Skillet Apple Cake

Here in Northern California, we don't have the beautiful and dramatic changing of the leaves, the weather instead shifts from very warm days to cool ones. The sun hangs a little lower in the sky, the light become mellow and golden. Everything becomes golden-brown - the dried grasses on the hills, the leaves piling up in the rain gutters. Markets fill with fall-colored produce, all red, golden, and burnt orange. Crisp little apples, juicy pears, hideously gorgeous kabocha squash. I dream of making a sugar pie pumpkin fondue. 
The other day, I walked down to the farmer's market and found a gorgeous assortment of apples. I particularly love nutty green-gold mutsu, sweet winesaps, and crisp tart honeycrisps. This cake was the perfect use for a few of those apples. It is topped off with layer of apple slices, so that it resembles a tart. Like a French-style apple tart, the fruit caramelize just slightly while the cake bakes. Unlike a tart, however, its very humble and comforting, and smacks of family and lazy golden afternoons. It smells of butter, fruit, and cinnamon, and it is just about perfect with a cup of tea or a glass of milk.




Skillet Apple Cake
-3 tbsp sugar + 1/4 cup sugar
-1 cup all-purpose flour
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 1/2 tsp baking powder
-1 egg
-2 tbsp whole milk
-4 tbsp (1/2 stick) butter, softened
-2 tbsp olive oil
-2-3 Golden Delicious, Golden Supreme, or Mutsu apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat the bottom of a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with olive oil. Coat the pan with 1 tbsp of the sugar.
Sift together flour, salt, baking powder. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, milk, olive oil.
In a larger bowl, cream together the butter and 1/4 cup of sugar. Stir in the flour mixture, then the milk-egg mixture. Spread the batter into the prepared skillet, using a rubber spatula.
Starting at the edge of the cake, arrange the apple slices in a circular pattern, making the apple slices overlap slightly. Make sure the slices completely cover the cake batter. Mix together the remaining 2 tbsp of sugar and cinnamon. Sift as evenly as possible over the apple slices.
Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool for at least 10 minutes before loosening the sides with a thin knife or spatula. To remove, cover the pan with a large pan, and turn the plate-pan over so the cake fall into the pan. Cover the plate with another plate, and invert again so that the cake is right-side-up.