Apple Cake with Chocolate Glaze

My friend Sonya, an excellent cook, gave me this recipe for an apple cake that has been made for generations in her family. I first tasted it when we returned to her small Moscow apartment after a day of cross-country skiing in the countryside. The weather was bitterly cold, and as soon as we’d taken off our wet clothes, Sonya brewed a fresh pot of tea and offered this delightful cake along with it.