Description
Ina Garten’s French apple cake brings rustic elegance to dessert tables with simple ingredients and classic technique. Home bakers can savor this delightful French classic that delivers rich apple flavor and delicate crumb you’ll adore.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 large baking apples (such as Honeycrisp)
- 1 stick (113 g / 4 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (120 g / 4.2 oz) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (100 g / 3.5 oz) white sugar
- 2 tbsps (25 g / 0.9 oz) light brown sugar
- 3 tbsps (37.5 g / 1.3 oz) white sugar for the top
- 1 tsp (5 g / 0.2 oz) baking powder
- 1 tsp (5 g / 0.2 oz) kosher salt
- 3 tbsps (45 ml / 1.5 fl oz) dark rum
- 2 tsps (10 ml / 0.34 fl oz) apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp (2.5 ml / 0.08 fl oz) vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp (8 g / 0.3 oz) powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- Preparation: Preheat oven to 350°F and butter a 9-inch round cake pan, lining the bottom with parchment paper for easy removal.
- Apple Preparation: Core and dice apples into uniform cubes, tossing with apple cider vinegar to prevent discoloration and maintain freshness.
- Dry Ingredient Blend: Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together to ensure even distribution and prevent lumps in the final batter.
- Butter Mixture: Cream butter with white and brown sugars using an electric mixer until the mixture becomes light, fluffy, and pale, creating a smooth base for the cake.
- Egg Integration: Add eggs individually, mixing thoroughly after each addition, then incorporate rum and vanilla extract to develop a rich, aromatic flavor profile.
- Batter Assembly: Gradually fold flour mixture into the butter base in two stages, using a gentle technique to maintain the batter’s delicate texture and prevent overmixing.
- Apple Distribution: Carefully fold apple cubes into the batter, ensuring even spread throughout the mixture for consistent flavor and texture in each slice.
- Baking Process: Transfer batter to prepared pan, smoothing the surface and sprinkling remaining sugar on top to create a caramelized, golden crust during baking.
- Cooling and Serving: Bake for 45 minutes until a skewer comes out clean, cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack and serving plate; optionally dust with powdered sugar before slicing and serving at room temperature.
Notes
- Prevent Apple Browning: Toss diced apples with apple cider vinegar to maintain fresh color and prevent oxidation.
- Mixing Technique: Cream butter and sugars until light and pale to ensure a fluffy, tender cake texture.
- Gentle Folding Method: Incorporate flour and apples carefully to maintain the batter’s delicate structure and prevent tough cake.
- Perfect Doneness Check: Use a skewer to test cake’s readiness; it should come out clean without raw batter residue.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 284
- Sugar: 27 g
- Sodium: 164 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 83 mg