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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. 

A slice of French apple custard cake on a plate.
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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.

Ingredients needed to make apple 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.

A collage of 6 photos showing how to make a French apple dessert cake.

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.

Two slices of French apple cake on dessert plates.

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.

A French apple cake with powdered sugar on a cake platter.

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A slice of apple cake on a plate.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
4.64 from 137 votes

Easy French Apple Cake

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

If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating and comment.

Servings: 10 servings
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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.
    Whisking the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
  • Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples.
    Using an apple peeler and corer to slice apples thinly for the cake.
  • 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.
    Adding sugar and vanilla to the egg mixture.
  • 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.
    Blending the flour mixture into the batter.
  • 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.
    Stirring sliced apples into the batter.
  • 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.
    Spreading the apple cake batter into a baking pan.
  • 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

Storage: This cake keeps well in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days and the flavor deepens by the next day. Let it cool completely before covering it. If it’s even slightly warm, condensation will form and the top of the cake will turn damp.
Serving Temperature: This cake tastes great chilled, but for a softer texture you can let it sit at room temperature for about 20–30 minutes before serving.
Apple Prep: Use a mix of apple varieties (something sweet and something tart) to give the cake more depth. Slice them thinly so they soften fully and blend into the custardy batter.
Pan Notes: A parchment-lined springform pan makes removal much easier. If you skip the parchment, be sure the cake is fully cooled before loosening the bottom.
Doneness: Because this cake is naturally very moist, rely on visual cues as well as a toothpick test. It should be deep golden brown on top, and a toothpick should come out without raw batter (moist crumbs are fine).
Alcohol Swap: The rum adds flavor, but you can replace it with an equal amount of apple juice, cider, or milk if needed.
Make-Ahead Tip: This is a good cake to bake the day before since the texture improves after it rests.

Nutrition

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

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

iconLike this recipe? Rate & comment below!
A slice of apple cake on a dessert plate.

About Dahn Boquist

Dahn Boquist is a retired nurse turned recipe developer, home cook, and baker with years of hands-on experience creating and testing from-scratch recipes. She specializes in whole-food cooking with creative twists on classic dishes. When she’s not in the kitchen, she enjoys sharing meals with family, exploring the Pacific Northwest, and spending time with her grandchildren.

Read More About Me

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4.64 from 137 votes (128 ratings without comment)

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48 Comments

  1. terry says:

    Why no Baking time?

    Reply
    1. Dahn Boquist says:

      The baking time is actually listed in step 7 of the instructions on the recipe card. It’s possible you might have missed it if you didn’t scroll all the way to the recipe card. I hope that helps, but let me know if you have any other questions!

      Reply
  2. Debi S. says:

    Can you make this in a different pan? I don’t own a springform pan…

    Reply
    1. Dahn Boquist says:

      Yes, you can. It’s a pretty moist cake.I would recommend placing a parchment paper liner on the bottom of the pan so it comes out easily if you invert the pan.

      Reply
  3. Jo says:

    What can I replace 1 cup of sugar with?

    Reply
    1. Dahn Boquist says:

      I haven’t tested this recipe with sugar replacements. You might try monkfruit baking sugar.

      Reply
  4. Terry L Reisz says:

    I made the ATK version twice and although it was delicious, it seemed oily.I was going to try the applesauce substitution the next time. I’m a frantic cook who tends to miss steps and skip ingredients w/o intending to. When I saw “Easy” in the title of this recipe, I thought hmmpf, but gee whiz, it’s spectacular, and easy and I didn’t forget anything. My only change was starting w/2# apples that turned into 1# peeled and cored was plenty. Loved it loved it loved it. Thank you so much.

    Reply
    1. Dahn Boquist says:

      Oh thanks for the comment Terry, I’m so glad it worked out for you. This is one of my favorites

      Reply
  5. JoAnn Trafton says:

    Please advise what is the correct baking time!

    Reply
    1. Dahn Boquist says:

      Hi JoAnn, it’s in step 7… bake for 60 to 70 minutes. Set the oven to 350°F and make sure it is hot before you put it in the oven. Hope you enjoy this

      Reply
    2. JoAnn Trafton says:

      Yes, it does read 60 to 70 minutes in step 7, however in the beginning description it reads cooking time is 30 minutes, thus the confusion

      Reply
      1. Dahn Boquist says:

        Thank you so much for telling me about that discrepancy, I will fix that to reflect the 60 to 70 minutes that it takes.
        Thanks for your comment

        Reply
  6. Alyssa says:

    Dahn, , what a gorgeous cake! Your directions make this seem like such an easy approach, too. I would love to make this soon!

    Reply
    1. Dahn Boquist says:

      Thank you Alyssa, it really is an easy recipe. I hope you do try it. Thanks for the kind comment.

      Reply
  7. Ashley @ Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen says:

    I adore custard pies and apple pies – this looks like the best of both worlds! What a lovely texture!

    Reply
    1. Dahn says:

      It really is the best of both worlds and so easy to make!

      Reply
  8. Dahn says:

    Thanks Tina, I really like the einkorn flour too and this is a great recipe to start if you have not tried it yet

    Reply
  9. Kristina says:

    you had me at CUSTARD. this looks and sounds so SO good, and the photos are stunning!

    Reply
    1. Dahn says:

      thanks Kristina, It’s addictive!

      Reply
  10. Jacqueline Meldrum says:

    5 stars
    That looks wonderful. I am now craving apple cake. Pinning this for later. Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply
    1. Dahn says:

      Thanks Jacqueline, you can’t go wrong with this recipe

      Reply