onegreenflamingo: December 2010

Here’s a perfect cake for the season.Minimal ingredients needed, low fat, and super easy to make. Just the cake you need when you’ve over committed yourself to bring a plate for the dinner party.

French Apple Cake
Adapted from Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan
Dorie doesn’t specify any type of apple but instead advises that you should use a mix of them. I used Grannie Smith,Gala,Braeburn, and Pacific Rose. Rum is a key ingredient to the taste. But if you’re avoiding alcohol, I recommend doubling up on the vanilla to compensate.

3/4 cup (110g) flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
4 large apples
2 large eggs
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
3 tablespoons dark rum **I substitute 1 1/2 tablespoon, and 1 teaspoon vanilla instead

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
115g butter, salted or unsalted, melted and cooled to room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven.

2. Heavily butter the springform pan and place it on a baking sheet.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. Peel and core the apples, then dice them into 1-inch (3cm) pieces.

5. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until foamy then whisk in the sugar, then rum and vanilla. Whisk in half of the flour mixture, then gently stir in half of the melted butter

6. Stir in the remaining flour mixture, then the rest of the butter.

7. Fold in the apple cubes until they’re well-coated with the cake batter,scrape them into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top a little with a spatula.

8. Bake the cake for 50 minute to 1 hour, or until a knife inserted into the center comesout clean. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake from the pan and carefully remove the sides of the cake pan, making sure no apples are stuck to it.
Serving: Serve wedges of the cake just by itself with creme fraiche or vanilla Ice cream ** I opted for vanilla choc chip. The cake was devoured in a flash