This recipe of French apple cake drew my attention because it is made of two different textures, in the same cake; the lower part is softer and mixed with fresh apples, while the top part is made of a thicker pastry. Simply delicious!
Making cakes used to be a great challenge for me, because I enjoyed cooking salty dishes more that sweet ones. I was doing the same dessert recipe, my grandma’s delicious lemon pie, over and over again; but over time, and having a boyfriend who literally loves cakes, I started to get interested in the matter and then tested some simple recipes. Now I love to cook cakes, loaves, cheesecake, tiramisu and other desserts… and this French apple cake is one of my favourites.
One thing you can be sure of is that the recipes I propose in the blog are very easy to make and successful otherwise I wouldn’t able to make them, and I always try to add a personal touch or experiment a little something different to discover new textures, flavours and original combinations.
The recipe that inspired me comes from the Spanish blog La reposteria de Miguel. I changed the way he prepares the apples and covered the cake with a mascarpone & orange icing that really makes the difference 🙂
Also it is a perfect dessert if you have a lot of people to feed, especially around Christmas, because it is a BIG cake. Finally you can easily decorate it with a tasty icing and some ornaments, it will look like a professional cake coming from the pastry.
Some equipment helps a lot if you like to prepare cakes and other pastries. I recently bought a mixer with a removable bowl and love it. No need to spend a lot of money on it, the original price (mine cost 27 € ) does the job properly and I don’t need to hold the mixer while mixing the ingredients any longer, which is quite enjoyable. I use a long spatula to cover the cake with the icing evenly.
I like it because:
- It is a BIG cake, quick and easy to make, and very convenient if you have many guests.
- The two textures of the cake give it a professional look.
- The mascarpone and orange icing adds a citrus taste to the cake that melts in the mouth.
Tricks:
- Use a springform pan, “Bundt” type with a hole in the middle, so that it is easier to serve.
- You will need 2 large bowls to split the pastry when you prepare the 2 different textures.
- Brown the apples in a pan with a little bit of butter remove their acidity, as well as making them soft and slightly caramelized.
- You can test many different icings on this cake. The buttercream of the lemon ricotta cake is also perfect.
Bon appétit!
French apple cake & mascarpone icing
Ingredients
- A little bit of butter and flour for the mould and the pan
- 4 apples, Royal Gala type
- 1/2 lemon juice
- 2 eggs + 4 egg yolks
- 1 2/3 US cups (400ml) sunflower oil
- 2 US cups (500ml) milk
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 1/2 US cups (500g) all purpose flour
- 2 US cups (360g) brown sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- Icing sugar to decorate
If you make the icing:
- 2 US cups (250g) icing sugar
- 8,7 oz (125g) mascarpone
- 1/2 orange juice and zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 340ºF (170ºC) and line the bottom and sides of the cake pan with a little bit of butter, then sprinkle with flour.
- Peel and cut the apples into thin and little pieces. Heat a little bit of butter in a pan over medium heat and brown the apples for 5 to 10 minutes, until they are smooth. Set them aside in a bowl and pour over the lemon juice, mixing well to soak all the pieces.
- Mix the 2 eggs, the oil, the milk and the vanilla extract in a large bowl, with the help of a mixer if you have one.
- In another large bowl, sift 3 1/3 US cup (400g) flour - keep the rest for later, and incorporate the brown sugar, the baking powder and the salt.
- Stir those dry elements in the mixture with the milk, and mix all ingredients until you have a smooth and creamy pastry.
- Split this paste evenly between 2 bowls, in which will add different ingredients:
- in the first bowl, add the egg yolks and mix well the mixture. Then gently incorporates the apple pieces with the help of a spatula.
- in the second bowl, sift and incorporate the remaining flour.
- Gently pour the mixtures into the cake pan, first the one with more flour, then the lighter one with the apple pieces.
- Bake the cake for about 1 hour, until a knife can be inserted into the dough and comes out clean. Then remove it from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before turn it out delicately.
- Let the cake cool down in the refrigerator, and sprinkle it with icing sugar before serving.
- If you want, you also can make a homemade icing with mascarpone and orange as per below and spread it over the cake once it is cold.
Mascarpone and orange icing
- Mix the mascarpone cheese and icing sugar in a bowl, and incorporate the orange juice and peel slowly. Continue beating for 5 minutes or so, until the cream is soft and firm.
- Reserve in the refrigerator in the refrigerator until cake is completely cool.
- Decorate the cake using a long spatula, adding more ornaments if you like.
