Comment: Because Samantha arrived early and since I didn't have the ingredients at home to make the birthday cake we intended to have for samantha's birthday, I decided to make this cake to ensure that she would have a cake for her birthday and because I had all the ingredients at home... so this is the first of samantha's two birthday cakes.

• 1 1/2 lbs apples, peeled cored and quartered
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tbsp water
• 3 cups all-pupose flour
• 1 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 /4 cups chopped walnuts
• 1 cup butter
• 1 tsp vanilla

• put apples, 4 tsbp of the sugar and the water in a saucepan and bring to a boil
• simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally to break up any lumps
• leave to cool
• preheat oven to 325 f
• thoroughly butter and flour a 7 1/2 cup tube tin
• sift the flour, baking soda, and spices into a bowl
• remove 2 tbsp of the mixture to another bowl and toss with the raisins and 1 cup of the walnuts
• cream the butter and remaining sugar together until light and fluffy
• fold in the apple mixture gently
• fold the flour mixture into the apple mixture
• stir in the vanilla and the raisin and walnut mixture
• pour into the tube tin
• bake about 1 1/2 hours
• cool completely in the tin on a wire rack, then unmould on to the rack
• for the icing, put the sugar in a bowl and stir in the vanilla and 1 tbsp milk
• add more milk until the icing is smooth and has a thuck pouring cinsistency
• transfer the cake to a serving plate and drizzle the icing on top
• sprinkle with the remaining nuts
• allow the icing to set