Nana's Apple Cake

Nana's Apple Cake Mix comes from Tastefully Simple and came to my parents' house as a Christmas gift from one of my mom's students I believe. It has honest to God apples (two whole cups of them) peeled and cut up into relatively small pieces. The apples are then mixed with the contents of the box and a couple other things I think... I didn't cook it... and baked for some predetermined amount. If you really want to know more about that, then check out the product details here. But that's not why we're here, so let's move on to the tasting details...

What I Don't Like:
Apples. More specifically, cooked apples. Give me an actual apple and I will take as many bites out of it as humanly possible. Put that apple in any source of heat and you might as well just throw it away before handing it to me. As is the case with most of my food issues, the texture of apple after it's been heated/cooked just doesn't sit well with me.
What I Do Like:
Bread-based desserts. I love me some pastries and cakes and whatnot. Give me anything like this that doesn't include fruit and I will probably eat more than my share. To clarify, I enjoy fruit flavors in desserts... just not actual fruit. The more processed the better.
Who Made Me Try It:
I'm home for Thanksgiving - the worst holiday EVER for picky eaters - and my mom prepared this treat for our holiday breakfast. She baked it the night before and I'd had a few drinks so she was able to convince me to try a piece. At first she handed me a chunk about the size of a golf ball and all she got in return was a blank "you've gotta be kidding me" stare. After tearing it in half and smartly handing me the smaller of the two pieces, I bravely shoved the whole piece of bready/appley "goodness" in my mouth.
The Results:
I survived! But I also haven't eaten any more. It wasn't terrible and I might consider having another bite at some point, but I think that is because the ratio was just right. The bread greatly outweighed the apple and the pieces of apple were small enough that I barely noticed they were there. It's important to note the key word there... "barely". They weren't in-your-face pieces but they definitely had a presence. The other flavors... I'm thinking cinnamon might have been involved... helped to distract me from the apple as well, so I have to give props to the proportions of ingredients in the recipe.