French Apple Cake

5 from 8 votes

Recipe video above. This is a lovely simple recipe for a traditional French Apple Cake that my mum made almost every week when I was growing up in France. My version is almost the same as my Mum’s, but I changed it slightly - I can't help it, I'm a chef! The cake is beautifully moist and can be served warm (for me, the best way!) or at room temperature with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on the side.

Rum option - I know some recipes add rum to this cake, but my mum never did, so this version doesn’t include any. However, if you would like to add some, 1 tablespoon of dark or spiced rum works beautifully. It won’t change the texture, but it adds a lovely warmth and gently perfumes the cake 😊.

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Resting and Cooling15

Total Time1 5

Course: Baking, Dessert, Sweet

Cuisine: French

Keyword: apple cake, French apple cake

Servings: - 10

Calories: 230cal

Author: Chef JB (RecipeTin)

Ingredients

3 red apples - I like Pink Lady , peeled and diced into 1.5cm/0.6" cubes (~ 3 1/2 cups) (Note 1 for other varieties)
100g(7 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup caster sugar / superfine sugar (Note 2)
3 large eggs , at room temperature (55g/2oz each in shell)
1 tsp vanilla extract , natural / pure
1 1/3 cups plain flour / all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt

For serving:

Icing sugar / powdered sugar , for dusting
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, optional for serving

Cups - Metric

Instructions

ABBREVIATED RECIPE

Cream butter then sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients, stir through apple. Bake in 23cm/9" pan at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) for 30 minutes.

FULL RECIPE

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced).
Cake pan – Butter a 23cm/9" round cake pan and line the base with baking paper / parchment paper. No need to line the sides.
Dry ingredients – In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Cream butter and sugar – Using a handheld beater or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute on medium until creamed. Add the sugar and beat on medium for 1 minute until fluffy and becomes a paler yellow.
Eggs and vanilla – Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.
Add the flour mixture into the bowl and beat on low until you can no longer see dry flour, then stop beating. You don't want to overmix.
Apples – Stir through the diced apples using a spatula. The batter will be quite thick, it's not pourable.
Bake – Spread the batter evenly into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Rest and serve – Let the cake rest for 5 minutes in the pan before removing. Cool for a further 10 minutes then serve warm or let it cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar, if desired. If serving warm, it's especially lovely with a scoop of ice cream.

Notes

1. Apples - You can really use any apples for this cake as they won't get overly soft in this recipe. I like to use sweet-tart apples like Pink Lady (this is what I use), Fuji and Jazz. Honey Crisp or Braeburn for US/UK. I personally wouldn't use Granny Smith because I think it's too tart, but you can if you want to.

2. Sugar - Regular white sugar (granulated sugar) will work too. I use caster sugar as my default for baking because the grains are finer so it dissolves more easily.

Leftovers and storage - It will keep for 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container. It also freezes very well for up to 2 months.

Nutrition per slice, assuming 10 servings.

Nutrition