Back in college, my good friend Jennifer took me to visit her hometown of Chicago.  We spent a weekend touring her favorite sites but also visiting with her grandmother, "Oma".  Oma came to the United States from Austria when she was young and with her husband they established a successful restaurant during the middle part of the 20th century.  She made this wonderful apple cake for me and I loved it so much that I asked her to write down the recipe for me.

Apple Cake with Streusel Topping

Cake
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 lb. butter (or margarine)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
milk as needed (about 1/2 cup)

Fruit Topping
2 apples, cored and sliced (or peaches)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Streusel Topping
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup soft butter
1/4 nuts (optional)

Beat sugar, butter and eggs.  Add baking powder to flour, then stir into the butter mixture.  Place batter into a 9" round cake pan.

Toss the apples with cinnamon and sugar.  Arrange the slices in concentric circles on top of the cake batter.

Mix the streusel ingredients together in a bowl.  Sprinkle streusel over the apples.  If you'd like, you can also sprinkle the top with a little cinnamon and sugar.

She had written to bake at 375 for 45 minutes.  When I made it, I baked at 350 for 30-35 minutes.  The entire recipe is one that only existed in Oma's head and she made it more from feel vs. actual measurements/directions.  This was the first time she had made the cake with the intent of actually writing it down.