Apple Brown Butter "Doughnut" Cakes With Cinnamon and Honey

Photo: Adrien

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKES:

1 tablespoon cup plus 1 unsalted butter

1 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 large eggs

2 medium to large apples, peeled and grated (I used Braeburn, but feel free to use any other kind of

FOR THE SUGAR COATING:

1/2 cup ultrafine sugar (can be made in a food processor using granulated sugar)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 12 cup standard muffin pan and set aside.

To make the brown butter, melt the butter over medium heat until it begins to sizzle and froth. As soon as the sizzling noise slows down, immediately turn the heat to low and simmer, stirring, until the froth on top begins to turn a light brown. Take the pot off the heat and set aside. Stir the butter in the pan to incorporate the froth into the rest of the butter. The residual heat from the pot will be enough to turn the butter to a light, golden brown color. It should smell like nutty caramel. Strain the butter through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl and set asi

While the butter cools, sift flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon into a large bowl and stir in the brown sugar until combined. Mix in the honey and eggs, then add the cooled brown butter and stir until just mixed. Squeeze the excess moisture from the grated apples and gently fold through the batter.

Divide the batter into the muffin tin and bake for 20-22 minutes until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.

Mix the ultrafine sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl or shallow plate.

Immediately turn the cakes out onto a wire rack and toss through the sugar and cinnamon mixture to coat. If the cakes have cooled too much, the sugar won't stick to the outside. Let the cakes cool completely on the wire rack. These are best eaten immediately, but they'll keep for a few days sealed in an airtight container.