William Demarest was a character actor that, like many of his time, got his start in Vaudeville. Eventually, he moved on to Broadway and then to films and tv. He is one of the actors that you may not know his name but you have definitely seen him in many old movies. My personal favorites are Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Lady Eve, and The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek. Others may know him from his time as Uncle Charlie on the popular television show My Three Sons from 1965-1972 or on the “What’s In the Box” episode of the Twilight Zone.
This is his recipe for Apple Nut Cake. It is an easy to pull together and makes a quite tasty cake. I found this recipe at the perfect time of needing to use up a few apples and it did not disappoint. This cake works well as both a coffee cake or as a simple dessert to end a nice meal. This is definitely a recipe I want to play around with. I think a crumb or streusel toppings might work quite well and maybe trying buttermilk in the recipe might be interesting. Or even trying to add another cup or so of apples to get a bit in every bite. I love recipes like this that get the creative juices flowing.
If you want to try other celebrity cake recipes, might I recommend:
Carol Burnett’s Raspberry Riches Cake
Nancy Wilson’s Sour Cream Fudge Cake
Rochelle Hudson’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake
William Demarest's Apple Nut Cake
An easy apple cake from character actor William Demarest.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups apples, peeled, cored and cut into bite size chunks (about three medium size apples)
- 1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
- Optional for serving: whipped cream or whipped topping.
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and well grease a 13 x 9 pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the shortening, granulated sugar and 1/2 cup of the brown sugar.
- Add the eggs and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
- In the creamed mixture, alternate adding the dry mix with the milk.
- Fold in the apples and pour into the greased pan.
- Sprinkle the top with the chopped nuts and remaining 1/4 cup of brown sugar.
- Bake for 45 minutes.
- Let cool slightly and serve with whipped cream if desired.
Quaint Cooking 