Ingredients
- 3 large Granny Smith or other sweet-tart baking apples
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- Pinch baking soda
- Butter for pan
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Peel, core, and cut apples into 1/2-inch dice, and toss with enough lemon juice so that the tartness hits you first, and then fades to the apples' sweetness, probably about 1/2 a lemon's worth.
- Whisk eggs to combine them, and whisk in sugar until you can't feel it crunching anymore. Add flour and a full, finger-and-thumb pinch of baking soda, and whisk to combine into a thick batter.
- Heavily butter a 10-inch round pan; a frying pan works beautifully. "I never saw a cake pan in Russia," Kevin says. "And I feel like using a frying pan kind of fits -- quick and improvisational, you know?" Add the apples and spread them out, then pour the batter on top. Shake the pan a little to even it all out.
- Bake it until you get a puffed, light sandy brown with a craggy surface, and a toothpick comes out clean, except for bits of apple. Check the cake after 30 minutes, but depending on your pan, the baking may take up to 45.
- When it's ready, set a large plate upside down over the pan, and with towels or oven mitts, hold the plate and pan together, flip, and give it a good shake so the cake falls onto the plate. If it's stuck in the pan, use a thin spatula or knife to loosen the edges of the cake. The bottom-now-top of the cake should be a deep, caramelized brown.
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