I love that a French apple cake is all about simple ingredients done well. It’s less about frosting and fuss, and more about letting the apples shine. For this cake chunks of apple are folded through a lightly sweet, buttery batter, so every slice is moist, tender and packed with fruit. Oh, and there is a hint of rum! Yum!
One thing that really sets this apple cake apart is the texture – crisp edges surround a delightfully soft, cakey centre. This cake is not overly sweet either, making it just as good for afternoon tea as it is for dessert.
I like using Pink Lady apples for this cake, as they’re have a lovely sweetness, but you could also use Fuji, Braeburn or Jazz apples, which are also on the red side, or simply go for the baking staple of a green Granny Smith.
WINE PAIRINGS: The classic pairing for this cake is Calvados (apple brandy) for its authentic, double-apple flavour, but dark rum, bourbon, or Cognac are choices that complement the buttery, spiced apples beautifully. For wine lovers, a sweet Riesling or Gewürztraminer cuts through the cake's richness, while a sweet cider or a rum-based cocktail like a Spiced Rum Old Fashioned also pairs wonderfully with the warm fruit flavours.
8
servings15
minutes40
minutesEasy, unfussy and quietly elegant, this is the kind of cake that feels comforting yet special – exactly what French baking does best.
Stop your screen from snoozing (zzz)
Ingredients
125 g 4 2/5 oz butter, chopped, softened
1/2 cup 1/2 cup caster sugar
2 2 eggs
1 tsp 1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp 1 tsp baking powder
1 cup 1 cup (150 g) plain flour
1/4 cup 4 tbsp (60ml) dark rum (see notes)
3 3 Pink Lady apples, peeled, cored, coarsley chopped
Ground cinnamon, to dust (optional)
Icing sugar mixture, to dust
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan forced. Grease a 21cm springform pan and line the base and side with baking paper (see notes).
- Place butter and sugar in a medium bowl. Using electric beaters, beat until pale and creamy. One at a time, add eggs, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
- Sift flour and baking powder into the butter mixture. Add rum and gently fold through until just combined. Fold apple chunks through the cake batter until well dispersed. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Stand cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then release and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Dust your French apple cake with cinnamon (if using, see notes) and icing sugar, and cut into slices, to serve.
Notes
- Use a quality dark rum (or even a spiced rum) for this cake. It’s no problem if you want to forgo the rum. Simply replace it with full-cream milk.
- When lining the pan with baking paper, you can line it the regular way, or you can make folds and scrunches in the baking paper around the side of the pan to create a rustic look, like we have here.
- A traditional French apple cake doesn’t contain warm spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg. However, if you love a little cinnamon with your apples, then I’m all for giving a little sprinkle on top of the cake.
- If you like you could swap the caster sugar for brown sugar, which will add gentle caramel notes and extra moisture, making the cake a little richer and more tender. The crumb will be slightly darker and softer, too, and the flavour a bit deeper.
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