I love stopping at Morning Glory Farm this time of year. In fact, I have a hard time driving past, because all those great pumpkin displays draw me like a magnet. I usually buy one or two unusual pumpkins or gourds while I’m there; I take them home, arrange them on our back deck, and try to guess how long it will be before my husband notices that our fall decorations seem to be multiplying like bunnies.

Inside Morning Glory, the colorful array of harvest vegetables reminds me of why I love fall cooking. And I’m always mesmerized by the gorgeous apples from Carlson Orchards. Sadly I am allergic to raw apples, but cooking them seems to make them tolerable for me. So I was pretty excited when Abby Dodge sent in her latest Baking Together recipe: Cinnamon Apple Skillet Cake. With the purchase of a few firm-sweet apples like Gala and Honeycrisp, I had everything I needed to make this since the rest of the ingredients were in my pantry or fridge.

The skillet does double-duty in this recipe. First you lightly sauté the apples in it, then you top the apples with the cake batter and pop the skillet in the oven. You also serve the cake straight from the pan, making it perfect for family gatherings and small dinner parties. (So that’s actually triple-duty for the skillet.) The cake is light and airy, the surprise of warm, tender fruit on the bottom is heavenly, and vanilla ice cream makes this dessert darn near perfect.