Every year, a few days before July 4th, the neighbors line their front yards with American Flags. Which is funny, because in all the years of watching them do it, we’ve never once thought about doing the same. So perhaps next year I’ll take a look at something like these fiberglass flagpoles and hang our flag high in the yard too! We invite friends over, cook out back, the kids swim in the pool and we light and watch the fireworks above. It’s always a great day! And for me, a beautiful reminder of my Grandfather. He passed on when I was a little girl, but I will never forget how much he loved this country and July 4th was his favorite holiday. I think Christmas was a close second though…

I’ll always remember the block parties, the sound of country music, the taste of the iced tea and the delightful smell of fresh baked apple pie. Oh gosh, those days were the best! Especially when they were spent on the lake with the boats, jetski’s and fishing poles. The days were warm and the nights were long. Those were some of the best days of my childhood.

So as we approach our Independence Day in a few short hours, I thought I would share my Star Spangled Apple Pie Cake recipe.

Your house will smell amazing with this in the oven!

Ingredients

• 7-9 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced thin
• 2 tbsp. cinnamon sugar (1 1/2 tsp. sugar + 1/2 tsp. cinnamon)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups caster sugar (see notes below)
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 3 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Garnishes (optional)

• Powdered Sugar
• Cool Whip
• Vanilla Ice Cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9″ spring-form pan with a non-stick spray that contains flour.
2. Line the botom of your pan with parchment paper and spray again.
3. Place layers of the apple slices in your pan until they come up about 2/3 of the way.
4. Sprinkle 1 – 1 1/2 tbsp of your cinnamon sugar mixture over the apples.
5. Mix batter by beating the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.
6. Beat in the oil and vanilla until well mixed.
7. Add flour and mix until smooth.
8. Pour the batter on top of apples and tap the pan on your counter to ensure the batter settles at the bottom and between apples.
9. Sprinkle the remainder of the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the batter.
10. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
11. Cool cake completely in the pan. You may also put it in the fridge for rapid cooling.
12. Garnish with powdered sugar, cool whip or vanilla ice cream.
13. Enjoy!

* Allow cake to cool completely before removing from the pan. Your cake will fall apart if you attempt to remove it while it is still warm.

Have a happy and safe 4th of July; from my family, to yours!