Life on Food: French Apple Cake

Every year Mr. J wants apple pie. Every year I dread making it. I don't mind the actual making of the pie, I just don't really like pie.

Dessert needs chocolate. We are talking cookies, cake, and ice cream. Those are my kind of desserts.

Mr. J likes all sorts of fruit desserts. Pies, tarts. We can NEVER share dessert at a restaurant because this is just one thing neither one of us will compromise on.

This year I wanted to make something with apples but I refused to make a pie, at least this early in the season. I saw this French Apple Cake recipe and thought I would give it a go. Let's just say I trust the French.

The little bit of rum didn't hurt either. We had this on Saturday night hot from the oven. It was 3/4 of the way gone by Sunday night.

French Apple Cake

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 60 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert apple cake fall

Ingredients (serves 8)

3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
4 large apples (a mix of varieties)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons dark rum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 tablespoons butter, salted or unsalted, melted and cooled to room temperature

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven.

Heavily butter an 8- or 9-inch (20-23cm) springform pan and place it on a baking sheet. (I used a regular 9 inch cake pan and it worked just fine.)

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Peel and core the apples, then dice them into 1-inch 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

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. 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.

Serving: Serve wedges of the cake just by itself, or with crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream.

Storage: The cake will keep for up to three days covered. Since the top is very moist, it’s best to store it under a cake dome or overturned bowl.