Easy French Apple Cake Recipe

This easy recipe for a classic French apple cake brings together tender apples and a hint of rum for a dessert that’s both simple to make and elegant to serve. Practically a cross between a custard, a pie, and a cake, this recipe has a unique texture and rich flavor. 

Why You’ll Love This Easy Recipe

What Is French Apple Cake?

French apple cake is a classic French dessert that is more of a custard-like cake. It is filled with apples and blended with just enough binding ingredients to hold this cake together.

Imagine the perfect marriage of a custard, a pie, and a cake all in one dessert – that’s what a this recipe brings to the table. It combines the best of these three worlds with a custardy center and a tender, cake-like texture.

Apples and a Few Pantry Ingredients

The main ingredient is, of course, apples but there isn’t anything complicated in this French apple cake. There are only eight other ingredients and I’m sure you have them all.

• Produce: Apples
• Pantry: All-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, pure vanilla extract
• Fridge: Butter
• Other: Rum

Choose apples that work well for baking. I like to mix tart apples with a sweet apple.

No unusual ingredients here! If you do any baking at all, you should have all these ingredients. Well, maybe the rum, but if you don’t want to add any alcohol then you can use rum extract or just skip it altogether.

How To Make the Recipe

Don’t let French cuisine or from-scratch baking intimidate you. This will be the easiest dessert you will ever bake.

We’ve listed out the basic instructions below to give you an idea of how easy it is to make this buttery traditional French cake recipe!

Note: Make sure not to skip the full printable recipe card at the bottom of the page. There, you’ll find all of the ingredient amounts and details you’ll need.

Before you start cooking anything, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 10-inch springform pan with butter (alternately line it with parchment paper which will make the apple cake very easy to remove).

• Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl.
• Slice the apples.
• Whisk the eggs until foamy, then add the sugar, rum, and vanilla.
• Gradually mix the dry ingredients and melted butter into the wet mixture.
• Fold in the apples, pour the batter into the pan and bake.

Helpful Tips

1. Choose a mix of apple varieties to achieve a more complex flavor profile. Combining sweet and tart apples will give the cake a balanced flavor.
2. When slicing the apples, cut them to a uniform thickness. This ensures that they cook evenly. I love using the apple peeler and corer pictured in the photos above.
3. Whether greasing with butter or using parchment paper, make sure the pan is well-prepped to prevent the cake from sticking.
4. Make sure the cake cools completely before refrigerating it. This prevents condensation from forming inside the container and making the apple cake overly moist.
5. For the best texture and flavor, choose apples that are crisp and firm. Toss out the soft mealy apples or use them for applesauce.

Creative Cake Recipes: Tasty Variations

These variations on our French apple cake recipe are fun and delicious. From adding a nutty streusel to spiced apple and cranberry blends, these cakes will top your list of go-to desserts. 

• Nutty Apple Streusel Cake: Add a layer of cinnamon-spiced streusel on top of the cake batter before baking. 
• Spiced Apple and Cranberry Cake: Add 1 cup of fresh cranberries and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the cake batter.
• Apple and Pear Duo Cake: Instead of using all apples, use a mix of apples and ripe pears (about 3 apples and 3 pears).

This French apple rum cake is an extraordinary dessert brings together the comfort of home-baking with the elegance of French cuisine, reminiscent of the charming cafes in Paris. Bursting with apple goodness, this is one cake that improves with time.

Easy French Apple Cake

An incredibly delicious apple cake with a custard-like consistency. It is almost a cross between a custard, a pie and a cake.

4.64 from 135 votes

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Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 servings

Calories: 325kcal

Author: Dahn Boquist

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (120 grams)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 6 large apples about 2 pounds (Use a variety of apples for the best result)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar (200 grams)
• 3-½ tablespoons rum (49 grams)
• ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled (5 ounces or 142 grams)

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Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and grease a 10-inch springform pan with butter (alternately line it with parchment paper which will make the cake very easy to remove from the pan)
• In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt then set aside.
• Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples.
• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs for 1-2 minutes until they are foamy. Pour in the sugar, rum, and vanilla and whisk for another minute.
• Whisk in half of the flour mixture until well-blended then blend in half of the melted butter. Repeat with the remaining flour and butter and blend until smooth.
• Fold in the sliced apples, coating them completely with the batter then pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
• Smooth the batter out then place in the pre-heated oven. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick or knife inserted into the middle comes out without batter stuck to it.
• Let the cake cool for 5 to 10 minutes then run a blunt knife around the edge of the pan to loosen any cake that may be stuck to the sides.
• If the bottom of the pan is lined with parchment paper, the cake will slide out quite easily once the sides of the springform pan is removed. If the pan is not lined with parchment paper you will need to slide a long knife under the bottom of the cake to loosen it from the pan then invert it onto a plate that is lined with parchment paper then invert it again onto a serving platter (this will be accomplished easier if you allow the cake to cool completely)

Notes

• This cake stores well for 3-5 days in the refrigerator and actually is better on the second day.
• This is a very moist cake. Be sure to cool it completely before loosely covering it and placing it in the fridge, if it is still warm before covering it then condensation will build up and make the cake wet.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 325kcal | Protein: 3.8g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7.8g | Sodium: 163mg | Fiber: 3.6g | Sugar: 34g

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