Honeyed Apple Torte

1/3 cup honey

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

3 medium-firm tart cooking apples, quartered, peeled and each quarter cut lengthwise

1 ¼ cups sifted unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

¾ cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon (optional)

¼ cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

Bring the honey and lemon juice to a simmer in a 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add the apple wedges, cut side down, and cook, stirring gently and frequently with a heatproof rubber spatula, 10 to 15 minutes, until the apples are translucent and almost tender when tested with the tip of a sharp paring knife. Set aside to cool. Adjust an oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 350º. Butter a 9 inch springform pan, or coat with cooking spray; set aside.

Resift the flour with the baking powder and salt, set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add ¼ cup of the sugar, the vanilla, and lemon zest and beat on medium-high speed for 1 minute. Beat in the remaining ½ cup sugar, then the brown sugar about ¼ cup at a time, beating for 20 to 30 seconds after each addition, then beat for 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. On low speed, beat in the flour mixture only until the batter is smooth.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.

Arrange the cooled apple slices on top in an attractive pattern of concentric circles, leaving a bit of space between the wedges. Press the apple slices slightly into the batter.

For the topping, combine 1 Tbsp sugar with ½ tsp ground cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the apples and batter. Bake for 1 hour, or until the cake is nicely browned and springs back when gently pressed. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Remove the sides of the pan and cut into portions with a sharp serrated knife.

*For those of us without springform pans, it works just fine in a round cake pan.