Jewish Apple Cake

Jewish Apple Cake
*******

Serves 12-16

Two Jewish people from opposite ends of the country gave me this exact same recipe.
They don't know each other, so I gather this is a standard recipe. One was a book club aquanatiance when we lived in Bellingham, Washington.  The other was a woman in Pennsylvania taking my phone order for Daytimer planner pages.  She heard me at work in the kitchen, asked what I was making (this recipe), and we compared our Jewish Apple Cake recipes and they were literally identical!  Small world.

 Take note that this cake takes TWO hours and 10 minutes to bake!  The first time I made it I thought it was a typo.  I baked it for ONE hour, 10 minutes, and took it to a party.  When we cut into the cake, I just asked everyone to imagine it was filled with custard.  They loved it.

APPLE MIXTURE:

5 peeled and sliced apples (like you would slice thin wedges for apple pie)

5 TBL sugar

2 tsp cinnamon
2 TBL orange juice

CAKE:

2 C sugar
1 C oil
4 eggs

¼ C orange juice
2 tsp vanilla

3 C flour
1 TBL baking powder

1. Add sliced apples to large mixing bowl.  Sprinkle 2 TBL orange juice and gently mix to prevent browning.  Combine sugar and cinnamon in small bowl.  Sprinkle over apples and stir to coat.
2. In another large  mixing bowl, combine sugar and oil.  Add eggs and blend with hand mixer until creamy and pale yellow, one or two minutes.
3. Add orange juice and vanilla mixing thoroughly by hand or with mixer. 
4. Sift together flour and baking powder.  Stir into liquid ingredients.  Batter will be thick.
5. In greased 10-inch spring form pan, layer ½ of the batter, ½ of the apples, last ½ of batter (it is easier to spread this layer if you add spoonfuls of batter evenly over the top and then spread) and top with remaining apples. (I add apples in a decorative pattern on the top: overlap the apples side by side in a circular pattern around the outside edge, then another circle of overlapping apples side by side inside of that and then a couple of apple slices in the tiny space in the middle.
6. Pour remaining syrup over the cake (the sugary/cinnamon syrup in the bottom of the “apple bowl”).
7. Bake at 350 for approx.2 hours 10 min. Remove from oven when firm to touch, and sides of cake are barely pulling away from pan.