Maple Cake with Brown Butter Apples

Ingredients

• For the brown butter apples:
• 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch dice
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup sugar
• For the cake:
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 3/4 cups maple syrup
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup milk, at room temperature

Directions

1. For the brown butter apples, combine the apples with the lemon juice and salt. Set a large skillet over medium heat and melt the butter until it starts to foam, 3 to 4 minutes. Every so often, gently tilt and rotate the skillet; keep cooking until the foam settles down and browned bits show up on the bottom.
2. Stir the apples, maple syrup, and sugar into the skillet. Cook, stirring now and then, until the apples are barely tender, 6 to 8 minutes, then take the pan off the heat. Using a slotted spoon, move the apples to a plate and leave the liquid behind in the skillet.
3. For the cake, move an oven rack to the center of the oven and heat to 350 degrees F. Use a pastry brush to coat a 9-inch springform pan with about 3/4 tablespoon butter. Fit a parchment paper round into the bottom, then brush that paper with the remaining butter.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda until evenly mixed; set aside.
5. In a large bowl, beat the remaining 4 tablespoons butter with the oil at medium speed until the mixture looks light and comes together completely, about 2 minutes. Pour in the maple syrup and beat again on medium until the batter is thick and lighter in color, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, mixing thoroughly after each one.
6. Turn the mixer down to low. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating those additions with the milk. As you go, use a rubber spatula to clear the bowl's walls and base whenever needed. Switch back to medium and beat only until the batter is blended, 20 to 30 seconds.
7. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes, until the surface has set and is starting to color. Spoon the apples over the top, then bake until a cake tester poked into the middle comes out clean, 45 to 60 minutes longer.
8. Move the cake to a cooling rack and let it sit in the pan for 10 minutes. Unlock the springform and lift it away.
9. While the cake cools, stir the apple drippings in the skillet and set it over medium-high heat until it simmers. Cook until the juices are bubbly, thick, and reduced to about 1/4 cup. Drizzle the reduction over the cake right away.
10. Cool the cake about 45 minutes, then serve it warm with ice cream. You can also let the cake cool all the way and serve it at room temperature.