Mary Tolbert's Apple Dapple Cake

I spent a weekend in North Carolina, at the home of a friend of a friend. This secondhand friend - who quickly moved beyond that moniker into the more respectable first name basis of Catherine - had very friendly, hospitable, southern parents. (Was that last adjective redundant?) Her mother, Mary, made us one of the largest breakfasts I have ever seen. Bacon, sausage, grits, dried apple pies, fruit, etc. But the stunner was the apple cake. She got it out of her church cookbook. Her life advice to me was "Buy a church cookbook." I would probably follow that advice if I went to her church. Everyone at my home church brought Popeye's chicken and grocery-store potato salad to our potlucks.

In the interest of health I made this apple cake sans glaze last night. It was good, but not spectacular like Mary's. So I suggest doing the glaze, even if it puts you into a diabetic coma.

Ingredients:
1.5 C sugar
1/2 C oil
3 eggs
3 C flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

not so smooth:
1 C chopped nuts
3 C chopped raw apples (1 in. cubes)
1 C raisins

Glaze:
1/2 C butter
1 C brown sugar
1/4 C milk

Mix together all of the normal baking ingredients, and then throw in the not so smooth stuff. Bake at 325 for one hour in a 13x9 pan, or bake in two 8x8 cake pans.

Put the ingredients for a glaze in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for three minutes. Pour over the cake while the cake is still hot. Let it cool and then experience deliciousness.