Active Time

　　45 minutes

　　Total Time

　　1 hour 15 minutes

　　Over the years, I’ve eaten a lot of apple cake for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. While some of these cakes have been outstanding, others have left me wanting more flavor and depth. I’ve often felt that apple cake needed just one more thing to make it perfect, but it took me years to figure out what it was: toffee sauce.

　　This recipe combines Rosh Hashanah’s somewhat ubiquitous apple cake with sticky toffee pudding—one of my all-time favorite order-it-if-I-see-it desserts. Fresh autumn apples get cooked down with a bit of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon; a portion of the glossy (not mushy) apples goes right into the batter with the rest spooned on top.

　　The cake includes a cup of chopped dates that have been soaked in warm coffee for a little intrigue and to balance the sweetness of the toffee sauce. And the sauce itself? It’s luscious and silky with just a pinch of salt. It’s so easy to make that you might find yourself whipping up a batch for drizzling on ice cream or for dipping apples into instead of the traditional honey. Sorry, honey!

　　

Ingredients

8 servings

　　

Cake

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

　　2 lb. apples (such as Honeycrisp or Fuji; about 6), peeled, cored, cut into ½" pieces (about 4 cups)

　　2 Tbsp. (25 g) plus 1 cup (packed; 200 g) light brown sugar

　　1 Tbsp. plus ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

　　½ tsp. ground cinnamon

　　½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, divided

　　1 cup (173 g) chopped pitted Medjool dates

　　¾ cup warm freshly brewed coffee

　　3 large eggs

　　1 tsp. vanilla extract

　　1½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour

　　2 tsp. baking powder

　　1 tsp. baking soda

　　

Sauce and assembly

1 cup heavy cream

　　1 cup (packed; 200 g) light brown sugar

　　½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

　　½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt

　　Vanilla ice cream (for serving; optional)

　　

Cake

Step 1

Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 375°. Coat a 9" square baking pan with nonstick vegetable oil spray and line with parchment paper. Cook 2 lb. apples (such as Honeycrisp or Fuji; about 6), peeled, cored, cut into ½" pieces (about 4 cups), 2 Tbsp. (25 g) light brown sugar, 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature, ½ tsp. ground cinnamon, and ¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ⅛ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until apples are glossy and softened but not mushy, 8–10 minutes. Let cool.

　　

Step 2

Combine 1 cup (173 g) chopped pitted Medjool dates and ¾ cup warm freshly brewed coffee in a small bowl; let sit 10 minutes.

　　

Step 3

Meanwhile, beat remaining 1 cup (packed; 200 g) light brown sugar and ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase speed to medium-low and, with motor running, add 3 large eggs one at a time, beating until combined after each addition. Beat in 1 tsp. vanilla extract. Reduce speed to low and mix in date mixture. (The batter will look broken at this point.)

　　

Step 4

Sift 1½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. baking soda, and remaining ¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ⅛ tsp. Morton kosher salt into a medium bowl. Add 1 cup cooked apples and toss lightly to combine; set remaining cooked apples aside for serving. Add to brown sugar mixture in stand mixer bowl and gently fold with a rubber spatula until just combined.

　　

Step 5

Scrape batter into prepared baking pan; place pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake cake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan 5 minutes.

　　

Sauce and Assembly

Step 6

While the cake is baking, bring 1 cup heavy cream, 1 cup (packed; 200 g) light brown sugar, ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, and ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt to a simmer in a medium heavy saucepan over medium-low. Cook, stirring often, until sauce is shiny and thick enough to coat a spoon, 8–10 minutes.

　　

Step 7

Turn cake out of pan onto a platter and peel away parchment paper; discard. Pour ½ cup toffee sauce over and brush top and sides of cake to coat. Cut cake into squares and serve topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if desired and remaining cooked apples and toffee sauce.

　　Do Ahead: Cake can be made 2 days ahead; after inverting and brushing with sauce, let cool completely. Return to pan, and store tightly wrapped at room temperature. Toffee sauce can be made 2 weeks ahead; let cool. Cover and chill. Reheat in microwave at 30-second intervals or in a small saucepan over medium-low.