Sherrie's Apple Cake

My brother's first birthday

Sherrie's Low-fat Apple Cake

Most Apple Cake recipes seem to contain quite a lot of oil or butter, but there is a really good packaged mix (Little Granny's Northwest Apple Cake) which has no oil and the only liquid is from the apples, eggs and vanilla. The packaged mix isn't readily available in most stores and it is quite expensive, so I "tweaked" some apple cake recipes and came up with my own version, which is quite moist and tender. I confess I chickened out on omitting oil entirely, but it has only two measly tablespoons!

1 cup sugar

2 tart apples such as Granny Smith, 

peeled and chopped (about 1/2-inch dice)

2 eggs

2 Tbs oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp cardamom (optional)

1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Place sugar and chopped apples in a large mixing bowl and stir to start macerating the apples. Add eggs, oil and vanilla. Mix the dry ingredients and spices together in a separate bowl (or sift onto waxed paper), then stir into the apple mixture until well combined. Stir in the cranberries and nuts, if desired. Pour into a greased 8-inch square pan and bake for about 35 minutes or into about 12 muffin cups and bake for about 18 minutes.