Last-Minute Cake

Dinner prep was easy tonight (grilled chicken, rice, and salad), so I thought I'd throw something special together for dessert. Here is my adaptation of a recipe I found in this month's Oprah magazine. It's nice, because the cake is made from staples, and I usually have some fruit around to top it. I'm sure it would be good with plums or peaches, any kind of berry--even pineapple would be tasty.

Last-Minute Cake

1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
1 stick butter
10 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 egg
2 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
handful of blackberries
juice of half a lemon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add 6 tablespoons of the sugar and stir. Take the saucepan off of the heat and set it aside for a few minutes to cool. Meanwhile, butter a springform cake pan. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl. Slice the apples about 1/4-inch thick and toss with the lemon juice.

Add the egg to the butter/sugar mixture and stir well to combine. Add the dry ingredients and stir together. Turn the cake batter out into the greased pan. Top with the apples and blackberries, arranging prettily. Sprinkle remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar on top of the fruit. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cake is done. Serve warm with ice cream for maximum deliciousness.