Very Easy Apple Cake

Author Notes

This apple cake is as light, puffy, and fluffy as it is easy, easy, and easy. It comes together with only four ingredients (not counting salt, an honorary Big Little ingredient) and takes 20-something minutes to get in the oven. Did I mention there’s no butter or oil? There’s no butter or oil. Oh, and no commercial leavener, like baking soda or baking powder, either. The inspiration here comes by way of Russia, where crackly, tender apple sharlotka is made with white sugar and white flour. This newfangled rendition calls in light brown sugar (malty! caramely!) and white whole wheat flour (still a whole grain, just milled from a paler variety of wheat). Both ingredients turn the cake golden in color and nutty-complex in flavor (and once you have them in your pantry, you’ll start swapping them into everything). I call for Granny Smith apples, but feel free to swap in any sweet-tart apple that holds up well when baked; Honey Crisp, Pink Lady, and Jonagold are all good options. The amount of apples may seem outlandish, but that’s the whole point—apples with some cake, not cake with some apples. I like this best served with confectioners’ sugar sprinkled on top, just before slicing, and a big dollop of crème fraîche (or whipped cream or Greek yogurt or vanilla ice cream) alongside. That said, it’s just as wonderful unadorned—and as suited for brunch as it is for dessert. Because this batter leans so heavily on eggs and sugar, it doesn’t hold up well, so make it the day you want to eat it. —Emma Laperruque