Cinnamon Swirl Apple Cake a perfect peace offering for the persnickety

We’re right in the middle of painting our kitchen and the adjoining sitting room. More truthfully, my husband is in the middle of painting while I watch from the sidelines. If you think that’s unfair, well, yes, it is. But Simon likes to do things his own way and — oh, who am I kidding? Simon just wants me out of his hair while he’s working.

I’m very excited about our kitchen redo. We’re going from bland tan walls to a cheerful shade of lemon yellow. All our walls were painted this particularly revolting shade of brown when we bought the house but we said we’d repaint a room at a time until we had the whole house done. Last month, Simon got a bee in his bonnet about the kitchen, so I’m thrilled to let him paint away.

However — you knew there’d be a “however,” right? — I have a difficult time with the disarray that has to happen while he’s painting. It’s hard for me to relax around the chaos, since everything that used to be on the kitchen counters and walls and atop our cabinets had to be stacked in other places around the house. On one level, I know it’s not a big deal. Stuff has to be moved to paint the walls, right? And in the end, we’ll have a bright new kitchen!

But when I look at the mess, it pokes something inside my brain that wakes up and says, “NO. NOT RIGHT. BAD.” I feel jittery and unsettled as I drift through the mess of drop cloths, protective plastic sheets and green painter’s tape. Simon knows that I’m suppressing an urge to put everything back where it belongs. I can see that I’m being ridiculous, of course. All I have to do is sit tight for a few days and project an air of unruffled calm.

Instead, I’m very ruffled, very ruffled indeed. I’m at maximum ruffliness and grumpy as an old billy goat. Most of the time, Simon finds this amusing, but sometimes it gets under his skin, and rightly so, especially since he’s the one doing all the actual work. A couple of nights ago, after the second coat was complete but before he was ready to take the plastic and tape down, I started putting things back. He was pretty exasperated. He said he wanted to leave everything in place for another day or so until he was sure there weren’t any spots he missed.

I heard him and agreed with him but my hands kept putting things back. I said I knew that was a good idea but I just couldn’t stand it anymore and had to get the kitchen in order. I think he sensed desperation in my voice because although he was irritated, he started putting things back, too. And then we weren’t arguing anymore because we were both looking at our beautiful new kitchen.

The exchange reminded me of the advice my grandmother gave me on how to have (mostly) harmonious relationships. She said, “Everyone has their own peculiarities.” It’s a statement of fact more than advice, but I knew what she meant. Everyone is persnickety about some things and it’s best to let people be their own kind of persnickety. Simon has made peace with quite a few of my peculiarities and I think most of his peculiarities are endearing. Sometimes we clash but then all I have to do to restore peace is make some kind of apple-based dessert.

Apple cake seemed to be just right for this particular occasion. Tragically, I made one of the worst cakes I’ve ever made in my life. It managed to be both raw and spongy on the inside with a bitter aftertaste. The cake wasn’t a peace offering. It was more like a declaration of war. I went back to the drawing board and tried again. My second attempt hit the spot and the recipe is worth sharing. Not only does it have fresh apple chunks but it also has a swirly topping of sugar and spice. It smells like cinnamon toast while it’s baking and it tastes like fall. Here’s how to make it.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Finely chop 2 medium apples (or 2½ cups) and set aside. (I didn’t peel my apples and the peels were unnoticeable in the cake, but if you want to peel them, you go right ahead. I also don’t think it makes a noticeable difference what kind of apples you use because the apples sort of melt into the cake anyway.)

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2½ cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon salt. Add 1½ cups brown sugar, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 1 egg, 1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon of vinegar) and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix with a big spoon until the dough is thoroughly combined, then fold in 2½ cups chopped apples. Spoon into prepared cake pan and use a spatula to make the dough level.

In a small bowl, whisk together ½ cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, ¼ cup applesauce and ¼ cup (1/2 stick) melted butter. Spoon the cinnamon mixture in dollops on top of the batter. Swirl the two elements together with a knife, but don’t mix them completely. You want little bits of pale batter to show through the top. Bake the cake for 45 minutes (and enjoy the wonderful aroma) until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan, if you can wait that long. Serve this cake warm for dessert. There’s no reason why the cake can’t also be your breakfast the next morning. Having cake for breakfast is just the kind of peculiarity I can get behind.

Cinnamon Swirl Apple Cake

2½ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

1½ cups brown sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk with 1 teaspoon white vinegar)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2½ cups finely chopped apples

For the cinnamon swirl topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar

¼ cup cinnamon applesauce

2 teaspoons cinnamon

¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted

Heat the oven to 325 degrees and butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and salt. Add 1½ cups brown sugar, vegetable oil, buttermilk, egg and vanilla. Mix until dough is combined. Fold in apples. Scoop batter into the prepared baking dish and even out with a spatula. In a small bowl, whisk together ½ cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, applesauce and melted butter. Spoon the cinnamon mixture in dollops on top of the batter. Swirl the two elements together with a knife, but don’t mix completely. (Little bits of batter should be showing through the top.) Bake for 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let it cool in the pan. Serve warm or cold.