Bad Apples

A couple of bad apples have been hiding at quiet ends of my refrigerator the past week. I dug them out with intentions of not letting them go to waste. They were fairly soft and were covered in bruises.
*sigh*...bad apples...what to do?...apple pie? - boring and extremely predictable ...apple sauce? - not too big a fan of mushy apples. How about an apple cake?...
....Hmm...apple cake.....with cinnamon and....*goes into deep thought as fingers fiddle with jars and leftovers in the fridge*
...it needs a little something special to punch it up...*Lightbulb magically appears above* AH hAH!! Maple syrup! Not just any type though...it needs the pure Canadian stuff...MmmmMm....
*Jumps into a baking frenzy*
It's nice to finally have time to bake a cake just for the 3 of us to share at home.

1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cup plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup melted butter
2 red apples sliced thick
1/2 cup maple syrup

Beat sugar and eggs in a large bowl till fluffy and pale. Add cinnamon and vanilla essence. Sift in dry ingredients and gently fold to combine. Drizzle melted butter into the batter and incorporate gently with the spatula. Lay apple slices on to base of lightly greased and lined 9-11 inch round cake pan. (if you're lucky enough to own one of these amazing "bend and bake" babies; leave out the greasing-pan step...sigh* don't you just Love theM!). Spoon batter on top of the arranged slices of apple. Spread out for a fairly flat surface.
Bake in preheated 180 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or till skewer comes out clean.
Brush with maple syrup and dust with icing sugar(optional)Serve immediately! Best eaten within the hour! .....not difficult to do...trust me..*laughs*