Grandma Mendelson’s Apple Butter Cake
Recipe by Belinda Donner · October 2025
A towering apple cake with layers of cinnamon-kissed fruit, the kind of recipe that fills the house with warmth and brings everyone to the table.
Apple cake holds a special place in Jewish baking, especially around Rosh Hashanah when apples symbolize sweetness for the new year. This layered cake, with its butter-rich batter and cinnamon apples, is the kind of recipe that turns a kitchen into a gathering place.
Ingredients
- 4 large apples, peeled and cored
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 cup butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 3 cups flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- 1
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a tube pan or springform cake pan.
- 2
Slice the apples. Put in a small bowl and sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon.
- 3
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar using an electric mixer on medium-high speed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well to combine.
- 4
In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and add to butter and sugar mixture.
- 5
Add the orange juice and vanilla, beating well to form a smooth batter.
- 6
Pour about a third of the batter into pan. Layer with one-half of the apples. Repeat for one more layer, finishing with the batter.
- 7
Bake for about 1½ hours until lightly browned and a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- 8
Remove from oven and let cool in pan on a rack for 20 minutes, then turn out onto the rack to cool completely.
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