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French Apple Cake
This simple dessert is less cake than sautéed apples set in a thick, buttery custard encased in a golden crust. We liked using two varieties of apples here, one tart and one sweet—the variation in the apples’ sweetness gave the cake a full, complex flavor. The cake is delicious served unadorned, but it’s equally wonderful accompanied with crème fraîche or ice cream.
8
Servings
Tip
Don’t use a spatula to scrape the browned butter out of the skillet—simply pour it into the bowl. A skim coat of butter in the pan is needed for cooking the apples. And don’t slice the cake until it has fully cooled; if it is at all warm, the texture at the center will be too soft.
1 hour
25 minutes active, plus cooling
Ingredients
-
8
tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter, plus more for pan
-
¼
teaspoon ground allspice
Directions
-
01Heat the oven to 375ºF with a rack in the middle position. Coat a 9-inch springform pan with butter, dust evenly with flour, then tap out the excess. In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high, melt the butter. Cook, swirling the pan frequently, until the milk solids at the bottom are golden brown and the butter has a nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Pour into a small heatproof bowl without scraping out the skillet. Stir the allspice into the butter and set aside.
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October 15, 2023
Delicious!
Loved the cake. I did cut the sugar to 2/3 of the amount.
June 10, 2023
Better than pie
It’s a terrific recipe. I’ve made it 3 times. I follow the recipe and it needs no changes. Everyone loves it.
March 25, 2023
Love
Delicious! I will definitely make this again!
November 11, 2022
A big hit!
I've made this cake twice now to rave reviews. Not to sweet and great nutty hint from the browned butter.
October 28, 2022
Delicious apple cake
I made this as one of the desserts for a party we hosted and everyone loved it. I used a nice run as that's what we had on hand. I needed to turn the convection on the last few minutes to get the top to carmelize. Next time I make it, I'll use less sugar as using in-season apples already has a lot of sweetness and flavor.
I made this cake yesterday. We had it for breakfast. I cut down on sugar as it was way too much. The batter was very delicious. I could not taste brandy in apples. Was brandy added for a flavor? I also do not think I will be making it again. Even tho, the batter was so good, the cake came out just ok. The apples were a little overcooked. Maybe try not to cook it for 12 min like it states in the recipe and leave them a little crispy before adding it to the batter.
This is such a wonderful cake—I can’t count how many times I’ve made it. Allspice really lifts the flavor of apples. I made this outside of the U.S. where I can’t get Granny Smiths. So I used all braeburns, and it was equally delicious. I also subbed in bourbon for brandy but didn’t notice any big change in flavor. Try it—you won’t regret it!! :)
I made this lovely apple cake last night. It came out so wonderful, not to sweet. I did swap out the brandy for Grand Marnier Liqueur as that is all I had on hand. It gave it a nice flavor. I will make this again. I may try and cook the apples a little less time as they became very soft and started to loss their shape.
Hi Wendy -
You can substitute the Rome apples for the Braeburns called for in the recipe. They are both considered sweet apples that are good for baking since their firm flesh holds up in the heat of the oven. I'd keep the Granny Smiths, though, since they provide some necessary balance since they are more tart than sweet. Good luck!
Best,
The Milk Street Team
Hi Katherine -
It *might* work but the cake could turn out a little more moist/dense than with apples, especially with peaches. Peaches and plums are both slightly juicier than apples but, in addition, peaches contain less pectin. Apples (and plums) have more pectin, which helps the fruit maintain any juice released during cooking in their cell walls. Peaches don't have as much and will, therefore, end up releasing more of that juice.
Best,
The Milk Street Team
JB - Yes, definitely: honeycrisp apples will work nicely here. You can also experiment with using a mix of apples: a little bit of Granny Smith thrown into the mix can be a great addition if you enjoy a little more tartness. As long as you use an apple that has a mix of tart and sweet flavors (i.e., I wouldn't recommend a Red Delicious or Gala), you'll be in good shape.
- The Milk Street Team
Made this last night - my braeburns turned to mush while precooking/browning. Is that to be expected? Maybe I cooked them too long? Was about 12 or 13 mins, but I have a new fancy range and still learning how to judge the burners. The granny smiths held their shape, and the cake turned out so yummy!
Would definitely make again! I love apple desserts.
Amy - the apples will definitely get soft when they are browning, but shouldn't turn to total mush. It is possible that your heat was too high on your new range; if the heat was high, it probably resulted in frequent turning in order to keep them from getting too dark, which contributed to their breakdown. Next time, try using a slightly lower heat, and turn the apples only often enough to get them browned on all sides, but not constantly.
Once in a while I make a recipe and say that's it I won't try another because it's so good. That is the case with this cake it was superb and fairly easy to make. The only "hard" part is preparing the apples other than that it's easy. I did forget to add the all spice but it was still good.
I was not successful with this recipe. I weighed all on my scale. The first was I may not have a large enough pan for the apple cook. I used a 9 inch pan.
Even with constant turning some of my apples just turned to mush.
I waited as long as possible for the dark browning which only got to medium brown even with the additional time.
And the final product was inedible. All just mush even the apples that retained their shape. There was no bake to the flour mixture just seemed like raw dough
Hi Katherine -
A few things may have happened. First, not using a large enough skillet would definitely affect the apples. Because there isn't as much surface area in a smaller pan the juices from the apples won't evaporate as quickly so the apples themselves will steam or, even, boil in their juices before those juices can evaporate. Second, what kind of apples did you use? A mealy, or softer apple such as a red delicious or McIntosh won't work well here. You want a firm apple that will hold up to heat. Braeburn, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, or Honey Crisp would all work well here. Lastly, did you make sure to cool the apples to the touch in the refrigerator? Hot, or even warm, apples will overheat the batter and can cause it to bake up greasy and doughy. Make sure the apples are cool to the touch - even a little cold is a good idea - before you add them to the batter. Hope that helps!
Best,
The Milk Street Team
Although this looked beautiful, it was disappointing. The texture was very mushy and taste was underwhelming. Mine did not produce a thick, buttery custard. I measured ingredients on a scale. Could you suggest where I went wrong?
Hi Gina -
You may want to read through the response to Katherine above for some potential pitfalls. It may also be helpful to watch Erika Bruce make it on the TV show, which you can find here - https://www.177milkstreet.com/tv/easy-french-desserts. This may help you identify areas where you may have done something different and/or your batter didn't look the same as how it was supposed to. Make sure to use the combination of apples specified in the recipe and to quickly transfer the apples to a plate as soon as all of their liquid evaporates.
Best,
The Milk Street Team
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This came out delicious !!! Thank you!