Cream butter in a large mixing bowl.
Add sugar and blend well.
Add eggs 1 at a time and blending well after adding each egg.
Add Vanilla Extract
Add applesauce and blend well.
Combine flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon - mix wellAdd flour mixture to creamed mixture and mix slowly until well blended. Dredge chopped apples in 1/2 cup of flour and stir into batter.
Optional - Adding Nuts: If adding nuts, dredge the nuts with the apples in the flour and stir into the batter.
Pour batter into a prepared greased and floured 10 inch tube cake pan. I line the bottom of the cake pan with parchment paper to eliminate the risk of sticking. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes - or until cake tester comes out clean. Each oven bakes differently, so baking time will vary. Don't open the oven door until after 1 hour of cooking time.
Remove cake from oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the cake and pan to loosen and then remove cake from pan.
You can frost with your favorite frosting or dust with a cinnamon powdered sugar (just add some cinnamon to your powder sugar).