The best apple cake

Last night we had Gian Luca's labmates and their wives/ girlfriends over for dinner. As I said before, I have been so busy this week ( and I still am) but I love the fact that, even when we are crazy busy, we invite people over for dinner.
Still, we needed to keep it fairly simple (no homemade lasagna this time). But I just can't invite people over and not bake something.
See, if I had to choose between cooking or baking I'd 100% choose baking as my preference. There is just something about mixing ingredients together and popping them in the oven.
I even love the waiting, as it usually allows me to chat with friends on the phone. Then there's the smell of sweets wafting through the apartment, waiting for them to cool and finally, the pay big off. I always said that if I were to change careers I'd love to open up a bakery. Who knows... maybe some day. But for now, I have my family and friends to bake for. So yesterday afternoon, that is exactly what I did.
My mom called as I was peeling the apples for this cake, and it turns out that she was making the exact same cake for a friend's birthday. It makes sense that she was making this particular cake because it is the best apple cake I've ever tried. I can't even describe how moist it is. You're just going to have to bake it and see for yourself.

The best apple cake

5-6 medium apples, cored, peeled, and sliced to 1/8" thickness
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar + 1/2 cup for the apples
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla
3 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon


Preheat oven at 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a tube pan. Set aside

Place the sliced apples in a bowl and mix with 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

Beat the eggs and remaining sugar until well incorporated. Add the veg oil, orange juice and vanilla. Mix well.
Sift together flour and baking powder. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet, mixing well. Pour 1/2 of the batter into the prepared tube pan. Layer 1/2 of the sliced apples on top of the batter. Cover with remaining batter and top with remaining apples.
Bake on middle rack for 45 minutes or until tester comes out clean* Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with vanilla ice cream ( if desired).

* My oven is funny so I bake this at 350 degrees for 25 minutes then lower the heat to 325 and bake for another 35 minutes.