Easy apple cake recipe

The other night I felt like baking. This happens sometimes (by which I mean often) after a long day at work; baking relaxes me. I had apples in the fruit drawer, so I called my friend Judith and asked for her apple cake recipe. She makes it every year for Rosh Hashanah and it's one of her favorites.

Unfortunately, at the moment I called, Judith was busy making dinner and couldn't quickly locate the recipe. So, while I intended to share with you Judith's apple cake recipe, this isn't it. I adapted this recipe from one I found on a blog called The Cookie Shop.

Don't worry, though. When I brought this cake into the office the following day and put it in the kitchen, it was gone in - are you sitting down? - four and a half minutes. I've gotten more compliments from my colleagues on this cake than on anything else I've ever made them, including almond and strawberry jam bars, brownies, and coconut rice pudding with loquats. Which just goes to show that the smell of cinnamon brings a crowd to its knees every time. And that feeding your colleagues is an excellent way to make friends in the office.

I actually made two cakes. For the first, pictured above, I cut the apples into chunks, as the original recipe specified. For the cake I brought to work, I grated the apples, and I think I'll do it that way from now on. The grated apples kept the cake moist and tender, and instead of biting into distinct lumps of cooked apple, the fruit becomes almost a background flavor. It's your choice, though. Either way, it's a fabulous cake.

Apple cake (adapted from The Cookie Shop)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/3 cups vegetable oil (preferably canola or grapeseed)
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 4 large apples, peeled, cored and grated (I used Granny Smith; if you use a less tart apple, you'll probably want to cut down the sugar a bit)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large bundt pan with cooking spray.

Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt into a bowl.

Put the oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Turn it on and beat the contents until the mixture is lemon-yellow and light, about 4-5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low and gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing only until the flour mixture is incorporated. Add the grated apples and mix briefly.

Pour the batter into the bundt pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake about 1 hour, or until a tester comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool 5 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a rack or a cake stand to finish cooling. Serve at room temperature.