French apple cake
My new favourite apple cake: comforting, delicious and ridiculously easy
Hello my friends. It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind since we got back from our holiday. Last week I was on full childcare duty as our wonderful child minder was away in Italy, and then we headed up to the Peak District for a big family birthday weekend, so I’m only just settling back into time at my desk/in my own kitchen, and it feels rather a relief not to not be moving somewhere in a car. Since we got back, the temperature is noticeably cooler, and there’s a bracing north-easterly wind here on the Kent coast, so I’m feeling very much like battening down and nesting for the foreseeable, and I think we might even have our first fire of the season tonight, perfect for snuggling down with a slice of this beautiful autumnal bake.
France is still very much on my mind, and I will be writing up more on our trip soon, but for now, I wanted to share this amazing apple cake I made for the weekend which I’ve been teasing on Instagram and which so many people have already been clamouring for the recipe for. I made this the night before we set off up north once my daughter was in bed, and to be honest, it’s only really French in as much as it’s full of delicious French apples and butter, brought back from our trip. But you can obviously make it with the apples of wherever it is you’re reading this, be it Kent or California - they are so plentiful and good here right now, and in France the markets were heaving with crates and crates of different varieties.
There are so many reasons why I love this cake. The sponge, which is shot through with chunks of apple, is moist and fluffy, thanks to the butter and yoghurt involved, and also spiced just right, with added flavour from the apples giving up some of their juices into it as it bakes, and the top is crusted with buttered flaked almonds and a smattering of brown sugar, which adds sweet crunch and nuttiness, without the need for faffing with icing. You don’t need to bust out a stand mixer or even a handheld electric whisk for this, just mixing bowls, and I didn’t even bother lining the cake tin, as the sponge is rich and doesn’t stick as long as you butter and flour it really well. So it’s a lazy cake, but it gives a lot in terms of flavour and comfort. I fancy serving it with some hot custard, though it’s also good on its own at tea or breakfast time or with vanilla ice cream. I hope you love it - as ever please do let me know how get on. I’ve included a snazzy (check me out!) printable recipe PDF below for you, as I think sometimes this is easier when baking.
French Apple Cake - recipe and printable PDF
Serves 6-8
I use salted (French) butter here to lean into a salted caramel vibe, but you could use unsalted and add a nice big pinch of sea salt to the flour mix. You can also leave out the pecans, but I had some leftover from my apple and pecan brown butter butterscotch pie recipe, and I love the tender crunch they bring.
