It has a block of cream cheese in it, so it has a nice creamy texture.  It is chock-full of cinnamon, sugar and apples.

1 stick butter, softened    
1 tsp. vanilla extract    
1 (8 oz.) block reduced fat cream cheese, softened     
2 large eggs    
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour    
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder    
1/4 tsp. salt    
2 tsp. ground cinnamon    
3 cups chopped peeled apples
powdered sugar for dusting
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Beat 1 1/2 cups sugar, butter, vanilla, and cream cheese at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended (about 4 minutes). 

Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. 

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. 

Add flour mixture to creamed mixture, beating at low speed until blended.

Combine 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. 

Combine 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon/sugar mixture and apple in a bowl.  


Stir apple mixture into batter. (I reserved about 1/4 cup of cinnamon sugar coated apples to put on top- for an added texture and to show a peek at what’s inside.) 

Pour batter into an 8-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray, and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon mixture (and top with a little pile of apples, if you choose to reserve them).

Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick comes out clean.


Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

When I made the cake second time, I was taking it to dinner with friends for our dessert.  My friend Catherine was at my house when it was baking. It smelled so good that it was hard to resist slicing a piece to share with her.  I decided that the dinner friends wouldn’t mind if I brought a cake with a couple of pieces cut out of it, so Catherine and I had some (and then Dave entered the kitchen and snuck a piece as well).