4 cups peeled and sliced apples (4 or 5 medium apples)
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

preheat oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle position.

grease or spray the inside of a 9″x13″ cake pan.

peel, core and slice the apples as you would for a pie. place the sliced apples on the bottom of the prepared cake pan.

in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the oil until they’re thick. the add the sugar and beat it in.

mix in the vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. mix thoroughly.

add the flour in one-cup increments, mixing after each cup.

scrape down the bowl, give a final stir with a spoon, and then drop the batter over the apples in spoonfuls. (DON’T WORRY IF IT DOESN’T COMPLETELY COVER THE APPLES. THE BATTER WILL SPREAD OUT DURING BAKING).

bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. cool the cake in the pan on a cold burner or a wire rack.

GERMAN APPLE CAKE FROSTING

1 (8 oz) pkg softened cream cheese (NOT the whipped kind)
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 tbs (1/2 stick) melted butter
2 cups 10x sugar (no need to sift unless it’s got big lumps)

if you forgot to take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator to soften naturally, unwrap it, place it in a microwave-safe bowl and heat it for 20 seconds on HIGH. check it to see if it’s soft. if not, give it another 15 seconds or so until it is.

stir the vanilla into your cream cheese. then add the lemon juice and the melted butter. mix until it’s smooth. beat in the 10x sugar in half-cup increments, checking consistency after each addition. when the mixture is the consistency of frosting, stop adding sugar.