Apple Skillet Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting from the New York Times Cooking column. It's the "best cake ever".

I made this cake to take to a luncheon at my cousin's home. Her husband, who is a cake aficionado, declared it "best cake ever". My husband raved about the salt on the frosting.

I admit to changing up the original recipe ever so slightly. I did not use a skillet, so it took quite a bit longer to bake than the recipe stated. And, I used my sister's recipe for a brown sugar frosting rather than the frosting made with caramel candies as suggested by the NY Times. Below you see the un-iced cake. I somehow missed photographing the iced cake. 

Ingredients for the caramel apples:

• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 large baking apples, peeled cored and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Ingredients for the cake:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter plus more for the pan
• 1 & 1/3 cup of brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 & 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Ingredients for the frosting: 

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar 
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla 
• 2-3 cups of icing sugar
• several pinches of sea salt

Methods:

The apples:

In a saute pan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat, then add the apples , brown sugar and salt,. Cook stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves and the apples soften slightly. This will take 4-5 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

The cake: 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10 -inch oven proof skillet with butter. Cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl (flour salt, baking powder and spices), then add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix until just combined.

With a rubber spatula, gently fold the apples and all of their caramelized liquid into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared skillet and bake it until the surface is a golden brown  for 30-35 minutes.

Allow the cake to cool. Note, if you use something other than a skillet to contain the cake, the baking time may vary.

The Frosting:

Melt the butter in a pot on the stove over a medium heat, then add the brown sugar, syrup, salt and milk. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla. Beat in 2-3 cups of icing sugar depending on how stiff you want your icing to be and the nature of your icing sugar. While the icing is still warm, pour it over the cooled cake. When the icing has set, sprinkle some sea salt on top before serving.