Step 1

Place oven rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350'F. Grease and flour or line with parchment, a tall 9" D x 3" H round pan or a rectangle 9" x 13" pan. (Use a pan that will hold approximately 9 cups of batter.)

Step 2

In a bowl with mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, beating until combined, then add the rest of the wet ingredients and beat until mixed. ( Your mixture may be a bit lumpy looking if your milk and eggs are cold as they will firm up the butter. This is ok, but if you want to avoid this, you can bring all your ingredients to room temperature before starting.

Step 3

In a separate bowl, mix together all dry ingredients except apple.

Step 4

Gently fold or beat dry ingredients into the wet until mixed. Take care not to overmix. Fold in apples. Pour batter into pan and put in oven. Bake 50 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Step 5

Optional: Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar once cake has cooled.