The Apple Lady's Apple Cake

Have been tempting to make apple cake for some time, there are many versions available and i only knew that after going thru the internet, they have dutch apple cake, french apple cake, german apple cake . I've yet to really got to know the difference in all those cakes but i came across this in One Perfect Bite by Mary. I'm not quite sure is this the french type of apple cake but I must say that i was somehow got attracted by the looks of the cake , i ran thru the ingredients list ..yup, all available and i decided shall make this one day. Mary said that it's more like a crustless pie rather than a cake which is true, from the picture you can tell and i just love how the slices of apples were beautifully stacked in there. This would be a lovely treat for an afternoon tea.

Some important notes from Mary, " some apples contain more moisture than others so cooking time is not constant. The cake must be firm to touch and a light brown before the topping is applied"

Ingredients: ( from One Perfect Bite )
For Cake:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/8 fine seasalt (regular table salt can also be used )
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbps vegetable oil
1/3 cup whole milk
Finely slivered zest of 1 scrubbed lemon
2 pounds ( 4-6 ) baking apples, cored, peeled and cut into thin slices

Topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Finely slivered zest of 1 scrubbed lemon
1tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsps unsalted butter, melted

Method:
1.Preheat oven to 425F. Butter a 9 inch springform pan and set it aside.
2.In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, stir to blend. Add vanilla extract,eggs oil, milk and lemon zest, stir until well combined. Add apples and stir to coat them with batter.
3.Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake pan. Bake in center of oven until fairly firm and golden , about 25-35minutes.
4.Meanwhile, prepare topping. In a small bowl, combine sugar, egg, melted butter, lemon zest and juice, stir to blend, set aside.
5. Remove cake from oven and pour topping mixture over it.Return cake to oven and bake until top is deep golden brown and cake feels quite firm when pressed with a fingertip, about 10minutes.
6.Transfer cake pan to a rack and allow to cool for 10minutes. Then run a knife around the sides of the pan, release and remove springform pan, leaving the cake on the pan base. Serve warm or at room temperature. Yield: 8 servings.