Like Pavlov’s dog, the start of fall triggers an unhinged desire to buy more apples than one person can responsibly eat, and drink gallons of apple cider, and wrap myself in cozy sweaters and read by pumpkin-scented candles.

I don’t seek these seasonal comforts out. They just happen. One minute I’ll be driving home from a hike at Lantern Hill in North Stonington and the next I’ll be perusing the apple bins at the Holmberg Orchards store in Gales Ferry. It won’t even have been a conscious decision. New England has pre-programmed me to crave fall and take all the scenic routes home.

And so, after a semi-long hiatus from cooking, in one week I made both apple pie and a ridiculously good-looking cake I came across on smittenkitchen.com called sunken apple and honey cake. I’ve decided that my ideal diet consists of apple pie for breakfast and sunken apple and honey cake for dessert. But now I am out of apples and I must get more because, guys, this cake is no joke. You will want to make it back to back, to back.

The cake has its roots in a German cake called Versunkener Apfelkuchen. Sounds exotic, but it’s quite simple, actually - a coarse-crumb cake lightened with some whipped egg whites and sweetened just right with some sugar and honey.

No spice, though you could always add some.

Apples, halved and sliced thinly, placed on top of the batter intact, sink into the batter as the cake bakes and stud the cake like large, juicy jewels.

But wait, there’s more: Once the cake has cooled, you warm up some more honey with a healthy dose of salt and brush that salted honey glaze on the cake to make it shiny and sticky and delicious.

It’s even better on the second day than it is the first. Like a good relationship, the flavors grow and meld the more time the apples and cake have had to spend together.

Good luck eating just one slice. For hours afterward, my friend and I hovered around the cake, slicing slivers off and deciding that was the best way to enjoy the cake - in increments, standing by the kitchen island and talking about nothing in particular.

Sunken apple and honey cake

from smittenkitchen.com

For the apple topping:

4 small apples, halved, peeled, cored (I used 3 medium apples)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

For the cake batter:

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

¼ cup honey (make it a good one–you really taste the honey in this cake)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large eggs, separated

2 good pinches of salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

For the glaze:

¼ cup honey

A good pinch of sea salt (I used kosher)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter or oil the inside of a 9-inch springform pan.

For the apple topping:

Once you have peeled, halved and cored the apples, place them cut side down on a cutting board and slice them in thin slices, slicing only halfway so the apple halves stay intact.

In a bowl, gently toss the apples with lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Set aside.

For the cake batter:

Using an electric beater, beat the butter with ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar until fluffy. Add honey, then beat to combine. Beat in vanilla and egg yolks until just combined. Add salt and baking powder, then beat briefly to combine. Add flour in two additions and beat until just combined.

In a separate bowl with clean beaters, beat eggs whites until stiff. Using a spatula, gently fold egg whites into cake batter in four additions. Fold until just combined.

Spread batter into springform pan. Smooth out top.

Toss apples one last time, then place face-down on the batter; there’s no need to press them down into the batter. Pour any excess lemon juice/sugar mixture over the apples.

Bake for about 35-40 minutes (baking time will vary depending on how large your apples are. My cake took about 50-55 minutes to bake), until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool briefly, then use a knife to loosen the edges of the cake from the springform pan. Unhinge the pan.

When cake is cool, or before serving, warm ¼ up honey and a healthy pinch of salt until the honey becomes liquid. Brush the salted honey over the cake.

Store at room temperature for up to three days.

Serves 8.