Monday, September 9, 2019

French Apple Cake












Does anyone remember the cakes drenched with liqueur that used to be sold around Christmas? I was trying to think of a truly moist cake to bake. It dawned on me that I have apple cider in the fridge, so I wondered what would happen if I baked a French apple cake and then poked it and added apple cider.

I simmered 1 cup of apple cider until it was about 1/2 a cup. I set that aside to cool. When the cake came out of the oven, I poked it with a bamboo skewer and poured  some of the apple cider onto it. A few hours later, I sampled both parts. The plain French apple cake was delicious. The apples do make it very moist. The cider drenched apple cake was better. It just was! So I poured (no holes poked!) the remainder of the reduced apple cider over the cake. It was on a plate by them, so I was risking having it run out. It didn't! The cake absorbed it so fast that there wasn't any liquid on the plate!

The basic recipe for French apple cake is very easy. This kind of cake is what gives the French a reputation for being terrific cooks and entertaining divas. There's no fancy frosting. No elaborate flavors or coloring. Just plain good food!

French Apple Cake

1 cup + 3 tablespoons apple cider
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
2 eggs
2 firm apples (I used Fuji)
1 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon pink salt
2/3 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons apple cider or apple juice


Bring butter and eggs to room temperature. Pour 1 cup apple cider into a small pot and simmer uncovered until it reduces to about 1/2 cup. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9-inch springform pan.

Peel, core, and chop the apples. Place flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and mix well with a fork or small whisk. In another bowl, beat the butter with the 2/3 cup sugar until well blended, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and beat. Add the flour mixture slowly, mixing until the batter is nicely smooth. Add the vanilla and 3 tablespoons apple cider and mix in. Pour the chopped apples into the batter and fold until the apples are coated. Pour into the baking pan. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over the top. Bake for 38-40 minutes. When it cools, slowly pour the reduced apple cider over it.

Serve with whipped cream.

Fuji apples.

Flour and chopped apples.

Beautiful batter!

 
It will look thick with the apples in it.






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1 comment:

  1. That sounds wonderful!
    You can buy cider concentrate from Kingarthurflour.com

    ReplyDelete