Annies Country Pantry

Blog Two  September 2025

If you walked into my store when it was open, the sweet smell of apples filled the air. In the Fall and Spring when the doors were open, it was not uncommon for people to do a double take and walk in, stating how the smell compelled them into our store. 

That smell, purchased in a can, called “Apple of my Pie” is my favorite smell. That said, can you imagine me on a great day in the apple orchard…. Pure heaven. There is no smell that takes me back to my childhood in such a pleasant way as that of strolling down the apple tree lane. (The smell of skunk is another one, but it is NOT so pleasant!)

When I was a kid, it was all hands-on deck when apple season                                            opened. The trees, ripe with fruit, needed to be relieved of their weight before the first frost was imperative. That meant all the cousins and aunts and uncles showed up for about 3 weeks to daily go through the orchard and pick apples. As kids, it meant a bushel basket under the tree and us kids picking “windfalls,” the apples that the wind had taken down, but the older cousins got the ladders or climbed the trees to gently twist and pull the ripe fruit from the tree. Later on in the day it meant driving down the lane sitting on the wagon picking up the 5 bushel wooden crates to be put into cold storage for the winter.

None the less, that strong smell of apple lingered on thru the farm weather it was cold storage or down the lane. Nothing beats the smell of sweet apples.

So with that I share my grandmother’s recipe for apple cake. Grandma never used a recipe, it was always a little of this and a little of that, no real measurements, so I did my best to replicate the recipe, but like every recipe I try to duplicate it’s never just right, Why, grandma’s love just cant be measured, so that cake you make will be just enough of my love, although you will never know exactly how much and you certainly will never know my grandmother’s. So it wont be completely right, but it will be just enough. Love annie

2 Eggs                                    1 Cup Sugar                   

1/3 Cup Shortening               1tsp Baking Powder

1 1/3 Flour                            3/4 Milk

1 tsp Vanilla                            5-4 Apples

Mix all ingredients together and put into a greased 8x8 pan if thick cake is desired or a 9x13 for a thinner cake. If desired chop one apple up finely and put into batter. Then, over the top place peeled/sliced apples in rows, overlapping each other. Sprinkle mixture of 1/3 C sugar and 1 tsp Cinnamon mixture over the top. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes until cake batter is cooked. Slice and enjoy….You may eat it quickly out of the pan or enjoy with caramel sauce and ice cream for a great desert!!!