Making a French-style Apple Cake

It's apple season! I love a good apple crisp or apple pie, but I'm in the mood for something different. Today I'm trying a new recipe for a French Apple Cake. Sounds good, right?

Watch Me Make It

The Recipe

I found this recipe HERE. I made very few changes.

Ingredients

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, room temp

2/3 c sugar + 1 TBSP

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 TBSP gold rum

2 apples, peeled and diced (1 granny smith, 1 honeycrisp)

confectioner's sugar for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch spring form pan.

2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream the butter and 2/3 c sugar together. Add in the eggs, the vanilla, and the rum.

4. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.

5. Fold in the apples.

6. Transfer the batter to the baking pan. Sprinkle with 1 TBSP of sugar.

7. Bake for about 45 minutes. You know the cake is done when it is lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

8. Allow the cake to cool in the pan, on a cooling rack.

9. Once cool, loosen the sides and transfer the cake to a serving dish.

10. Using a wire strainer and some confectioners' sugar, decorate the top.

Variations

• Substitute the apples with pears, peaches, strawberries, raspberries, or cherries.

• Halfway through baking, sprinkle the top with slivered almonds. (They will likely burn if you do this too early)

• Instead of gold rum, use dark rum, spiced rum, or coconut rum! Don't have rum? Use brandy or bourbon.

• Skip the alcohol completely and use apple cider or apple juice as an alternative.

Choosing the Apples

Be sure the apples you choose are good for baking. Some apples can't stand up to the heat and end up mushy, but many apples bake well. Some of my favorites are Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Cortlands, and Honeycrisp.

Serving Suggestions

This cake is delicious on its own for dessert, for breakfast, or as a snack. However, you can always elevate it with some fresh whipped cream, a side of fresh berries, or serve it with homemade vanilla ice cream. Learn how to make your vanilla ice cream HERE!

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