Brown Butter Apple Cake

Quick, easy, and full of flavor

I had a new friend come over for lunch yesterday that I admittedly wanted to impress. The savory part of the meal I had under control — a big leafy salad with marinated white beans, smoked trout, and tender herbs, with a side of 7 minute eggs with a swoop of aioli — but I felt stumped on dessert. I needed something relatively quick to execute, that felt appropriate for a dreary winter day, and that was of course, delicious.

Enter the Brown Butter Apple Cake from my book, To the Last Bite. This cake was born out of the predicament of having too many apples come fall. You’ll see as you make the cake that it appears to be 50/50 apples to batter, which is just how I like it. The most involved step is making the brown butter, and while you could skip it and simply use melted butter, the nutty, intensely caramely flavor is not to be missed. It’s made in one bowl and bakes in about 40 minutes, which is exactly the kind of dessert I was looking for. I don’t know I’ll ever get over the joy of cooking from my own book.

Photo by Nicole Franzen

Serves 6 to 8