Dinner Tonight: Apple Hill Cake

"It's the best darned cake I have ever had," says Richard White about Apple Hill Cake, only he didn't say "darned." When he lived in Sacramento, Mr. White would visit an area called Apple Hill, which had about 30 farms offering cakes, pies, cider, and the like. This cake, he says, is the best:

Apple Hill Cake

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 cups sugar

½ cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

4 cups diced Granny Smith apples 

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside. In a separate bowl, combine sugar, oil, and eggs. Add apples, then stir in the flour mixture. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour. Serve hot, warm or cold. It is good plain, with frosting or with whipped cream.

— Richard White