Aunt Beck’s Famous Two-Crust Apple Cake

Crust:

• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon grated fresh orange peel, optional

Filling:

• 3 pounds pie/cake apples, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon if desired
• 2-3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, cut into tiny pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. To make the crust, beat the eggs, sugar, vegetable oil and orange juice together in a mixer set at medium speed for 1-2 minutes or until well mixed. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and orange peel, if used, and mix until a smooth, soft, uniform dough has formed, about 2-3 minutes. Cut the dough into two pieces, one piece twice as large as the other. Press the larger piece into the bottom and halfway up the sides of a 13”x9” pan (or roll the dough and fit it inside the pan). Make the filling: mix the apples, sugar, cinnamon, if used, and flour together in a bowl (the amount of flour depending on juiciness of the apples) and place the mixture over the dough in the pan. Dot the surface with butter. Roll the smaller piece of dough and place it on top. Press the edges to seal them. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until well browned.