We had a terrific wind storm the other night, wind blowing like it wanted to knock out the electricity – really dramatic with the leaves flying everywhere, planters getting knocked over, the whole bit.
It made me want to bake, this chance of losing the electricity, and not having any baked goods in the house put me into a bit of a panic. As a result, I didn’t mix the apples in quite as evenly as they should have but, this recipe is forgiving. It’s also the perfect cake to have on hand on a stormy day, especially if you lose electricity, which we never did but we could have so thank goodness I got prepared – last minute as it was.
This is a hearty cake, since I used white whole wheat flour. I have done a split with whole wheat pastry flour and All-purpose with equally good results. I also soak my coconut in spiced rum although I don’t think I can taste any rumminess. I just like the idea of it being exotic. I was tempted to add raisins. I LOVE a hearty baked good. Pecans are good but only because I didn’t have walnuts. I’ve always used whatever apples happened to be on hand at the time. I’ve even substituted half a cup of the oil with 12 Tablespoons of flaxmeal. I thought the evaporated cane sugar lent to a crispier top/or bottom once you turned the bundt pan over.
As per usual, I wasn’t very patient and took the cake out before it had completely cooled thus leaving great chunks of cake in the bottom of the pan. Luckily, the cake wasn’t for anyone but family and friends who love me despite my impatience. Well, that and after one bite all aesthetics are forgotten. The original recipe is from simply recipes. I have no idea who Mrs Paxton is but I love her and her versatile cake. Oh, and it doesn’t even need the glaze. I don’t think I’ve ever made it. I find the original recipe’s call for 3 cups of sugar a little on the sweet side and so I have even cut the sugar down to 2.5 cups with wonderful results although I see that the recipe posted today on the site is different from the one I printed a couple/few years ago and has changed to 2 cups which is probably even more reasonable.
After reading the comments to this recipe it seems like the secret ingredient is the coconut. Of note, and I’m still learning my new oven. It took 1 hour and 20 minutes for my wooden skewer to come out clean. OK, enough details about the changes I made, you can try it for yourself.
This version was printed in January of 2008:
Mrs. Paxton’s Raw Apple Cake
For the Cake:
1 1/2 cups of vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs, slightly beaten
3 cups white flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups chopped apple – about 3 medium
1 cup coconut (soak if you’re using dried)
1 cup chopped nuts – walnuts or pecans
Glaze:
1/2 stick sweet butter
1 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoon milk
Method:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit
- Beat together sugar and oil. Add the eggs. In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to oil sugar egg mixture in thirds, beating to incorporate after each addition. Mix in vanilla, apples, coconut, and chopped nuts.
- Bake in a well greased and floured bundt cake pan about 1 hour. Test around the center with a long thin bamboo skewer or toothpick to make sure the cake is done. It should come out clean or with tiny crumbs.
- When cool enough to handle, gently remove from pan. Let sit on a rack to cool completely. If the dough has raised substantially around the middle areas of the bundt ring, you may need to use a bread knife gently level off the cake so that it sits even.
- Blend glaze ingredients and cook until melted. Place the cake on its serving dish. Prick all around the top of the cake with a fork so that when the glaze is applied it easily seeps into the cake. Use a pastry brush to apply the glaze liberally around the surface areas of the cake, or use a spoon to dribble the glaze on the cake.
As stated earlier I’m still working out the kinks in this new kitchen. One of which is that the overhead lighting fizzled out within the first week that we moved into the place. Why, weeks later, we still haven’t replaced the bulbs is a mystery to me. It hasn’t stopped me from cooking and baking. It’s just made the environment less than ideal. Although I’ll admit to being slighty grumpy when cooking and baking in that poor lighting. I’m ashamed to say that we ate or gave away the cake before I could take more pictures. I apologize for that but consider it a testament to the recipe of which I’ve happily provided without further ado.
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