Apple Cake Recipe (A French Classic)
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This French apple cake recipe is wonderfully moist, just sweet enough, and packed with apples in every bite.
In my twenties, I worked as an au pair in Paris for a family with three little boys. My host mother, Valérie, loved to cook, and her apple cake—with tart apples baked into a tender, buttery rum cake—quickly became one of my favorite desserts. This recipe is based on hers, and it’s every bit as easy to make as it is delicious.
Pair it with a cup of coffee in the afternoon or serve it for dessert topped with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It’s a great cake to make in the fall, when apples are at their peak, and throughout the holiday season.
“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, baking powder, and salt: Measure the flour by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off rather than scooping directly from the bag.
- Unsalted butter: Make sure it’s at room temperature so it creams properly with the sugar.
- Granulated sugar: Sweetens the cake, with a little extra sprinkled over the top before baking to create a delicate, crackly crust.
- Eggs: Bring them to room temperature so they blend smoothly into the butter mixture.
- Vanilla extract and dark rum: The rum gives the cake its distinctive flavor and pairs beautifully with the apples without overpowering them.
- Baking apples: Choose firm apples that hold their shape in the oven, such as Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Fuji, Braeburn, or Pink Lady. I like slightly tart varieties best to balance the sweetness of the cake.
- Confectioners’ sugar: Optional, for dusting over the cake before serving.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Apple Cake
Combine the dry ingredients: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Make the batter: Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla and rum, then add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
Add the apples: Peel, core, and cut the apples into chunks, then fold them into the batter. The batter will be quite thick and there will be a lot of apples—that’s exactly how it should look.
Bake the cake: Scrape the batter into the prepared springform pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with sugar, then bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan, then remove and dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
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 medium baking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ½-inch cubes (about 2½ cups; 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 curdled 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 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/Freezing Instructions: The cake is best enjoyed fresh but keeps well 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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Hi, love your recipes. Can I sub either Pimms liqueur or Kahlua for the rum? If not, can go buy a small amount. Will make it for Rosh HaShanah for the two of us. Thanks.
Hi Sharon, I think you could get away with the Pimms but bourbon or rum would be better. Hope that helps!
Absolutely delicious! We love apples and apple cake. I’ve been looking for apple recipes without cinnamon since my husband says it bothers him now. This recipe is perfect. For those who don’t keep alcohol in their homes, could you substitute rum flavored extract, and how much?
Hi Pat, Glad you like the cake! but If you don’t want to use rum, you can substitute 1 teaspoon rum extract plus 2-1/2 tablespoons apple juice.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe, it is my favorite apple dessert. I love that I can prepare it quickly, so a lovely spontaneous treat!! I have 2 large apple trees and we have frozen lots of peeled sliced/chopped apples. Would they work in the cake, thaw first, or perhaps add a bit of time to baking? I appreciate any help. Thanks, Kathy
I think they’d work, Kathy – please lmk how it turns out if you try it.
Made this cake for a bbq. Doubled the recipe. It was so good. My only problem some of the liquid from the apples seeped out. However cake did not turn out dry. Very very good and so easy
This recipe is fantastic. Whenever I make it people ask me for the recipe. I substitute half the butter with apple butter and this last time I didn’t have rum so I used bourbon and it turned out great
This cake was delicious! I have tons of honeycrisp apples I picked last weekend and I was looking for something other than the usual pie and crisp that I make. The only thing I did differently than the recipe was add 1 tsp of cinnamon to the dry ingredients because I used spiced rum. I baked for 35 minutes and it was perfect! Yummy with vanilla ice cream. Thank you for the recipe. I love your website. It’s the first one I always check when looking for a recipe and have recommended it many times!
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Hello. I just made this cake for the firs time and followed the directions to the T. I double and triple checked the amount of baking powder. The cake is onły about an inch high. Is this accurate? Also, I used Plugra unsalted butter and am hoping this might not be too greasy?
Hi Jane, The cake should be about 1-1/2 inches high. Could your pan be a little larger? Also, I think Plugra butter is perfect!
Great simple recipe…not too sweet & totally seasonal. Next time I might add some coarse chopped walnuts or pecans.
Love this apple cake, it’s elegant in its simplicity. I pre-cook the apples a little in my cast iron skillet with a little butter to cook off some of the moisture before I add to the batter!
I can’t remember how, exactly, I stumbled across this recipe in the first place, but I saw it and had to bake. And I never bake. It is that simple, not to mention delicious. I have now subscribed; also, decided I want to be a chef when I grow up.
p.s. – I have used self-raising gluten-free flour, because that’s what my friend cooked with during her last visit. It is a bit flatter, but still very much French Apple Cake. And if anyone disagrees, they don’t get a slice.