Cinnamon Ribbon Apple Cake

• 2 ½ cups flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 4 eggs, at room temperature
• ¾ cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 large baking apples, rinsed, peeled, chopped into ¼-inch size

Cinnamon Ribbon

• 1 ½ tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 6 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, alternately with the milk, to form a thick, creamy batter. Stir in vanilla and chopped apples.

Lightly spray a 12-cup Bunt pan with nonstick baking spray-with-flour. Spoon 1/3 of the batter into the pan. In a small bowl, stir 1 ½ tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon together until they are well blended. Sprinkle the mixture evenly on top of the batter, then spoon the remaining batter into the pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and cool 45 minutes on a rack. To remove the cake from the pan, place a rack on top of the pan, turn it upside down, and the cake should drop out of the pan onto the rack. Cooling completely, then drizzle with frosting.

Frosting: Whisk together 1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, and ¼ teaspoon vanilla to form a smooth, thick frosting. Drizzle it over the cake.

Yield: 1 Bundt cake