French Apple Cake

This is an incredibly easy French apple cake that is great served any time of day. My mum used to make it all the time – she still does. I especially love it served warm with vanilla ice cream or cream. Let’s go!

Nagi's Notes

For years I’ve been loyal to this Spiced Apple Cake. Then JB made his mum’s Apple Cake, and it completely won me over with its simplicity and the way it lets the apples truly shine. It’s unfussy, and just so damn lovely, I completely understand why it’s been a favourite in JB’s family for so long. I feel very honoured that his mother has allowed us to share it with the world. Thank you Madame Alexandre!

French Apple Cake

I have very good memories from my childhood of this Apple Cake (gâteau aux pommes). The area where I grew up was known for its apple trees, we would often come home from the local market with fresh apples just so we could bake one! You’ll find this cake all over France and everyone has their own version. This one is very close to my mum’s recipe, with a few little tweaks from me along the way (sorry, Mum!). 

French Apple Cakes are all about letting the main character shine – the apples! They are less sugary and not loaded with cinnamon and other spices that dominate the flavour. Typically, the cake is not very tall, and the crumb is soft and buttery. It’s a rustic cake, simple to make and perfect to serve at an afternoon tea with family or friends.

Ingredients

We only use a few ingredients here with the apples being the stars. You can really use any apples, so this is a great recipe to make when you have a few sitting in the fruit bowl needing to be used up ☺️.

• Apples – For best flavour I prefer sweet-tart apples like Pink Lady, Fuji or Jazz; Honey Crisp or Braeburn (US/UK) are also great. Personally, I don’t use Granny Smith here as I find they can be a little too tart, but they will still work if that’s what you have.

  Pears will also work great here, as long as they are not overly ripe. 

• Butter – You need unsalted butter here, softened to room temperature. 

• Sugar – I use caster sugar / superfine sugar for the cake. You could use regular white sugar / granulated sugar, but I prefer the fine grains of caster sugar for baking, as they dissolve more easily.

• Eggs – This cake uses “large eggs” – 50–55 g / 2 oz is the industry standard of sizes sold as “large eggs”. The eggs need to be room temperature else they will not incorporate smoothly into the batter. If your eggs are cold, you can easily bring them to room temp by placing them in a large bowl, covering them with warm (not hot) tap water and leaving for 5 minutes. 

• Vanilla extract – For best flavour, I like to use natural vanilla extract / pure vanilla extract.

• Flour – Just plain flour / all-purpose flour.

• Baking powder – Makes the batter rise and the crumb light. If your baking powder has been sitting in the pantry for a while, it’s best to check that it’s still active (it might be dead, even if it’s within use-by date!). Find out how to check it here.

• Salt – Just a small amount, 1/4 teaspoon. This brings out the flavours in the cake.

How To Make French Apple Cake

This traditional French cake is easy-to-make and ideal for even beginner cooks. One thing that may surprise you is the thickness of the batter. It’s quite thick once everything is mixed together, especially after adding all the apples, but this is completely normal. As the cake bakes, the apples release moisture into the batter which creates that beautifully soft and tender texture.

1. Whisk dry ingredients – Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium mixing bowl.

2. Cream butter and sugar – In a larger mixing bowl, using a handheld electric beaters (or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), beat the butter for about 1 minute on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugar and beat the mixture for another minute until fluffy and pale yellow.

3. Add eggs and vanilla – Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat to combine.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients – Add the flour mixture to the bowl and beat on low speed for about 30 seconds or until you can no longer see any bits of dry flour, then stop beating – don’t overmix. 

5. Add apple – Add the diced apple and stir it evenly into the mixture using a spatula. The batter will be quite thick and not pourable.

6. Add batter to pan – Scoop the batter into a 23cm/9” lined cake pan, then level the surface.

7. Bake – Bake on the middle shelf of the oven at 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan-forced) for 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

8. Cool and serve – The top of the cake should be a nice golden brown colour. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes in the pan before turning it out onto a wire rack. Cool for 10 minutes if serving warm or let it cool completely. Dust with icing / powdered sugar (optional) and enjoy!

How to Serve French Apple Cake

My favourite way to serve French Apple Cake is warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side – très bon! But you can also serve it at room temperature. It’s just as good for afternoon tea as it is as the final sweet course to follow a simple French meal like Poulet rôti or Chicken Chasseur.

This cake is very close to my heart. I can’t wait for you to try it and hear what you think. Bon appétit! – JB

Watch How To Make It

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French Apple Cake

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 ?.

Course Baking, Dessert, Sweet

Cuisine French

Keyword apple cake, French apple cake

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Resting and Cooling 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings 8 – 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 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean (because the batter is quite thick and if your oven runs a bit cool, it could take up to 45 minutes). (Note 3)
• 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.

3. Baking time – it can vary depending on your oven and the apples used. If your oven runs a little cool, the cake may take up to 45 minutes or sometimes a bit longer to bake through. If the top is browning too quickly, loosely cover with foil and continue baking. Don’t worry if it takes longer than expected, this is quite a forgiving cake.

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

Calories: 230cal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 143mg | Potassium: 130mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 341IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 1mg

In Memory Of Dozer

And finally, Dozer ☺️ These photos were taken at the RecipeTin Meals kitchen before a TV shoot while we were both getting ready. As you can see, Dozer is enjoying the full hair and make-up treatment! Two good boys getting pampered… though I think one of us was having a really good hair day ???

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