Bobby -- Just saw this thread -- This is THE BEST apple cake recipe... What makes this recipe so special is that the cinnamon isn't mixed into the batter, but instead coats the apples. The batter has some orange zest in it... So when you eat the cake you get this great cake and then these little bursts of apple and cinnamon throughout... It is just divine. Note that this makes a BIG cake -- requires a large (12 cup) bundt pan, not one of the smaller (8 cup) ones. Apple Bundt Cake Bon Appetite, Dec 1999 4 medium Golden Delicious apples (about 1 1/2pounds), peeled, cut into 1/3-inch pieces 5 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 cups sugar 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 4 large eggs 1 cup vegetable oil (Emily replaces with 1/2 cup oil / 1/2 cup applesauce) 1/4 cup orange juice 1 tablespoon grated orange peel 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 cups all purpose flour 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt Powdered sugar Preparation Preheat oven to 350°F. Oil and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Mix apple pieces, 5 tablespoons sugar and ground cinnamon in medium bowl. Combine 2 1/2 cups sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, orange juice, orange peel and vanilla extract in large bowl; whisk to blend. Stir flour, baking powder and salt into egg mixture. Spoon 1 1/2 cups batter into prepared Bundt pan. Top with half of apple mixture. Cover with 1 1/2 cups batter. Top with remaining apples, then batter. Bake cake until top is brown and tester inserted near center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 15 minutes. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen. Turn cake out onto rack. Cool at least 45 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

If you get the baking powder wet, it'll do its thing (or half if you have double action). The eggs can turn weird too. Can you assemble kits? Stir together all the dry ingredients and seal them in a ziploc, or just a covered mixing bowl since you'll be baking tomorrow. Measure out the wet ingredients individually in jars, and put the jars for a single recipe in an open container to keep them together, along with the whole eggs. Or maybe just use a food marker, or a piece of tape, to label each egg as to which batter it goes in so they're easy to grab. You could color code each recipe so you don't have to read the labels. Freezing is different than chilling. If you refrigerate the cakes, they could get tough. Cold causes the starches to tighten, which is what "stale" means. Better to make cakes that can be frozen a couple of days ahead and freeze them (freezing should suspend the starches rather than tightening them, plus cakes can be softer and fluffier after freezing), than closer to the day and refrigerate them. Good luck! That's an ambitious load, but it sounds delicious!

My apple cake with the gravy, because it is very heavy with apples is not good as a layer cake, doesn't cut well and with 4 cups of apples, it's heavy!. But it is spectacular as a 9 by 12 cake....with gravy on each square....passed warm in a pitcher....with maybe a small scoop of vanilla ice cream....and the "gravy" over the top. You can probably cut 16 pieces out of one cake....but....it's also very good for breakfast!! I have used this one for a layered birthday cake....with a caramel frosting...or maybe a burnt sugar....I forget. I cut back a little on the nutmeg....I think 1 tsp is a bit much and for a layer cake, that recipe makes 2 8 inch layers. And I always use my own applesauce. When I am making applesauce, I reserve a cup and make this cake. Cake, Applesauce, mine 1 egg beaten 1/2 cup shortening�I use butter 1 cup of sugar 1 cup cold unsweetened applesauce 1 3/4 cups AP flour 1 tsp soda 3/4 tsps salt 1 tsp nutmeg 1 1/2 tsps cinnamon 1/4 tsp powdered cloves 1 tsp vanilla 1 cup raisins and nuts cut up�optional Sift together, flour soda, salt and spices Cream shortening, beat in sugar, beat in the egg and the applesauce and vanilla�.add the flour etc and pour into a greased 8 � by 11 pan and bake at 350 for 45 to 60 minutes�.until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

I'm with Judi! I need a pre-hug because I am SOOO dreading the whole thing. Hubs is going out east to spend the holiday with his kid and grandkids. I am totally FINE with that, there's not really room for me in the house, and I don't want to take the risk of covid exposure for me and my 90 year old Dad. I don't usually enjoy long visits there anyway, it's a chaotic household so really best if we keep visits short and sweet. Hubs wants to spend a lot of time there, so he'll be happy and I'll be happy. I really can't be away from my Dad for a long, long time anyway, particularly far away. So I would really love and enjoy a quiet holiday ALONE. But on the downside, I will have to be around my Dad, who takes every opportunity to be miserable and remind everyone why they should be miserable, and make issues about things that aren't issues. He'll spend the whole time lamenting that we are "alone" on the holiday, because I guess I am just chopped liver. He'll revisit every death and estrangement and person who ever spent the holidays with us and isn't there. He'll claim he has no appetite and doesn't feel like eating whatever I make, complain that I made too much, and the only thing worse would be if I didn't do anything. He's clinically depressed and refuses any treatment for it. Which is fine, but he needs to make everyone around him miserable too. Oh, and he has a lovely invitation to spend Christmas with his godson, but insists that I have to come too. I don't want to go due to covid exposure and besides I don't even want to go, it's a long drive. They are lovely people but I would prefer seeing them at a time that is less pandemic complicated. But if my Dad wanted the whole Hallmark Christmas scene he could have it there. But he insists on me going, even though I really really don't want to. Frankly having him gone would give me some much needed rest, but he refuses to take that easy route. So now he's off in search of some public party and gathering at Christmas, Lord knows why he feels like he has to do that. I guess a little covid or flu risk is the way to go. We live in a very high transmission area. So I'm just dreading the whole affair because no matter what I do, it will be wrong/bad,/problematic. Hubs and I are having vegetarian lasagna for our Christmas dinner before he leaves. Not sure what else I will make. Probably just a salad and maybe some cranberry pistachio biscotti and tea if I can get the darn things made in time . . . Dad and I will be having cornish hens, sweet potatoes and wild rice pilaf, with an apple bundt cake for dessert. If I don't feel like fussing I might just make a small apple coffee cake in a square pan instead. I love my apple bundt cake but it takes five thinly sliced apples in layers so it's a lot of work. Or I might make cranberry cherry cobbler, that's always easy peasy but also impressive.