An apple cake for fall

I didn't want the whole month to pass by without at least one Tuesdays with Dorie post.  I don't have the fig cake that was on the agenda for this week.  (Head over to Cookie Rookie for this week's recipe.)  I also passed on last week's Ginger-Jazzed Brownies.  You may have seen why I had some trouble with the biscuits the week before that.  (I made them, but they weren't great, and I didn't take any pictures.  I'm still hoping to make them again.)  The cake I have for you today is actually the first recipe for October, the Apple Nut Muffin Cake picked by Katrina of Baking and Boys.  

In the hopes that my girls would eat the cake, I skipped the nuts and raisins.  Afraid that the cake would be a little plain after that, I added a crumb topping.  This was also a good chance to break out my bottle of King Arthur boiled cider, since I didn't have any regular cider on hand.  I used about 3 tablespoons of the boiled cider, then added milk to make a full 8 ounces of liquid.  I thought about using some white whole wheat flour in place of the all-purpose, but didn't this time.  I fully intend to make this cake again, so I'll see how that works out next time.

The verdict?  The cake was well-received both at home and at work.  I really liked it with the crumb topping, but that's not really a surprise. =)  I know Dorie originally made the cake because she was too rushed for muffins, but I want to try the muffin version next time, keeping the crumbs.  

If you'd like to play around with the recipe yourself, you can find the original on Katrina's blog.  For more about the muffin cake, check out the Links for that week.  For the fig cake, check here.  I promise to do better with posting next month, especially since I get to host again! =)