A Traditional French Apple Cake
We woke up this morning to an icy bast of arctic wind, with wind chill values of -30°C forecasted! In other words, a perfect day for staying in and baking!
As I knew this deep freeze was coming, I made sure to get out yesterday to pick up some apples so I could make one of my favorite treats, a traditional French Apple Cake. The recipe for this delicious cake is from Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan.
The best part about making this cake (other than it is completely delicious!) is that it is so simple, easy to make. No fancy ingredients, special equipment required. Other than the apples, you probably have all the ingredients on hand already.
You can use one type of apple, or a mix of varieties. I like to use a mix of Fuji, Granny Smith, Honey Crisp or Courtland.
If you don’t have any rum on hand for the batter brandy makes a good substitutes, or if you prefer to leave out the alcohol entirely you can simply double the amount of vanilla.
The original recipe uses an 8-inch (20cm) spring form pan, I’ve used a 9 inch pan and it works fine, it is just not quite as high as when done in a smaller pan. You can also bake it in a regular cake pan if you don’t have a springform pan.
A wedge of this French Apple Cake is delicious on it’s own, with just a light dusting of icing sugar, or with a dollop of crème fraiche, or vanilla ice cream alongside.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 110 grams flour
- 3.75 ml baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 kg large apple (around 3-4) a mix of varieties
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 150 grams sugar
- 45 ml dark rum
- 2.5 ml vanilla extract
- 115 grams butter (salted or unsalted) melted and cooled to room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 350ºF and adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven.
- Butter an 8-inch (20cm) springform pan and place on a baking sheet.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Peel and core the apples, then dice them into 1-inch (3cm) pieces.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs until foamy then whisk in the sugar, then rum and vanilla. Whisk in half of the flour mixture, then gently stir in half of the melted butter.Note: double the vanilla if you are not using rum
- Stir in the remaining flour mixture, then the rest of the butter.
- Fold in the apple cubes until they’re well-coated with the batter and scrape them into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top a little with a spatula.
- Bake the cake for 50 minute to 1 hour, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. It may take less time, depending on the apples, so check the cake 5 or so minutes before the recommended baking time. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake from the pan and carefully remove the sides of the cake pan, making sure no apples are stuck to it.