Baked by Iris

Ingredients

For the Apples:

• 120g Unsalted Butter
• 150g Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp Cinnamon Powder
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3 Apples (Granny Smith)
• 1 Lemon

For the Cake:

• 190g All-purpose Flour
• 1 tsp (heaped) Baking Powder
• 2 tsp Cinnamon Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 120g Unsalter Butter
• 150g Brown Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 110ml Milk
• 1 Apple (peeled, cored and finely grated)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease your cake tin (23cm) with butter or oil and set aside.
2. Peel, core, and slice the apples into thick wedges. Drizzle with lemon juice and toss with lemon zest. Set aside.
3. Make the caramel. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and brown sugar together, whisking occasionally until smooth and combined. Stir in the cinnamon and vanilla, then remove from the heat.
4. Pour the caramel into the prepared tin and arrange the apple slices neatly on top, overlapping slightly. Set aside.
5. Place the butter in a small pan over medium heat. Stir continuously as it melts and begins to foam. Keep stirring until the butter stops foaming and you see small brown specks at the bottom — the toasted milk solids. The aroma will be nutty and irresistible. This can take up to 10 minutes. Pour the brown butter into a heatproof bowl to stop the cooking and let it cool slightly.
6. Once the brown butter has cooled slightly, add the sugar and beat with a handheld mixer until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Stir in the vanilla extract.
7. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
8. Fold the dry ingredients and milk into the brown butter mixture in one-third increments, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined – don’t overmix. Finally, fold in the grated apple.
9. Pour the cake batter over the apple layer, spreading evenly to the edges. Bake for 45–50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
   If the top is browning too quickly, loosely cover it with foil after 20–25 minutes.
10. Let the cake cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then carefully invert it onto a plate (watch out for hot caramel drips).
11. Enjoy warm or at room temperature – delicious on its own or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or dollop of cream :)