out the cake from the pan and continue to cool on cooling rack or better yet eat it right away!