Yesterday’s warm Apple Cake is “wildly popular, even in the summer.”

The Providence Journal / Sandor Bodo

Barbara P. wrote: “I was wondering if you could try to get the hot Apple Cake with warm sauce recipe from Yesterday’s in Newport. It’s been on their menu for about 25 years, and I know many people have tried to get it (yours truly included) without success. So I’m sure there would be many interested readers if you succeed in this Mission Impossible. Take care. I want my apple cake!”

Chef Alex Daglis con- firmed that the cake has been on the menu for more than 20 years, but he didn’t have a moment’s hesitation sharing the recipe, which he said he had at the ready.

He’s been the chef at Yesterday’s, a Newport institution at 28 Washington Square, for 30 years. Restaurant owners are Richard and Marie Korn. Yesterday’s is also the place I enjoyed one of the best burgers I ever had.

The warm apple cake is “wildly popular, even in the summer,” Daglis said. “That’s why we can’t take it off the menu, even seasonally.”

He credits the combination of apples, vanilla ice cream, caramel and toasted walnuts with offering a palate-pleasing dessert.

“There are so many apples in it, it keeps it so moist,” he added.

Of course, all the butter (the constant chef’s secret) adds a lot of flavor.

The cake takes time to make, slicing all those 16 apples. (But don’t peel them — that’s another part of the secret.) So Daglis makes a full sheet of it each time, and that is the recipe he shares.

He said it freezes well if crowds aren’t ready to enjoy it at your house.

The recipe, made with a sheet pan that measures 25 inches by 17 1/2 inches, produces 24 servings, and you’ll use four bowls in the process.

What is Chef’s Secret?

We invite readers who would like to know the recipe for a favorite restaurant dish to write or e-mail. Give us your name and daytime phone and tell us what makes the dish so special to you. We’ll ask the chef to share. E-mail gciampa@projo.com, fax (401) 277-8175 or write to Gail Ciampa, Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, RI 02902.

Recipe: Yesterday’s Apple Cake1

YESTERDAY’S APPLE CAKE

16 red delicious apples

2 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 pounds butter, at room temperature

4 cups sugar

5 cups flour

5 teaspoons baking soda

5 teaspoons cinnamon

3 teaspoons nutmeg

1 teaspoons salt

9 eggs

Core and quarter apples. Do not peel them. Process apples in food processor until chopped fine. In a bowl, add chopped apples to the walnuts and vanilla and mix together, put aside.

Whip butter and sugar together (in a mixer with a paddle) until soft and light, about 2-3 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and spices and mix together well.

In a third bowl, whisk eggs until they are frothy. Add the eggs to the butter-sugar; mix on low speed until smooth. Add apple mixture and flour mixture; mix on low speed until smooth.

Spread batter evenly on greased 25-inch by 17 1/2-inch sheet pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 22 minutes. Rotate pan at that time, and bake 23 minutes more. Chill cake before cutting.

Warm cake in microwave for 30 seconds before serving, topped with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

Makes 24 pieces.