Ruthie’s Apple Cake
My friend Allison, who lives up the hill, has a few apple trees in her front yard that produce an astonishing number of apples. There are a few varieties – some larger eating apples, some medium – not quite crabapples, but not full-size either – and some tiny red crabapples that are perfect for jellies. She always lets me pick some, and they’re so great for baking with.
I love a good apple cake, and thought I had made them all until I started noticing people make Ruthie’s apple cake, from the cookbook Friday Night Dinners by Bonnie Stern, during Rosh Hashanah. It’s a spectacular cake, loaded with chunks of apples and walnuts. I instantly adored it – not only the taste of it, but its rugged good looks.

Preheat your oven to 350F. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until light. Beat in oil. Beat in orange and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to egg mixture and stir until combined. In a third bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, apples and nuts.
Spread about half of the batter in a greased, parchment lined 9-inch springform pan. Spoon apples on top of this batter. Drizzle remaining batter on top of the apples. The batter on the top layer may not cover the apples completely. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. If the cake is browning too much, cover loosely with foil and reduce oven heat to 325F. Serves 8 to 12.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350F. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until light. Beat in oil. Beat in orange and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to egg mixture and stir until combined. In a third bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, apples and nuts.
Spread about half of the batter in a greased, parchment lined 9-inch springform pan. Spoon apples on top of this batter. Drizzle remaining batter on top of the apples. The batter on the top layer may not cover the apples completely. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. If the cake is browning too much, cover loosely with foil and reduce oven heat to 325F. Serves 8 to 12.
Oh, yum!
“Rugged good looks” hah, yes. But also a fantastic personality, this apple cake.
We’ve still got a few apples in the crisper, plus a recent Scarpone’s run has left me with *fresh* walnuts.
The photo of the apple assortment is just gorgeous. Real apples, with that sort of a bloom on them. How lovely, to have a nearby friend with a mini- orchard!
Would love a pic of this sliced! Wondering if it’s heavy and dense or more moist..
That picture of the apple basket is stunning. Genuine apples, with a bloom like that. The convenience of having a buddy who keeps a little orchard close by is priceless.
I love a good apple cake, and thought I had made them all until I started noticing people make Ruthie’s apple cake, from the cookbook Friday Night Dinners by Bonnie Stern, during Rosh Hashanah.
Would love a pic of this sliced!
I tried ruthie’s apple cake when I was in Bristol. My friends and I then rented a car from Rental24.co.uk and went to see the city and taste the local cuisine.