Apple Cake Recipe (A French Classic)
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With tart apples baked into a buttery cake with just a hint of rum, this might be the best apple cake you’ll ever taste. It’s simple yet so satisfying—perfect for dessert, a cozy afternoon snack, or even breakfast (yes, it’s that good!).
The summer after my junior year of college, I worked as an au pair in Paris for a family with three energetic little boys. My host mother, Valérie, loved to cook and often enlisted my help in the kitchen once the kids were in bed. Her apple cake recipe, with chunks of tart apples nestled in a tender, buttery rum cake, quickly became one of my all-time favorite fall desserts. Like many French classics—think clafoutis, madeleines, or crepes—it’s wonderfully simple yet incredibly satisfying. A slice is perfect with a cup of coffee in the afternoon or served as dessert with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
“Last year I won first place in a state fair with this recipe…This year I won division champion in our county fair. It’s a total winner of a recipe!”
What You’ll Need to Make French Apple Cake
- All-purpose flour: Forms the base of the cake, keeping it light and tender.
- Baking powder: Gives the cake its lovely rise and fluffiness.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor.
- Unsalted butter: Adds rich flavor and moisture, making the cake soft and buttery.
- Granulated sugar: Sweetens the cake and gives it a crisp topping.
- Eggs: Help bind the ingredients and create structure.
- Vanilla extract: Adds warmth and complements the apples.
- Dark rum: Adds a hint of depth and complexity to the cake. If you’d like to omit the rum, you can replace it with milk, apple cider, or apple juice.
- Baking apples: Tart-sweet varietals provide the perfect balance of flavor and also make the cake incredibly moist. Always use apples suitable for baking—such Granny Smith apples and Honey Crisp apples—and feel free to combine different types for a more nuanced flavor.
- Confectioners’ sugar (optional): A light dusting gives the cake a pretty finish.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
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 curdled at this point; that’s okay.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
Mix until just combined.
Add the peeled and 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 a scoop of vanilla ice cream. A dash of cinnamon would be a nice addition, too. The cake keeps well at room temperature for up to 2 days; it can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Video Tutorial
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French Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled off
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) 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 (3½ to 4 cups chopped; see note)
- Confectioners' sugar (optional), for decorating cake
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease a 9-inch (23-cm) 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.
Notes
- When this baking this cake, 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.
- Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cake is best enjoyed fresh but for up to 2 days. Store at room temperature in a cake dome or covered with foil. It can also 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
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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This cake is so easy to make and tastes really great! I guess because it’s too cold inside the kitchen, I had trouble creaming the sugar and butter. The texture of my batter didn’t look as fluffy as yours in the photos. I was worried it might affect the texture of the cake but it didn’t. I sprinkled it with panela on top instead of granulated sugar and I’m glad I did because it had a very beautiful color when it came out of the oven.
Jenn!
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!
I’ve made it THREE TIMES in TWO WEEKS and every single time it came out perfect! This will be one of my most used recipes for the rest of my life, 100% guaranteed! This weekend, I’ll be making it for the other half of my family and I have no doubts that they will fall in love with this cake as well!
I would suggest not refrigerating it since it wont last more than a couple of days either way. :)) It stays moist and delicious this way. And definitely don’t skip on the rum, like the other reviewers have commented already. This recipe is really perfect as is; I wouldn’t change a thing! The last time I made it, I used one Honeycrisp apple and three Macintosh (ran out of Honeycrisp) and replaced the butter with coconut oil and still perfect! So in case you run out of butter or the recommended kind of apples (like me), I found that these substitutions definitely preserve the integrity of the recipe.
Thank you so much again, Jenn! Easy, delicious, amazingly tasty and relatively healthy desert recipe that will forever stay in my family now! ;))
Absolutely amazing! Beautifully balanced flavors – the rum was an extra bonus. I made it for guests, but we had to cancel our dinner. This left the entire cake for two of us – we consumed it over a few days and it stayed perfectly moist. In our rotation permanently – thank you for this recipe!
I give this 5 stars all the way around! Five stars for an easy recipe, five stars for using only a few staple ingredients, five stars for taste. It is such a nice mild cake, not too rich, and is good for breakfast, along with tea or coffee, or as a dessert.
So this recipe has become our family’s go-to dessert; so much so that it has sparked an apple cake cook-off in the extended family. Here are my slight modifications: 1) double the recipe. It will fit perfectly in a springform pan and you’ll need the extra cake as the recipe is so good. 2) Cutting the rum to three tablespoons (when doubling) is perfect – not too strong. I’ve experimented with light and dark rum and both work well. 3) sprinkle brown sugar in lieu of white for a slightly different, perhaps sweeter top crust. Note we generally omit the powdered sugar as a result. 4) best apples? Gala, honey crisp and Kenzo seem to work best from our point of view. Really, the recipe is delightful and needs no modifications, but if you do double it please be aware cooking time increases to nearly an hour.
I recently made this cake as part of a bereavement meal for a friend. The cake was very moist and delicious with delicate flavors of apple and a hit of rum. I made it in the 9″ springform pan and my only suggestion would be that if you’re going to remove it entirely from the pan, that a piece of parchment be cut and put in the bottom.
This is my favourite recipe! Thank you, Jen! It is so easy, at the same time so delicious. I substitute rum with apple juice (I use 7-8 table spoons of freshly squeezed apple juice). The cake is usually finished the same evening 🙂
As this cake does not seem too high, do you think you could make 2 and sandwich together with cream cheese frosting? Do you think flavors would work to do that?
Hi Kate, This cake is pretty heavy, so not sure that it lends itself well to a layer cake. That said, if you want to try it, I’d suggest using two 9-inch round cake pans.
I was looking for an apple based dessert recipe after our neighbour gave us a bag-full of apples from his tree. I didn’t want pie, as I’m really hate apple pie. I tried this recipe and added about a half cup of chopped walnuts. It has become a household favourite! I have since made this cake for my neighbours on each side of us, for our Canadian Thanksgiving, and for a recent yearly retreat with girlfriends. Each time, I get asked for the recipe, and promptly forward your blog info! Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi
My Nana called this Nobby Apple cake minus the liquor, always disappeared. Will try your version. Thanks