Apple Oven Cake

I have a large bag full of apples sitting on my kitchen floor. I should have more, really - I do have 8 apple trees on my property, but only a few of them are producing apples, because I don't really know how to prune and take care of them. Anyway, I do have apples, and I've been trying to figure out what to do with them - my husband won't eat them unless they are cooked (he thinks he's allergic to them - is this common?). He doesn't like apple sauce at all. Picky will sometimes eat apple sauce, but not with any regularity, and she won't touch apples in their natural form. Everyone will eat apple crisp, but that gets old for me after awhile, and my scale doesn't like it either (it keeps protesting by going a little higher each time I visit...). So I've been on the lookout for apple recipes.

I saw a recipe on Pioneer Women for skillet apple cake, and that sounded promising. On further investigation, however, I realized that there was a bit too much butter in that recipe. A bit. And then I remembered that a recent Sunset had a recipe for Apple Oven Cake, and I went sorting through all of my summer magazines to find it (It was actually in October - go figure). What I found is a kind-of apple pancake that you make in a cast iron pan. The butter content is much more reasonable (3 Tbsp as opposed to almost 2 sticks), however I wouldn't really call this a cake, exactly. It was fast to make, and I love the way it puffed up on the sides in a surprising way. I over-cooked it a bit, and I only had it in for 12 of the 15 minutes they suggested. So the edges were a little burnt. But it still tasted lovely, and the apples were all caramel-y and wonderful. The only thing I changed was the type of apple - it called for 1 sweet apple, such as Fuji - well, the apples from my tree are tart - baking apple tart. It tasted great - I would suggest that you'd be better off with a golden delicious or granny smith, here. But, maybe I'm mistaken. I have to admit that I generally prefer tart baking apples to sweet ones. Picky seemed to like it just fine too.

Here it is, from Sunset Magazine, October 2009:

Apple Oven Cake

• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1 sweet apple, such as Fuji, peeled and sliced
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup each flour and milk
• 1 tbsp each fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 425
Melt butter in a 12-inch ovenproof frying pan over high heat.
Add brown sugar and cinnamon, swirling to combine
Add apple and cook until just starting to soften, about 3 minutes
Meanwhile, in a blender, whirl together eggs, salt, flour, and milk
Pour egg mixture into pan and bake until puffed and brown, about 15 minutes
Sprinkle with lemon juice and powdered sugar.

Oh, yum! It was gone so fast...I may have to try again tomorrow, and see if I can make it perfect...