Author Dorie Greenspan of Around My French Table was delighted with her friend Marie-Helene’s apple cake, but the recipe was elusive. Marie-Helene, it seems, was not one to measure ingredients. Undaunted, Dorie made a few stabs at it, and here we are!
There must be something about getting apple cake recipes from friends… My friend Leanne supplied us with a delicious Apple Bundt Cake with Apple Butter Bourbon Glaze, and she had to work out the ingredients from a rough recipe provided by her mother.
Unusually, this apple cake contains no cinnamon, so its fresh, unadulterated apple flavour really stands out. In fact, it’s really baked apples held together by a very moist cake, which makes it almost breakfast-worthy.
Marie-Helene’s Apple Cake
Marie-Hélène’s Apple Cake: a rustic French dessert with tender fruit and a hint of Calvados—lightly sweet, elegant, and effortlessly chic.
- Yield: Serves 8–10. 1x
Ingredients
For the cake
- 90 g or ¾ c all-purpose flour
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 454 g or 1 lb apples, peeled and chopped into 1“ pieces (about four large apples)*
- 2 large eggs
- 150 g or ¾ c granulated sugar
- 45 ml or 3 tbsp cognac or calvados
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 127 g or 4 oz unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Instructions
Make the cake
- Have all ingredients at room temperature.
- Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper—you’ll need to put the springform pan on it to prevent any liquids from leaking to the bottom of your oven.
- Butter and flour an 8″ springform pan, or if using a good-quality baking spray, apply just before filling the pan.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk until foamy. Add the sugar and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the brandy and vanilla. Mix in half of the flour mixture; when it’s incorporated, add half of the melted butter, followed by the remaining flour mixture and butter. Mix the additions so you have a smooth, thick batter.
- Fold in the apples with a rubber spatula.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and even the top with an offset spatula. Bake until the top of the cake is golden brown and a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean (50–60 minutes).
- Transfer to a rack and let cool (5 minutes) before running a knife around the edges of the cake and removing the outside of the springform pan. Cool the cake until it is slightly warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- For best results, use a combination of apples with different textures and sweetness, such as Gala, Honeycrisp, MacIntosh and Granny Smith.
- Storage: The cake is exceptionally moist, so when storing it, press a piece of clingfilm to any cut sides of the cake. Don’t cover it or put it in a cake tin.
- Adapted from Around My French Table by Dorrie Greenspan.
