First-of-Fall Apple (or Pear) Bundt

Steps

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350℉.
2. Choose a 10-cup Bundt pan, preferably one that doesn’t have a complicated design; coat it with baker’s spray or butter it, dust the interior with flour and tap out the excess.
3. Cut the apples into small chunks. Try to keep them less than 1/2 inch, but don’t fuss over neatness here; even a rough chop will work. You should have between 31/2 and 4 cups of chunks (but again, precision’s not necessary).
4. Put the apples, sugar, flour and cinnamon in a large bowl and toss together to coat the apples; set aside.
5. Whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.
6. Working in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the brown sugar and eggs together on medium speed for about 3 minutes.
7. Still working on medium, and scraping the bowl and beater(s) as needed, blend in the maple syrup, followed by the oil and then the vanilla.
8. Turn off the mixer, add half of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are almost incorporated.
9. Pour in the buttermilk, and mix just until incorporated, then add the remainder of the dry ingredients and mix just until they disappear into the thin batter.
10. Give the apples a quick stir, scrape them into the batter—include any syrup that has accumulated—and mix them in with a flexible spatula. Pour the batter into the pan.
11. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until the cake just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and, more important, a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. The batter may have baked a bit higher than the center opening, but that’s fine.
12. Transfer the cake to a rack and let it sit for 10 minutes, then unmold it onto the rack and allow it to cool to room temperature.
13. If you won’t be finishing the cake with the caramel glaze, dust it with confectioners’ sugar, if you'd like.
14. Optional Caramel:
15. Put the butter, brown sugar, milk (or half-and-half or cream) and vanilla in a medium saucepan set over medium heat.
16. Bring to a boil and keep at a bubble, stirring, for 2 minutes.
17. Use the caramel immediately as a glaze for the cake (put the cake on a rack set over a baking sheet or a piece of parchment paper and pour over the caramel) or as a sauce over slices of cake, or over ice cream, if you’re serving it.
18. The caramel can also be covered and refrigerated—warm gently before using.