Cinnamon-Apple Cake

Whoops... I thought I had posted the recipe for the Cinnamon-Apple Cake I made last week. My friend, Kate, gave us a bag of apples a couple weeks ago, and I asked Jeff what he thought we (I) should do with them. His suggestion was an apple cake, so that's what I baked.

This Cinnamon-Apple Cake was very easy, very moist and very good... and with three cups of apples and not too much sugar or fat, I'd like to consider it to be a "skinny" cake as well.

Cinnamon-Apple Cake (from MyRecipes/Cooking Light)

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup stick margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 ounces block-style fat-free cream cheese, softened (about 3/4 cup)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups chopped peeled Rome apple (about 2 large)
Cooking spray

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Beat 1 1/2 cups sugar, margarine, vanilla, and cream cheese at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended (about 4 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture, beating at low speed until blended.
• Combine 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Combine 2 tablespoons cinnamon mixture* and apple in a bowl, and stir apple mixture into batter. Pour batter into an 8-inch springform pan** coated with cooking spray, and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon mixture.
• Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Cool the cake completely on a wire rack, and cut using a serrated knife.
• Note: You can also make this cake in a 9-inch square cake pan or a 9-inch springform pan; just reduce the cooking time by 5 minutes.

*Another whoops... when I made this, I accidentally added all of the cinnamon sugar to the apples, so I didn't have any for the top. Actually, I think this added cinnamon flavor to the whole cake, rather than to just the top.
** I don't own an 8-inch spring form pan, so I used a 9-inch square pan, sprayed the bottom of the pan with vegetable oil and lined the bottom with non-stick baking paper... worked a treat.