Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Prepare the baking dish:

• If using, line the dish with parchment paper and grease the sides of the dish. If not using parchment paper, grease the entire baking dish and set aside.

Prepare the apples:

• Core the apples and quarter them. Place each quarter, cut side down, on the cutting board. Slice each quarter into 1/8'' slices. Keep each sliced apple quarter intact so you can easily place them right on top of the cake when ready (refer to the photo).

Prepare the cake batter:

• Place the butter in a mixing bowl and use a hand mixer to mix for 1 minute until fluffy. Add the sugar and mix for 2–3 minutes until fully incorporated.
• Add the eggs one at a time and mix after each addition until fully incorporated.
• Add the vanilla extract, lemon juice, salt, and baking powder and mix again. Add the milk and mix once more until incorporated. It's okay if the mixture appears to be lumpy or curdled.
• Add the cake flour and mix until just incorporated. Do not overmix the batter!

Bake the apple cake:

• Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth it out with a rubber spatula. Carefully pick up each sliced apple quarter (keeping the quarters intact as seen in the photo) and place all the sliced apple quarters cut-side down on top of the cake.
• Scatter the turbinado sugar on top of the cake.
• Transfer to the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick pierced into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Broil (or torch) the turbinado sugar:

• Turn on the broiler. Broil the cake for 1–3 minutes, being careful not to burn the top, until the sugars begin to melt. Remove from the oven. Alternatively, use a blowtorch to melt the sugars.

To serve:

• Let the cake cool and then slice and serve with whipped cream or whipped crème fraîche. Enjoy!