Fresh-picked apple cake

A student of mine has an apple tree in her backyard that is producing an abundant crop, so naturally her family doesn’t know what to do with all of them. She decided to bring them to me, since she knows how much I love to bake. Wow, was I excited when I tasted them! They are small, crisp, tart, and just sweet enough. Exactly what I wish every apple was like.

I decided to look for a recipe for apple cake, something I had never made before. I wanted something easy without too many spices in it. I found a recipe on Epicrious.com for a French apple cake that was so simple and had received great reviews. I knew this was the one.

The recipe came from a cookbook called Around My French Table: More Than 300Recipes from My Home to Yours  and was created by Marie-Hélène Brunet-Lhoste, a French cook who rarely uses a recipe, but managed to write this one down. The only alteration I made was to leave out the rum.

The ingredients are simple – flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla, salt and apples. The method is also simple, the peeling and chopping of the apples being the most difficult part. The cake is cooked in a springform pan, and my only qualm with it was that it was a short cake. I would like it to be a little bit taller. Other than that, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Not only was the flavor of the cake excellent (I’m sure due to the fresh picked apples) and not too sweet, the texture was also amazing. Because of the moisture of the apples, it was almost like a bread pudding consistency. I decided to serve it (to my students, who loved it!) with lightly sweetened cinnamon whipped cream, which was a perfect compliment. I hope you enjoy it as well.

French Apple Cake (adapted from Marie-Hélène'sApple Cake)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

4 large apples (if you can, choose 4 different kinds) – I used 6, since mine were small

2 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter an 8-inch springform pan and put it on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and put the springform on it.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in small bowl.

Peel the apples, cut them in half and remove the cores. Cut the apples into 1- to 2-inch chunks.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk until they’re foamy. Pour in the sugar and whisk for a minute or so to blend. Whisk in the rum and vanilla. Whisk in half the flour and when it is incorporated, add half the melted butter, followed by the rest of the flour and the remaining butter, mixing gently after each addition so that you have a smooth, rather thick batter. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the apples, turning the fruit so that it's coated with batter. Scrape the mix into the pan and poke it around a little with the spatula so that it's evenish.

Slide the pan into the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean; the cake may pull away from the sides of the pan. Transfer to a cooling rack and let rest for 5 minutes.

Carefully run a blunt knife around the edges of the cake and remove the sides of the springform pan. (Open the springform slowly, and before it’s fully opened, make sure there aren't any apples stuck to it.) Allow the cake to cool until it is just slightly warm or at room temperature. If you want to remove the cake from the bottom of the springform pan, wait until the cake is almost cooled, then run a long spatula between the cake and the pan, cover the top of the cake with a piece of parchment or wax paper, and invert it onto a rack. Carefully remove the bottom of the pan and turn the cake over onto a serving dish.

Serving
The cake can be served warm or at room temperature, with or without a little softly whipped, barely sweetened heavy cream or a spoonful of ice cream.

Storing
The cake will keep for about 2 days at room temperature and, according to my husband, gets more comforting with each passing day. However long you keep the cake, it's best not to cover it — it's too moist. Leave the cake on its plate and just press a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper against the cut surfaces.