Dolly's Apple Cake

Some cakes are good fresh and stale by morning. This apple cake is the opposite, the kind that gets better on day two thanks to all that fruit and oil keeping it moist.

Oil instead of butter is the key to the tender, dense crumb. It coats the flour and keeps the cake soft for days, while three cups of sliced apples melt into pockets of jammy fruit and pecans add toasty crunch.

But the real magic is the topping. A quick brown sugar caramel, butter, milk, and brown sugar boiled for three minutes, gets poured over the cake while it’s still warm. The warm cake drinks it in, so the glaze isn’t just sitting on top, it soaks down into the crumb.

Pour the caramel slowly and let some run down the sides. That sticky, candied edge is the best part of the whole cake.

Chef Tips

• Beat the eggs until foamy before adding the sugar, as the recipe directs, to build a light base for a dense batter.
• Use a firm baking apple so the pieces hold their shape instead of dissolving completely.
• Pour the caramel over the cake while both are still warm so it absorbs into the crumb rather than sitting on the surface.
• Cool the cake in the pan 10 minutes before turning out so it firms up and releases cleanly.

Variations

• Leave out the pecans, which the recipe notes are optional, or swap in walnuts.
• Add a teaspoon of cinnamon or apple pie spice to the batter.
• Bake it in a Bundt pan for a prettier shape and more caramel-coated surface.