Apple Cake with Cinnamon Sauce

My taste in deserts are pretty simple. Anything with chocolate and I'm usually happy. I mean, ANYTHING. Coming up a close second is any desert with apples. There is nothing like the smell of apples, cinnamon and nutmeg wafting through the house, regardless if it's spring, summer, winter or fall for me. A friend of mine, Kathy, gave me this recipe last fall and I never got around to making it until yesterday. I'm glad I did.. although the cake is your basic apple cake - very good, the cake is moist and flavorful with a crispy top. The chunks of apple are tender and sweet giving it great texture. But it's the sauce that makes this cake divine. Holy cow.. all I could think of was this sauce, slighly warm, poured over vanilla or cinnamon ice cream. Or hell, sucked through a straw from the saucepan! Give it a try the next time your sweet tooth is craving something with apples. =) Apple Cake with Cinnamon Sauce 4 c. peeled, cored, chopped sweet apples, such as Mollies, Delicious, Crispin or Fuji (I used Fuji) 1 c. chopped nuts 2 c. flour 2 c. sugar 2 tsp. baking powder 2 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. salt 2 eggs 1/2 c. vegetable oil 2 tsp. vanilla Cinnamon Sauce (recipe follows) Preheat oven to 375º F. Butter and flour a 9 x 13 inch pan. Combine apples with nuts in a large bowl and sift dry ingredients over top. Mix eggs, oil and vanilla together. Add to the apples and flour mixture and mix until well blended. Bake in prepared pan for 35 to 45 minutes, or until tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool. Serve with Cinnamon Sauce. Makes 12 servings. Cinnamon Sauce: 3/4 c. butter 1 cup confectioners' sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. nutmeg 1/2 c. water Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and water. Bring to a boil, then simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Cool and pour over individual servings of the cake.