Cardamom Cognac Apple Cake

It's almost officially fall, and that means apples.  This is not your typical apple pie or tart or crumble - it's a very moist, thin cake completely filled with apples and pecans and flavored with cardamom and cognac.  It's sophisticated and tastes quite French, which is a good thing in my world.  Normal people might think of this as a dessert, in which case you might want to add a little sweetened whipped cream or vanilla yogurt on the side.  I'm not much of a dessert person so to me this is weekend brunch fare with a good strong cup of coffee on the side.

As I said, the cake is very moist and actually there isn't much actual cake because there are so many apples.  It's almost like an apple pie with a little bit of cake batter.  The cognac adds a complex flavor note and the cardamom adds warm spice.  If you like cardamom, I guarantee you'll like this cake. 

If you have it for brunch (or not), cut the leftovers into individual slices and freeze (wrapped tightly) for breakfast during the week. 

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Cardamom Cognac Apple Cake

Serves 6-8

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¾ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

2 large eggs, at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons cognac (Calvados or bourbon work well too)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

½ cup pecans, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped

3 medium Honeycrisp apples

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing the pan

1 tablespoon coarse (sparkling) sugar

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting, optional

Preheat the oven to 350F. Place a piece of parchment paper into a 9-or 10-inch cast iron pan and grease with butter.

 In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cardamom, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. In a separate larger bowl, beat the eggs until foamy. Whisk in the granulated sugar, cognac, and vanilla extract. Pour in the buttermilk and whisk to combine. 

Peel, halve, and core 2 1/2 of the apples, then cut them into 1/2-inch cubes. Reserve the remaining ½ apple (unpeeled, and cut into very thin slices) for the top. 

 Add half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined, then gently fold in half of the melted butter. Repeat with the remaining flour and butter. Gently fold in the pecans and cubed apples (reserving the slices). Transfer the batter to the pan and arrange the apple slices in groups on top of the batter. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar.

Bake until the cake turns golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55-65 minutes. Transfer the skillet to a cooling rack and let sit for 5-10 minutes before carefully lifting the cake and paper out of the pan (have an extra set of hands helps to do this). The cake may be served warm or at room temperature.  Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving, if desired.