My painter is lactose intolerant. These are the sort of things you discover when a 3-day house painting job dawdles from June to just after Labor Day. It’s like having an extra son/husband around. I wanted to bake our painter something flavorful but dair- free. So I created this cake which is wonderfully flavor rich, moist and gorgeous but lactose-free. It was intended for the painter to share at a company dinner with his out-of-town relatives. Instead, he offered a few slices and apparently hid the remaining, coveted slices in an empty paint can. Ok, I don’t know that for sure. I do know he a) loved the cake and b) he hid some extra slices – but not in an empty paint can. This cake features a gloriously rich but butter and milk free batter, with a river of apples running through it and an elegant fondant ripple topping. I made two of these cakes – one for him and one for us. You know, I also ending up hiding a few pieces and considering I could whip up another one in seconds, that says something about how good this cake is.