Well, yesterday was absolutely divine. We had ‘First Thanksgiving’. A sort of precursor, if you will, for the big turkey day itself. You know, we just don’t get to eat enough turkey dinners and that’s what makes it so danged good. I’ve been craving it for some time now. Just couldn’t wait any longer. And in case you are wondering, we are doing some things early this year because Jordan leaves for Florida on December 18. So yes, they decorated their Christmas tree last night after ‘First Thanksgiving.’

We only did turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes + gravy, rolls and green beans. Everything from scratch. There’s no ‘instant’ when it comes to a real turkey dinner.

The only thing that wasn’t completely from scratch, was dessert.

An apple-spice cake.

It’s such a simple thing, but oh boy does it taste so good! It’s kind of a mix between already made and scratch. So we kind of got the ‘scratch’ part.

I love it because it makes an awesome dessert to slice up in about 2×2″ squares and put on a lovely cake plate.

And you’re saying to yourself (or to me?), recipe please.

I would be happy to oblige.  :)

OLD FASHIONED APPLE CAKE

 

Cake

1 box spice cake mix with pudding in the mix
1 21 oz. can of apple pie filling (w/cinnamon)
      *cut apples into small chunks
5 T. water
3 eggs
1/2 c. vegetable oil


Topping

1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 c. softened butter


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare streusel topping. In a medium bowl combine all topping ingredients with a fork. Mixture will be crumbly. Set aside.

Cake. In a large bowl, combine all cake ingredients. Blend at a slow speed until completely moistened, about 1 minute. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Do not over mix. Spread batter in a greased and floured 9×13″ pan. Sprinkle with streusel topping evenly over batter.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until center springs back when lightly touched.

Serve with slightly frozen cool whip. Cake is best served on 2nd or 3rd day. I’ll usually make it the day before an event and it’s great. The streusel topping gets moist and soft and it’s really good that way.


Test it out for yourself this holiday season. It’s a been a big hit for my family. A big thanks to a friend for sharing her recipe with me. We love it! :)