Spray the crock of a 4 or 5-quart slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Peel, core and chop the apples, keeping them in a bowl of lemon water once chopped to prevent oxidation.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

Cut the butter into small pieces, then sprinkle over the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter or two forks and mix the butter into the flour, forming coarse crumbs. (You can also use your hands but try to avoid over working the crumb mixture, as the heat from your hands will soften the butter, resulting in a cake that is dense.)

Stir the milk and vanilla extract into the flour mixture, mixing until just moistened. (Again, be sure not to over mix.)

Drain the chopped apples well, blotting with a paper towel if necessary to remove any excess water.  Add about one-third of the apples to the batter and stir just enough to disperse throughout the batter.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared slow cooker crock. Top with the remaining drained apple, spreading evenly over the top.

To make the sauce/pudding mixture, melt the butter in a medium sauce pan. Add apple cider, lemon juice, honey, granulated sugar and cinnamon to the pan and stir to combine, continuing to heat until the sugar and honey are dissolved.

Pour the sauce mixture over the apples and cake batter. Do not stir, and don’t worry if the apples are floating in the liquid.

Cover and cook on high for 2 ½ to 3 hours, or until apples are tender and the cake has started to puff up under the apples. Below, you’ll see a liquidy sauce – that will thicken as it is served spooned over the top of the cake.

Serve right out of the crockpot, still warm, with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top.