French Apple Cake
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With chunks of sweet apples nestled in a tender and buttery rum cake, this French apple cake is the essence of simplicity.
The summer after my junior year in college, what seems like eons ago, I worked as an au pair in Paris for a family with three little boys. My host mother, Valérie, loved to cook and would frequently enlist my help in the kitchen once the kids were in bed. Her French apple cake, with chunks of tart apples nestled in a tender, buttery rum cake, is a longtime favorite of mine. Similar to many homemade French desserts, like clafoutis, madeleines, or crepes, it is the essence of simplicity.
What you’ll need to make French Apple Cake
When this baking this cake or any any dessert with apples, such as apple crisp, apple pie, or apple cobbler, it’s important to use apples suitable for baking. Baking apples hold their shape when cooked, so the chunks of fruit won’t turn into applesauce in the oven. Tart-sweet varietals such as Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, Pink Lady, Braeburn, and Jonagold are all great options. Feel free to combine different varieties for a more nuanced flavor.
How To Make French Apple Cake
Begin by combining the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. No need to sift; just whisk well.
Set aside. Then, in the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time.
Beat in the vanilla extract and rum.
It will look a little grainy at this point; that’s okay.
Add the dry ingredients.
Mix until just combined.
Add the chopped apples.
Use a rubber spatula to fold the apples into the batter.
Have a 9-inch springform pan greased or a 9-inch cake pan greased, lined with parchment, and greased again.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and even the top.
Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar.
Bake the cake for about 40 minutes, until golden and crisp on top.
Serve warm or room temperature, plain or with lightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
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Video Tutorial
French Apple Cake
With chunks of sweet apples nestled in a tender and buttery rum cake, this French apple cake is the essence of simplicity.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling over cake
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons dark rum
- 2 baking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ½-inch cubes (I like Honeycrisp, Fuji or Granny Smith) (3½ - 4 cups chopped)
- Confectioners' sugar (optional), for decorating cake
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease a 9-inch springform or regular cake pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray. If using a regular cake pan, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and grease again.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Using a handheld mixer with beaters or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar 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 rum. Don't worry if the batter looks grainy at this point; that's okay. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chopped apples.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and even the top. Sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool on a rack in the pan. Once cool, run a blunt knife around the edges of the cake. If using a springform pan, remove the sides. If using a regular cake pan, carefully invert the cake onto the rack, remove the parchment paper, then gently flip the cake over and place right-side-up on a platter. Using a fine sieve, dust with confectioners' sugar (if using). Cake can be served warm or room temperature, plain or with lightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
- Freezer Friendly Instructions: The cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, wrap it tightly with aluminum foil or freezer wrap. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Calories: 279
- Fat: 13g
- Saturated fat: 8g
- Carbohydrates: 35g
- Sugar: 22g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 3g
- Sodium: 66mg
- Cholesterol: 77mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I never bake but we’ve got an apple tree so I was looking for some recipes.
I tried this and it came out great (so glad you have a metric option). Followed your instructions to the letter apart from my cake needs Ed about 50 minutes to bake 👍🏻
Thanks Jenn and I will definitely be using this recipe again.
So good! Easy to make and no need for a frosting! I will be making this forever! Like to use honey crisp apples! Thanks for this recipe!❤️
Hi, Jenn! A few questions for those in my life with dietary needs. For gluten-free, can this be made with almond flour or does it need to be GF flour? For heart health, can the butter be substituted for canola, olive, or avocado oil or would oil just not work here?
Thanks!
– Jane
Hi Jane, You may be able to swap part of the gluten-free flour with almond flour, but I’m concerned the texture of the cake won’t be right with all almond flour. And the only oil that will work here is (solidified) coconut oil as you need something solid to cream with the sugar. Hope that helps!
Thanks. I was pretty sure those would be the case, but trust your expertise more than mine. Appreciate your help! As always.
This cake is wonderful. I substituted apple brandy for the rum.
I followed the recipe with the exception of using bourbon instead of rum. Everyone loved it! I’m wondering if I can use fresh peaches instead of apples as I have some on hand and want to make this again for guests this weekend.
Glad you liked it! Yes, peaches should work here as well.
Can I use calvados instead of the rum?
Yep – enjoy!
After reading everyone’s comments, I didn’t have rum, so instead of vanilla essence I used almond essence and 3 tablespoons of milk, sprinkled almond flakes on top then the sugar. I always have a 410g tin of Pink Lady Apple slices so used them, I didn’t have a 9 inch tin but a 10 inch and baked for 30 minutes. Turned out perfect, my husband loves it and will be a definite cake to bake fairly often 🙂
I made this recipe yesterday as I had the required ingredients on hand and all I can say is, WOW!!! This cake is SO delicious — moist, sweet, and unexpectedly elegant — thank you so much!
This recipe is always a big hit and I tell everyone where it’s from, thank you!
I made this cake again but sprinkled a few sliced white almonds on top, then the tbsp of sugar as suggested by a Derek Greenwood in the comments.
It’s very good and that’s the way I’ll make it from now on. I have to say I baked it for 35 minutes and not 40. That cake is a sin!!!!
Maureen Francis
This is lovely quick and easy to make. Nice texture and good flavor. I added a few sliced almonds on top before I put suggar on.
