Kiss My Bundt Goodbye: An Ode To Apple Spice Cake Sans Bundt Pan

So I live in a house. I live in a house with 60 college students. I live in a house with an industrial kitchen, with a seemingly endless amount of food. And with all of the fun and happy times comes dirt, smell, and disorganization. We've gone from soap hockey to sudsy and soaking wet dance party, from Mariah Carey sing-alongs to eating cereal with a fork out of an old dijon mustard jar.

My point is, I wanted to make a cake. I wanted to make this apple cake. I wanted to make this apple cake and bake it in a bundt pan. The only problem was finding a bundt pan amongst the calamity of pots and pans and lids and tops. I knew we used to have one somewhere, but who knows where it could be now? After searching and asking around the house, I finally stumbled across a bent and dented angle food cake pan. Or at least I think it was an angle food cake pan?

Anyway, the bent and dented cake pan actually worked perfectly for letting my batter nestle in its crevices and sit in a hot oven for 45 mintues or so.

Dense and Delicious. Fruity and spice-y. This apple cake is so moist and hearty, you can't just have one piece, it is really just impossible. Almost as impossible as shoving 10 saltine crackers in your mouth in under 1 minute. Or eating a tablespoon of cinnamon.

I intended to make a nice caramel sauce to accompany the apple cake, but, well, I got lazy. So then I decided that I would dust it with some powdered sugar. Usually we have a huge bucket full of powdered sugar, but it was just my luck we ran out. Actually, I do not even know where the bucket is. I found the lid, but no bucket.

Ho-hum. At least the cake was good, right?

Apple Spice Cake
from the CookieShop, who got the recipe from MarthaStewart.com

serves 10

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
• 3 to 4 apples (I used Fugi), peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (3 cups)
• 1 cup chopped assorted nuts, such as pecans and walnuts (optional)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Caramel Sauce OR Powdered Sugar for drizzling or dusting

***maybe next time, I will add some freshly grated ginger into the batter, you know, just for kicks and giggles

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; set aside.
2. Working over a large sheet of parchment paper, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; gather sifted ingredients into center of sheet; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or just mix by hand), combine vegetable oil, sugar, and eggs; mix on high speed until lemon yellow.
4. Fold reserved parchment in half lengthwise; with mixer on medium speed, gradually shake in dry ingredients until just incorporated.
5. Add apples and, if desired, nuts, to batter; mix to combine. Add vanilla, mixing until incorporated.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 75 to 90 minutes.
7. Remove from oven, and cool slightly on a wire rack.
8. Invert cake onto rack; turn cake right-side up to cool completely on rack, and serve drizzled with caramel sauce or dusted with powdered sugar.