This Jewish Apple Cake is a wonderfully dense and moist cake batter studded with tons of cinnamon-sugar coated apples. It's the perfect fall dessert for any occasion!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
Prepare the Apples: In a large bowl, toss the chopped apples with the sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
Prepare the Cake Batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, vegetable oil, orange juice, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir to combine with a spatula or wooden spoon.
Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time, mixing well after each addition (the batter will start out very thick, but will get looser and easier to mix as you continue to add the eggs). Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure that all of the ingredients are fully incorporated.
Add a thin layer of the cake batter to the bottom of the pan, then add one-quarter of the apples on top of the batter. Ribbon one-quarter of the remaining cake batter over top of the apples; the batter should not completely cover all of the apples (it will spread when baking). Repeat three more times with the remaining apples and cake batter, ending with a layer of cake batter, but again it will not totally cover the apples, that's okay!
Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Place the pan on a wire rack and for 20 minutes, then invert the pan and remove the cake. Cool to room temperature before serving. Leftovers can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Notes
Apples - This recipe calls for Granny Smith apples, but Gala apples and Honeycrisp apples are also wonderful alternatives.
Orange Juice - This takes the place of milk, and adds a punch of flavor to the cake batter. A store-bought orange juice with no pulp is a great option! If you need to substitute, pineapple juice is a wonderful choice; otherwise, water will work.
I used a slotted spoon to transfer the apples from the bowl to the prepared pan so that not too much accumulated juice was transferred, but there still was some and it didn't appear to negatively affect the cake at all.
The Pan - A 10-inch tube pan is perfect for this recipe, but you can also substitute a standard 12-cup Bundt pan. I would recommend a standard-style pan and not one that is overly intricate; the chunks of apple throughout the cake could cause some sticking in those fancy pans.
To Serve - This cake is absolutely delicious standing on its own, but you could certainly serve a slice of it with a dollop of whipped cream, a dusting of powdered sugar, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or a drizzle of salted caramel sauce.
Storage - Once completely cool, leftover cake can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Freezing - This cake freezes wonderfully! Once the cake has cooled completely, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, and then a layer of aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.