Classic French Apple Cake

It is a simple and timeless cake recipe, just sweet enough and with a delightful more-apple-than-crumb-ratio. A must for your French baking repertoire. So what makes it a French Apple Cake?

Unlike in US/Canada, a French Apple Cake doesn’t call for any spices like cinnamon or nutmeg, nor a crumble top, nuts or glaze. The fame of this French cake rather relies on its simple crumb made from a generous amount of butter and flavored with dark rum, making it incredibly fragrant.

In texture, it is reminiscent of the German Versunkener Apfelken or the Russian Sharlotka, both made in similar ways, with more fruit than actual cake dough – but really, I think the buttery crumb and dark rum truly makes the difference here.

Choose the Right Apples

The recipe begins by choosing the right apples. And for this Classic French Apple Cake, or most apple cakes really, choose baking apples .

Compared to eating apples, baking apples aren’t as juicy and won’t turn mushy once baked. Good baking varieties I recommend are (in US/Canada):

This cake requires 2 large or 3 small apples. The recipe is pretty forgiving and the result won’t be impacted if you use a little less or more apple. You can opt for one single variety or a mix.

For instance, you can combine tart and tangy Granny Smith apples with sweet Honey Crisp apples for a nice balance of textures and flavors. A key step : Ribboning the eggs and sugar

For the batter, you must start by ribboning together the eggs and sugar. This is a key step in making this recipe, so I want to emphasize a bit on this technique here.

“Ribboning” is achieved by beating the eggs and sugar together (by hand or with a hand mixer) for a long period (usually 5 to 10 minutes) until the sugar crystals dissolve and the mixture becomes pale, thick and forms a ribbon when falling from the whisk. The mixture should be smooth and hold its shape, but not dry. You can watch this video for more instructions.

This process is important as it incorporates air into the mixture, which is essential to achieve the tender, airy cake crumb that makes this Classic French Apple Cake so unique. My Cooking tips:

• Choose baking apples, such as Fiji, Honeycrisp, Mutsu, Jonagold or Braeburn. You can opt for one variety, or mix it up so you can have different textures (soft or crunchy) and tastes (sweet and tart).
• I like to peel the apples, but you can certainly leave them unpeeled if you wish.
• If you don’t have dark rum on hand, you can substitute for Cognac. For a non-alcoholic version, you can substitute the rum for apple juice; although I really recommend you use rum or Cognac – it truly makes the cake!
• The cake is rather delicate in texture, so I recommend using a well-greased springform pan so it is easier to remove it from the pan (flipping it onto a plate may break it). This recipe works in a 8″ or 9″ circular pan.

How to store this French Apple Cake? This cake can keep for up to three days in the fridge, covered. Note that the sugar crackly top will soften after a day, and may get wet/stuck if covered with plastic film.

Instead, I recommend covering the cake with a cake dome or any large bowl that won’t touch the top of the cake. I hope you’ll love this Classic French Apple Cake as much as I do!

It is simple, quite elegant and truly a delicious French staple. Serve it warm or cooled down, with a big dollop of crème fraiche on top in true French fashion.

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment. More recipes to enjoy apple season: