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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.
Try my Sourdough Apple Cake for a delicious sourdough version of this French favorite!
Traditional French Apple Cake
This French apple cake is a classic example of simple French baking at its best—elegant yet unfussy, with a focus on fresh ingredients.
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s book, Around My French Table, we’ve made a few tweaks to the original recipe to fit a larger pan. After all, who can resist a second slice? This apple cake is definitely a favorite in our home.
If you like this recipe, you will also love our Jewish apple cake and our Caramel apple cake. You might also like our applesauce coffee cake.
Why You’ll Love This Easy Recipe
Better with Age: Like a fine wine, this cake gets even better after a day in the fridge. The flavors meld together, and the cake becomes even more moist and delicious.
No Mixer Needed: This recipe comes together with just a whisk and a bowl. Your arm gets a little workout, and you save time on cleanup!
Rum Twist: A splash of rum adds a subtle depth of flavor that takes this apple cake to the next level.
Foolproof and Versatile: This recipe is hard to mess up. Plus, it’s perfect for any occasion, from a casual afternoon snack to an impressive dessert for guests.
What Is French Apple Cake?
French apple cake is a classic dessert with a custard-like interior and a tender, lightly cake-like structure. It’s packed with thinly sliced apples and held together with just enough batter to form a soft, almost creamy center.
The texture lands somewhere between a custard and a simple butter cake, with apples taking the lead. It’s not overly sweet, and the focus is on the fruit rather than a thick layer of cake.
Apples and a Few Pantry Ingredients
This French apple cake uses basic ingredients you likely already have on hand. The only place to be picky is with the apples: choose firm varieties that hold up when baked. Mixing tart and sweet apples gives the cake more character.
For another easy apple recipe, try my apple crisp.
Recipe Tips
Use a mix of apples: Combining sweet and tart varieties gives the cake better depth and keeps the flavor balanced.
Slice evenly: Cut the apples to a uniform thickness so they cook at the same rate. An apple peeler/corer makes this go much faster if you have one.
Prep the pan well: Whether you’re greasing with butter or lining with parchment, make sure the pan is well-coated so the cake releases cleanly.
Cool completely before refrigerating: If the cake is even slightly warm when covered, condensation will form and make the top soggy.
Choose firm apples: Crisp, firm apples hold their shape and give the cake better texture. Skip the soft or mealy ones and save them for applesauce.
Which Apples Work Best In this Recipe?
This cake is more “apples with a little cake” than the other way around, so your apple choices drive the flavor. A mix of varieties gives you a better balance; some tart, some sweet, all with good texture.
For the batch shown here, I used Granny Smith, Braeburn, and Honeycrisp. They hold their shape when baked and don’t turn into apple sauce in the middle of your cake.
Other dependable baking apples include Mutsu, Pink Lady, Jonagold, Winesap, and Cortland. Choose a combination you like; the cake is forgiving as long as the apples are firm and flavorful.
This French apple 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.
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Easy French Apple Cake
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, (120 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 pounds apples, Use a variety of apples
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar, (200 grams)
- 3 ½ tablespoons rum, (49 grams)
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled; 142 grams
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, making sure every piece is coated. It will look like a lot of apples compared to the amount of batter, that’s exactly how this cake should look.
- Pour everything 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 you’ve lined the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, the cake will slide out easily once you remove the sides of the springform pan. If you didn’t use parchment, slide a long knife under the cake to loosen it from the bottom of the pan, then invert it onto a parchment-lined plate and invert it again onto a serving platter. This step is much easier if the cake has cooled completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
I LOVE the apple season and baking and cooking with apples. This cake looks so moist and delicious!
Thanks Diana, it really is incredibly moist
This looks so delicious! I am a kitchen gadget fanatic so I would love to try your method.
Oh yes the apple slicer is a great kitchen gadget and works like a charm.
I am so glad it’s apple season and I love your thin slices. Just beautiful.
Thanks Ginny, apple season is the best, I can’t get enough of all the baking with apples
The details at the top say: prep 60 mins cook 20 mins total 1 hour, 20 mins
But the directions say bake 60-70 minutes. I suspect the 2 numbers are reversed?
Yes indeed Mike, thank you so much for catching that, it is fixed 🙂
This is my kind of cake. Simple ingredients, easy and no fuss, and tastes great! Amazing for daily dessert, definitely a good one for apple lover like me 🙂
It really is a great dessert, especially for apple lovers. Thanks for your comment Anita
This looks like a lovely cake, so simple but delicious!
thanks Amy, it really is and it is one of my favorites
I love this recipe! It’s such a good mix between cake and tart/pie and it’s perfect for autumn! I’ve got so many cooking apples falling off my apple tree in the garden and I think I’ve just found my next recipe!
wow, you have an apple tree!? I am envious. I hope you enjoy the recipe
This cake sounds great! I’m a big fan of apples so I’m pretty sure I’d love this! And you’re right about quality ingredients for sure.
Yes indeed, if you like apples you will love this cake, thanks for the comment Stephanie
You had me at a cross between cake, custard, and pie! This looks amazing. I couldn’t agree more that the heart of most cuisines is simple, fresh ingredients – certainly that is true for French and Italian, two of my favorites! I will definitely be looking out for einkorn flour next time I’m at the stores near me!
thanks Monica, I appreciate your kind words
I’m all for apple cake that’s more apple than cake! This looks great — bet the flavor is spectacular. Super recipe — thanks.