One of the many things I love about Michigan is the diversity of seasons. Autumn is no exception, with the leaves turning brilliant shades of red, orange, yellow, burgundy, green, and brown. I love a brilliant brown, don't you? It's just the prettiest. I kid.

Back to how great Michigan and autumn is. The dried cornstalks and gourds come out, decorating the fields and porches; pumpkins appear in all the stores, asking to be taken home and carved. The air turns as crisp and refreshingly cool as the apples hanging on the trees in the orchards. The cool, dewy mornings call for cozy sweaters, wool socks, warm scarves; the rainy afternoons make a crackling fire, a hot cup of apple cider, and a good book all but necessary. Comforting squash soups and crusty breads, pumpkin pies and cinnamon rolls just out of the oven, and family nearby makes the dusk that comes sooner and sooner a welcome friend. Autumn is wonderful, but Traverse City, Michigan, really is an idyllic place to experience it.

Hannah, myself, and my mom apple picking

We all know, the food of choice in autumn is pumpkin.

So here is a recipe for Scrumptious Apple Cake. Ha. I just wanted to trick you into thinking this would be a recipe for something pumpkin. There will be plenty of pumpkin in the near future, but today I wanted to share with you this recipe, Scrumptious Apple Cake by my mamma. Yes, scrumptious is part of the title It is not simply a scrumptious Apple Cake, it is a scrumptious Scrumptious Apple Cake. Trust her on this one.

Now, if you have some fancy, two-tier frosted apple cake envisioned in your brain, erase that and think simple. It's more like a moist bread. 9x13 pan. I think I just felt some of you relax; "no cake tins? Phew, 9x13 I can do..." and yes, it is so simple. Did I mention scrumptious?

The apples in this recipe are handpicked by my mom, Hannah, and yours truly. Apple picking is one of the things I look forward to most in September, I recommend you find the nearest apple orchard and go!

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Recipe from my mamma

Scrumptious Apple Cake

Serves 18-20

Ingredients:

For the Cake

1 cup / 225g oil
2 cups / 400g sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups peeled chopped apples, about 3 medium
3 cups / 360g all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

For the Cinnamon Topping

1/4 cup / 50g sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Oven 350°F / 177°C. Greased 9x13in / 23x33cm pan.

Make the Cake

In a large bowl combine oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla; beat. Stir in chopped apples.
In a separate bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add this mixture to first mixture and stir until combined. Pour into prepared pan.

Make the Cinnamon Topping

In a small bowl combine sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over batter in pan.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Jenny's Notes:

My mom is very adverse to nuts in her desserts. However, many people do enjoy nuts in their desserts, and if you do, a cup of chopped nuts added to the batter would do the trick. You could also add about 1/2 cup chopped nuts to the topping. *This note is not Jean-approved. :)