What can I say about this cake? It is about as close to perfection as a fall cake can come: grown-up enough to serve for brunch, or afternoon tea, or at the end of a sophisticated dinner, but sweet enough to feel like a good and proper dessert and sate your sugar craving. The only butter in the cake is what you spread around the cake pan, and yet the cake forms a sublime, slightly crunchy caramelized crust on the top and bottom. The apples sink and melt into the batter, keeping the cake moist without weighing it down.

Are you drooling yet?

This cake is also versatile. We kept the apples chunky but our aunt Tracy’s recipe advised us to slice them thin; we stirred them directly into the batter, where aunt Tracy spread layers of batter, then apples, batter, then apples, then more batter in the cake pan; we made it a second time with 2 cups of firmly packed dark brown sugar instead of 2 cups of white sugar, and it was even deeper and richer than the first cake. You could change the cake entirely by adding ginger to the cinnamon, or perhaps a teaspoon of ground cardamom, or substitute a dash of rum or Calvados for half of the vanilla. You can toast slivered almonds and sprinkle them on top of the cake, or make a maple syrup glaze and pour that on top. Possibilities? Endless.

I suggest you stock up on apples and try as many variations as you can think of - and send us the recipes, photos, and videos when you do.

And a HUGE thank you to our aunt Tracy for sending us the recipe - and to our aunt Ann, who’s credited with devising it in the first place.

APPLE CAKE

• 2-3 large, tart apples, cored and peeled
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon

• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups white sugar or 2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• Powdered sugar, for dusting; or toasted slivered almonds

Optional maple syrup glaze:

• maple syrup
• powedered sugar

Preheat your oven to 350ºF and lightly butter a cake or bundt pan.

Chop your apples into uniform chunks and toss, in a bowl, with the sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine your dry ingredients and stir. Stir in the eggs and the oil. Stir in the vanilla.

Either gently fold the apples into the batter and pour everything into the cake pan, or pour 1/3 of the batter into the prepared cake pan, then 1/2 the apples, 1/3 of the batter, the last 1/2 of the apples, and top with the remaining 1/3 of batter. There should be quite a bit of extra room at the top of the pan; trust me, you’ll need it.

Bake at 350ºF for 65 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool, in the pan, to room temp, then invert onto a plate and flip back over. Sprinkle generously with powdered sugar, toasted slivered almonds, or a maple syrup glaze.

To make a maple syrup glaze, simply whisk together maple syrup and powdered sugar - start with just a little and add more as necessary - until the glaze reaches your desired thickness.