Brown Butter Ginger Apple Torte

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and wrap the bottom with aluminum foil.
2. Melt 2 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet set over medium heat. Cook butter until it is lightly browned, stirring constantly. Add apples slices and stir until all slices are covered with the browned butter. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of turbinado sugar over the apples and continue cooking (stirring occasionally) until the apples are softened and most of the liquid has evaporated. Caramelize the apples for extra flavor. Set aside to cool while you prepare the cake.
3. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and ginger (if using).
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add in the lemon zest, grated ginger, molasses, rum and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. At this point, the mixture will look curdled but it is OK.
5. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add in the flour mixture in three batches and mix until combined after each addition. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the milk and yogurt until the batter is smooth and thoroughly combined.
6. Scoop half of the batter into the prepared pan. Layer the apple slices over the batter. Spread the rest of the batter over the apples and smooth the top with a spatula. Place the walnut halves on top of the cake and sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar over the cake.
7. Bake cake for 40-50 minutes or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. Move cake to a cooling rack. Run a small knife through the sides of the pan to loosen the cake completely. Release the sides of the pan and remove it. Let cake cool completely before removing cake from the base of the springform pan.
9. Serve as is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.