Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
(from Janet Davidson approximately 1985 in New Haven, CT.  The original recipe was called “Raw Apple Cake” but some people thought that meant it wasn’t cooked, so I revised the title. )
Lucinda still makes this cake almost every autumn, when apples are abundant.

Mix together:
4 cups raw apples, peeled, cored, and sliced or diced
1 cup chopped walnuts (not too fine)
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup liquid shortening (vegetable oil)
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 beaten eggs

Sift together:
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. cloves

Add the sifted mixture to the above mixture.
Put in a greased 9×13-inch pan and bake 1 hour at 350°F.

Cream Cheese Icing
8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
1/2 stick butter or margarine (softened)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon extract
1/2 to 1 box (2-4 cups) powdered sugar

Beat together cream cheese, butter & extracts. Gradually add powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. Ice cooled cake.

Notes and pictures from Lucinda

The apple mixture

Below is the cake “batter.” Note that it is very thick.

When you spread it in the pan, you may wonder how it will ever turn into “cake.”

But it does!!

And even though this cake is perfectly delicious by itself, for me the lemon cream cheese icing is the best part 🙂

Photos added September 22, 2009
Copyright © 2009, Lucinda DeWitt