Win the In-Laws Cake

My parents came to Boston for a short weekend trip and they stayed with my future in-laws. Whoops, *potential* future in-laws. :)

This wasn't their first time meeting (last time they spent time together our moms really hit it off) but I still wanted to make sure that everything went smoothly. I spent a whole week researching places to go to give them the quintessential New England experience and then realized that as long as the food was good we'd be set.

I couldn't control the weather but I COULD make a baked good. I figured that I could kill three birds with one stone (or cake, rather): have something for my parents to eat for breakfast, something for my boyfriend to enjoy, and something to impress my potential future in-laws. Luckily I had the perfect cake in mind.

The Apple Ring Coffee Cake.

This cake is special. A few years back my boyfriend went to a small group potluck while I was studying. Someone from his group made this coffee cake for dessert, and he liked it so much that he brought a piece back for me.

I'm a sucker for thoughtfulness. My boyfriend is one of the most thoughtful people I know and the cake totally epitomizes that. As an added bonus, my parents and my PFILs liked it. So much, in fact, that my PFMIL asked for the recipe. Never underestimate the power of baked goods.

The recipe is fairly easy, so I thought I'd share it with y'all. Thanks to JM for sharing the recipe.

Apple Ring Coffee Cake
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tsps vanilla
2 cups peeled, chopped tart apples
Powdered sugar, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 10 inch tube pan; set aside.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into large
bowl. Stir in walnuts. Combine granulated sugar, oil, eggs, and
vanilla in medium bowl. Stir in apples. Stir into flour mixture just
until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly.
3. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes
out clean. Cool cake in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from
pan; cool completely on wire rack. Sprinkle powdered sugar over cake.

Enjoy!