RECIPE: APPLE CHIP CAKE

My apologies for not photographing the entire cake. This cake tends to disappear before you have time to check the batteries in your camera.

When I was a little girl, apple picking always meant that it was time for my mother to make Apple Chip Cake and I looooove Apple Chip Cake. This recipe was missing for several years until this past spring when I was helping my sister plan my niece and nephew's graduation party. I was looking through my sister's recipes for a recipe I needed for the cookie bar we were planning and there it was: the recipe for apple chip cake. After berating my sister for purposely hiding the recipe from me, I promptly took possession of it so that it would be forever safe in my home. (OK, I made a copy)

So here it is folks, the Apple Chip Cake of my youth. And yes, it is just as good as I remember. Did I mention, the "chip" in Apple Chip Cake is chocolate!

Apple Chip Cake

3 cups flour

3 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

2 eggs

4 cups diced apples

3/4 cup oil

1 cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 to 2 cups chocolate chips (to taste)

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Mix flour, cinnamon and baking soda in a bowl. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla, then add chocolate chips and nuts. Mix well.

Add flour mixture and mix well.

Fold in apples. The batter will be very thick, only slightly looser than cookie dough consistency. For best results, mix with a sturdy wooden spoon.

Transfer batter to well greased bundt pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 50 minutes to one hour until an inserted knife comes out clean.

After I made this yesterday, my mother informed me that she always mixed the apples up with some sugar and cinnamon before adding to the cake. I did not do this and the cake is delicious, but next time I'm sure I'll try it. I'll leave it up to you whether you want to sweeten the apples before adding to the batter. Either way, the combination of apples and chocolate in this moist, dense cake is absolute heaven!