NORWEGIAN APPLE CAKE

A "ball of butter". That's what this really old recipe called for. It dates back to the early 1900s and was shared with me by Friend Sue.  She has worked and reworked with it to get it in its present condition. While the cake ingredients were specific, the frosting wasn't. I asked Sue if she could be more precise and she told me she couldn't.  She did give me some suggestions that I have included in parenthesis following the ingredient.

NORWEGIAN APPLE CAKE

6       cups peeled, cored, chopped apples (Granny Smiths are good)
2       eggs
1        cup oil (Sue uses 1/2 cup canola and 1/2 cup olive oil)
1        cup sugar
1/2    scant teaspoon salt
2       cups flour -- 1 cup white flour and 1 cup white flour mixed with whole wheat flour and wheat germ
1        teaspoon baking soda
2       teaspoons cinnamon
1        teaspoon nutmeg
1/2    teaspoon allspice

Optional: 3/4 cup raisins, 1/2 cup broken pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 - inch dish. (Sue likes to use her Pampered Chef dish for super even browning.) 

Beat eggs in mixer bowl.

Add oils, beat again.

Add sugar and beat well.

Whisk together dry ingredients in a different bowl, mixing well.

Add dry ingredients gradually to the egg mixture. 

Stir in the apples, raisins, and nuts.

Spread in baking dish.

Bake on center rack in the oven until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

When cool frost.

FROSTING

Blend softened cream cheese (8 oz), a little butter ( 1 tablespoon), powdered sugar (start with with 1/4 cup), and about 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice. Add water, milk, or powdered sugar as needed to get consistency for frosting.