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2 large eggs, at room temperature

Stir the apples and sugar in a large bowl; set aside to macerate for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Dab a little oil on a paper towel and lightly grease a 13 × 9-inch baking pan.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Whisk the walnut oil and eggs in a large bowl until creamy and light, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the entire apple mixture with a wooden spoon. Then stir in the prepared flour mixture, turning the batter to make sure all the flour has been moistened. Pour and scrape the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake until lightly browned, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 55 minutes.

To cool: Set on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before cutting.

To store: Cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for up to 3 days. (Not recommended for freezing.)

Apple Raisin Cake: Use only 4 apples and add ½ cup chopped raisins with the remaining apples.

Pear Cake: Substitute 4 large pears, peeled, cored, and diced, for the apples. Add ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg with the cinnamon.

Spiced Apple Cake: Reduce the cinnamon to 1 teaspoon; add 1¼ teaspoons ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves with the remaining cinnamon.

Pumpkin Spice Sheet Cake

Serve this autumnal cake with crème fraîche, clotted cream, or Sweetened Whipped Cream, or frost it with Cream Cheese Sour Cream Frosting. Makes one 13 × 9-inch sheet cake

½ cup canola oil, plus additional for greasing the pan

1½ cups cake flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1½ cups canned pumpkin puree (do not use canned pumpkin pie filling)

1 cup regular or low-fat buttermilk (do not use fat-free)

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Dab a little canola oil on a paper towel and lightly grease a 13 × 9-inch baking pan.

Whisk both flours, the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside.

Use an electric mixer to beat both sugars and the eggs in a large bowl until very thick, velvety, and almost doubled in volume, about 5 minutes.

Beat in the canola oil, then beat in the pumpkin puree until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in ½ cup buttermilk.

Turn off the beaters, add half the flour mixture, and beat at low speed just until moistened. Add the remaining ½ cup buttermilk and beat until fairly smooth. Then add the remaining flour mixture and beat for just a few seconds, just until the flour has been incorporated. Remove the beaters.

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Thawing a Cake

If you’ve frozen the cake or its layers, thaw them in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours without unwrapping them. Then let them come back to room temperature before unwrapping them.

Frozen cakes can have a slightly chewy texture. To bring them back to somewhere near their original state, place the unwrapped, uniced layer or layers on a baking sheet in a preheated 350°F oven for 4 to 5 minutes. Do not microwave.

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Give the batter a few turns with a rubber spatula to make sure there’s no undissolved flour, then pour and scrape it into the prepared pan, smoothing it gently but evenly to the corners.

Bake until lightly browned and springy to the touch, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

To cool: Set the pan on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before cutting.

To store: Cool completely, then cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 2 weeks (long freezing dulls the