There is nothing quite like apple season in New England! Crisp cooler weather, bright blue skies, and the smell of apples at the orchards…okay, also the smell of hot cider donuts…those wonderful light sugary pillows of heavenly fried dough that appear this time of year at every local orchard.

We picked apples recently and tried some new varieties I had never heard of before like Ginger Gold and Sansa and Zestar. It’s fun to taste the different types and even more fun to read the flavor descriptions…much like wines…”a hint of peppery blah blah blah and notes of honey and brown sugar blah blah blah”. We came home with a variety of types we picked, but mostly our trusty Mcintosh variety. And then I set about to finding a new recipe or two to try with them.

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I modified the Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffin recipe, substituting chunks of peeled diced apples for the blueberries, adding a teaspoon of cinnamon to the flour mixture, and substituting buttermilk for the whole milk (mostly because that is what I had on hand!) I topped them with a generous dusting of cinnamon sugar mixture rather than the large crystal sugar. It worked perfectly! Moist and delicious and perfect for breakfast, afternoon tea, or late night snacking, they disappeared in record time.

And still, we had apples - the smallest amount you can pick is a 10# bag and that, it turns out, is quite a few apples!

My daughter put out a post to her German friends requesting favorite recipes for apple cakes, but the one we decided to try was an Ina Garten Apple Cake Tatin recipe recommended by my friend, Martha! It is essentially an apple-upside-down cake with caramel. How could that be anything but wonderful?

This was not my first rodeo with making caramel, but I wasn’t ready for it when it was ready to pour and even off heat it ended up cruising well past the “amber” stage recommended by the recipe, and into the “modern art sculpture” stage. And thus, once I had chiseled it out of the pot, I started again!

It was so worth the trouble, though, and it is really quite easy if you pay attention and prep the apples before you start the caramel! The cake itself is very soft and fine and absorbs the caramel layer down into the top for a nice apple-y caramel-y sweetness. It makes a wonderful company-worthy tea cake or dessert or breakfast treat or…any time really. And we can pretend it’s virtuous because HEY it’s fruit, right?!

Apple Cake Tatin Recipe

from Ina Garten, Serves 8

Ingredients

6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature, plus extra for greasing pan

1 1/4 apples, peeled and sliced (she suggests Granny Smith, but any firm apple will work - we used Mcintosh)

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, divided

2 extra-large eggs

1/3 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp grated lemon zest

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

Confectioner’s sugar for dusting (I like to use a non-melting confectioners sugar so it stays looking freshly dusted and doesn’t disappear into the caramel as it sits)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350’F. Generously butter a 9” dish. I used a contoured cake pan with a curved edge, but a 9” glass pie dish is fine. Arrange the apples in the bottom of the dish. This is important: do this BEFORE you make the caramel - when the caramel is ready to pour, you don’t want it sitting around continuing to darken! This is where I went horribly wrong in my first attempt #epiccaramelfail!

Make the caramel. Combine 1 cup granulated sugar and 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan. Cook over high heat. Do not stir. Swirl the pan gently as it starts to turn color. I keep a cup of ice water and a pastry brush handy to dissolve any crystals that form up the sides of the pan. Continue cooking until it turns a warm amber color, about 360’ on a candy thermometer. Pour the caramel gently and evenly over the apple slices.

Meanwhile, cream together the 6 Tbsp of butter and 3/4 cup granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Lower the speed and beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the sour cream, zest, and vanilla and mix until combined. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and, with the mixer on low speed, mix just until combined.

Distribute the batter evenly over the apples and caramel. Bake for 30-40 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes and then invert onto a serving plate. Dust with confectioners sugar if desired.

Bon Apple-tit!

If you like baking with apples but you want something quick and easy, you’ll love this SUPER SIMPLE and delicious Apple Cookie Crust apple dessert - it’s a go-to crowd pleaser!