Chunky Apple Cake Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
Cream Cheese Frosting
Chopped walnuts, toasted (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

Stir together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl until blended.

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; add to butter mixture, stirring until blended. Stir in apple slices and 1 cup walnuts. Spread into a greased 13- x 9-inch pan.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Spread with Cream Cheese Frosting; sprinkle with walnuts, if desired.
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Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar and salt, beating until blended. Stir in vanilla.

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REVIEWS:

This cake is wonderful and is always requested!

This cake is indeed AWESOME. It really doesn't even need the frosting, making it a great snack cake. A couple of issues with the instructions in the recipe though...even as a seasoned baker, I was a bit confused. First, the recipe says, "SLICED" apples. This signifies to me that they would be wedges or circles once cored and if so, how thick are they supposed to be...anyway that just didn't make sense to me, so I "CHOPPED" them up instead. It would've also been nice, if the recipe had mentioned "TOASTING" the nuts as the first step (I forgot about toasting them until it was already time to put them in) and then instructions on how to toast them (I already knew how, but for someone who didn't it would be nice to have that information). The batter IS VERY THICK, much like cookie dough, and for me, hand stirring just didn't do the trick...once I added the apples it was too hard to stir and it was spilling out of the bowl, so I ended up pouring the whole thing into my mixer to get it all mixed up. Oh, and since I don't like Granny Smith apples, I substituted Galas. I also substituted pecans for the walnuts.

I have made this many times as written and it always gets rave reviews. I did think I did something wrong the first time because the batter was thick but it turned out perfectly! I always use homemade whipped cream for icing--it adds a lightness and freshness. I agree this recipe wouldn't work for cupcakes!

Love this recipe always turns out moist and DELISH. I always have left over apples from the kids school lunches, so i use those. This is great for parties, or just a cake to have around the house for whenever. This is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE CAKE! PS - I don't use the frosting - why mess with perfection?

I baked the cake as exactly described in recipe. My office loved it!

Made this dessert the other night and it was absolutely delicious. Very easy and not time consuming at all. The cream cheese frosting was simple to make and a great addition to the cake. I didn't add any walnuts into the cake, just toasted them and sprinkled on top of frosting. I did however cut the cake and put in a serving plate prior to frosting. Made a very nice presentation on the dessert table. Will definatley make again!

I never write reviews for recipes, but this was so good I registered just to tell everyone how delicious and easy this cake is. All other reviews were helpful regarding the thickness of the batter. A wonderful Autumn desert, it will play front and center on the desert table for Thanksgiving 2009!

Wonderful recipe. I used Gala apples and cut into small chunks instead of slices. I will definitely make this again.

This cake is way too sweet...I had one piece to taste and ending up throwing it out....it should have a sugar warning!!

Touted as the "best apple cake recipe" in Southern Living and they are right. I have made this twice and both times, my son and husband fight over it. Once with the cream cheese frosting and once with a basic white frosting--they said it was great either way. Will definitely make a again and again.

Excellent! Must be kept in pan, though, so you can't make a pretty presentation of it. Made it for a potluck at work and everyone loved it!

Knowing that the batter was going to be so dry I used a 21 oz can of Apple Pie Filling instead of Granny Smith apples. Cooked an extra 20 minutes at 325. Perfectly moist and delicious! Used 8 oz honey instead of sugar in cream cheese topping - fantastic cake.

This was horribly dry and I was VERY disappointed that I not only wasted apples but my time. I will never make this again.

This is a very moist cake. I made one to share in a 8x8 pan and the other in a bread pan. I did not add the nuts. I love the frosting it is not overly sweet. Will make this again very soon.

Great. Very moist!