Ingredients
Brown butter
- 150 g unsalted butter
Cake batter
- 200 g brown sugar, firmly packed
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 220 g plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- 60 ml milk
Apple topping
- 3 large apples (pink lady or granny smith), cored and thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 28 g brown sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
To finish
- Icing sugar, for dusting
- 300 ml thickened cream, softly whipped
- 1 tbsp icing sugar, for cream
- ½ tsp vanilla extract, for cream
Method
Brown the butter
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until it foams then turns golden brown and smells nutty, about 4-5 minutes. Pour into a heatproof bowl and set aside to cool slightly.
Make the batter
Preheat oven to 170°C (fan-forced). Grease and line a 23cm springform tin.
Whisk the browned butter and brown sugar together until combined.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, until light and glossy.
Sift in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Fold through gently, then stir in the milk until just combined. Pour batter into the prepared tin and smooth the top.
Prepare and arrange the apples
Toss the sliced apples with lemon juice, brown sugar and cinnamon.
Fan the apple slices out over the top of the batter in overlapping concentric circles, pressing in very slightly.
Bake
Bake for 50-55 minutes, until deeply golden, the apples are caramelised, and a skewer inserted into the cake (avoiding an apple slice) comes out clean. Cover loosely with foil for the last 15 minutes if browning too quickly.
Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then release and cool further on a wire rack.
Serve
Whip the cream with icing sugar and vanilla to soft peaks.
Dust the cooled (or just-warm) cake generously with icing sugar and serve slices with a dollop of the whipped cream.
