Preheat the oven to 165C / 325F. Generously grease a tube or bundt pan.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, oil, orange juice, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and vanilla extract; and mix well.
Fold apples, coconut, and pecans into batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 1½ hours.
Sauce
Shortly before the cake is done, make the sauce.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan, stir in the sugar, buttermilk, and baking soda, and bring to a good rolling boil, stirring constantly for 1 minute.
When the cake comes out of the oven, pour the sauce over the hot cake in the pan. Let stand 1 hour, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
Serve with whipped cream or ice cream or go whole hog and serve both.
Recipe by Orgasmic Chef at https://orgasmicchef.com/fresh-apple-cake-with-buttermilk-sauce/