I made this cake many times and I think your idea of adding almonds on top before the sprinkle of sugar is great!
My question is, were the almonds burnt after being in the oven for 35 mins?
Thanks
I make this for dessert yesterday and it was amazing. It looked exactly like the picture when it came out and was perfect. I did not have rum, so I took advice from the comments and used 1 TB. rum extract and then two TB. milk in place of the 3 TB of rum and it was outstanding. The flavor of the rum extract with the vanilla extract….OMG, so good! I think this cake would also be great for breakfast, honestly.
If preparing this cake a day before, how would you recommend storing it for optimal freshness the next day? Thanks! Love all of your recipes!!
Hi Victoria, So glad you like the recipes! I’d cover it with foil and leave it on the countertop overnight. Hope you enjoy it!
This is a tasty dessert and I’m glad I tried it, but it wasn’t five stars for me. It’s good though. The cake to apple ratio is unique in that it’s mostly apples with just enough cake batter to hold them together. I like but don’t love apple desserts, hence my four stars, but apple pie/dessert lovers would probably rate it five stars. I would prefer less apple and more cake, but that’s just me. I thought it was easy and tasty though, and that the rum amount was just right – enough to know it’s there but not smacking you in the face.
I wanted more cake too!
Hi Jenn,
I have made this cake dozens of times with dark rum, spiced rum, bourbon, etc – all wonderful and exceptionally easy! I have lovely fresh rhubarb that I have sprinkled with sugar & allowed to soak overnight so it is now delicious to eat. Do you think I could use this in place of apples?
Thanks,
Siobhán
So glad you like the cake! I think rhubarb should work here, but it may be a little tart. (You mentioned that you sprinkled it with some sugar, so that should help). Please LMK how it comes out if you try it!
Is it possible to make this without the rum, for kids? What adjustment is needed if leaving out the rum?
Sure — just replace the rum with apple juice, apple cider, or milk. 😊
I have made this cake many times. The cake turned out amazing the first few times. They looked like your cake, Jenn! Lately, they started to be flat. They came out half an inch thick. What did I do wrong?
I’m sorry you’ve had a problem with this recently! Is your baking powder old or expired?
Can I double the recipe and still bake in a 23cm round tin and get the same texture?
I love this recipe but I need to serve more people.
Sure, Cindy, that will work — it will just take longer to bake so keep a close eye on it. (And glad you like it!)
Is there a good alternative to rum?
I’ve baked this before and it was delicious.
I want to make it for a party but need it to have no alcohol in it
Sure, you can replace it with apple juice, apple cider, or milk. Glad you’ve enjoyed it!
Had the texture of a pound cake. This was a “fresher”, lighter cake that accompanied our lasagna. I added pears and orange zest to the apples with an extra tablespoon (or 2 or 3 🫢😀) of rum. Soooooo delicious! Only one piece left.
Great recipe! Just wondering, how long would I adjust cook time if I doubled up the recipe but put it in the same pan?
Glad you like it! I’d guesstimate it will take about 60 minutes, but keep a close eye on it!
I have made this apple cake with a doubled recipe in a small pan — my suggestions are (1) after the first 15-20 minutes (or whenever when the batter is rising well) reduce the oven heat to 325-330 degrees and (2) add an extra tsp. of baking powder to make sure it rises and stays fluffy 🙂 You may need a foil cover for the last 1/3 of the baking time.
I have used this technique before with other similar cakes and it works well!
Can you bake this a day ahead and leave out on counter overnight?
Yep!
Hi! Can’t wait to try this . My son is having an “ around the world picnic” at school. If I made this and replaced the rum with milk, would the flavor be just as good ?
Sure, Ellie, milk would be fine. You can also use apple juice or apple cider. Hope the picnic is fun!
This was honestly one of the best desserts I have ever had. I wanted to make something different for my husband’s birthday, and I happened to come upon this recipe online. I followed it exactly except I substituted gluten free flour (Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour) for the wheat flour, since I am gluten intolerant.
It came out so much better than I expected. I will definitely make this again and explore more of your recipes. Thank you so much for this divine dessert!!!
I substituted 1 cup plus 6 tablespoons of gf oat flour for the regular flour to make it gluten free – it was just fabulous. Just another option.
Everyone loves this cake. Could I use brandy instead of rum?
Sure (and glad the cake is a hit)!
Absolutely gorgeous cake. Only had one apple so used a pear too. This recipe is a keeper.
I tried your French apple cake last year & wrote the recipe down to my favourite recipes.
Somehow, I have forgotten about it since I have been trying many many recipes all year. Today, I tried again and I thought you deserve good review. The best apple cake & I don’t even like apple cake. The only reason I made it because my hubby loves anything to do with apple. I must say, the best and now I enjoy it too. A must try, super easy to make too.
Can I use this recipe to make small muffins ?
Sure, Sylvana, that will work. Enjoy!
This is such a forgiving recipe. I hadn’t paid attention to the directions in terms of mixing the dry and wet ingredients and ended up using one bowl to mix the dry and then wet ingredients. I wasn’t sure how my cake would turn out. To my surprise, it came out exactly as in the picture! The cake smelled so good while it was baking, and it came out nicely and the apple chunks were the right tenderness. I love that it is not too sweet. This is definitely a keeper and will make sure I read the directions a few times (LOL).