Simply Albany: February 2013

Hello!

I am officially on "spring break" for 2 weeks! I just finished my pediatric rotation and will start my family medicine rotation next. I wish this meant two whole weeks of crafting and relaxing, but I do have quite a few other responsibilities to take care of. Even so, I'm looking forward to spending a good deal of time baking, crafting, photographing, and of course relaxing. The hubby and I will be heading to Florida again next weekend. Yay for sun and warm weather!!

To get this break started right, I made my grandmother's Fresh Apple Cake. This was the first time I have ever made it... despite enjoying it a TON growing up. My mom has seriously perfected her mother-in-law's tasty recipe. I'm happy to say mine turned out great! Aside from peeling the apples, the cake is quite easy to put together. The full recipe for print is below. Hope you enjoy!

Cake:

1c oil
3 eggs
1t vanilla
2c sugar
2c flour
4c thinly sliced apples, peeled
2t cinnamon
1t baking soda
1/2t salt
1t nutmeg
1t cloves
(1c chopped pecans or walnuts - optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs, oil, and sugar. Add vanilla and mix well until fluffy. Sift together dry ingredients (flour and spices). Add to other mixture and beat well. Add apples and nuts. Blend well. Batter will be thick. Bake in greased 9 x 13 glass dish at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes. Let cool.

Icing:

12 oz softened cream cheese
1.5t vanilla
4.5t melted butter
1.5c powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients well, spread on cooled apple cake.

So fresh and delicious! Also, this is my absolute favorite cream cheese frosting recipe. It's the perfect balance of sweet + cream cheese flavor. Yum!