There are many versions of this delightful cake out there. I have experimented with many recipes and found this one to be my favorite. Most recipes call for dark rum, but I have substituted with apple brandy for its subtlety. Easy to make, not too sweet and fun to eat! Enjoy!
Dee’s French Apple Cake
What you’ll need:
1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ (1 stick) cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons apple or regular brandy
2-3 apples such as Honeycrisp, Fuji or Granny Smith, peeled, cored and cut into small cubes about ½ inch
For decadence, softly whipped fresh cream with very little added sugar (this is optional) or you can dust with confectioner’s sugar.
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9 inch pie plate or cake pan well with cooking spray.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
- Cream together butter and sugar on medium speed with hand held mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and brandy.
- Add the flour mixture in increments until just combined.
- Fold in the chopped apple using a rubber spatula.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and even out the top with a spatula. Sprinkle the top with 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar.
- Bake for about 40 minutes or until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before serving at room temperature.
- Top with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream for a totally over-the-top dessert.
- Just yum.
