FFwD - Marie-Helene’s Apple Cake

Marie-Helene would be quite welcome in our home.

Especially if she showed up with an apple cake.

Of course, we don’t know Marie-Helene, and she doesn’t know us, so the odds of her arriving at our door, still-warm-from-the-oven gâteau aux pommes (I’m dabbling in French) are pretty darn slim.

Good thing Dorie gave us a recipe so I can make this myself!

I actually made this a while ago, right at the beginning of October.  It’s an incredibly easy cake to put together.  Actually, it’s just barely a cake.  It’s more like a whole bunch of apple slices held together in a group hug by soft sweet arms of batter.

Okay, yeah, that’s a bit of a weird image. 

Moving on…

I preheated the oven and greased a springform pan.

And then I gathered the (very minimal) ingredients.

And I took a picture of them.  Of course.

I have four different apples, and I should have written them down, of course, but I didn’t.  At least, I don’t think I did.  But I think I had a Granny Smith, a MacIntosh, a Gala, and…another one.  Cortland, maybe?  Oh I don’t know.  Can’t even pretend.

I peeled them.

And I sliced them in half.

And I sliced them up and mixed them together in a bowl.

Oh, and I took pictures.  Of course.

I whisked eggs, and added sugar.

I added the already-whisked-but-unphotographed dry ingredients to the egg/sugar mixture and did some more whisking.

And then I folded the apples into the batter.

Don’t they look happy?

 

Okay, apple slices and batter!  Into the pan you go!

They looked so happy.  I took a picture.  Of course.

And into the oven they went.

I felt a bit like the witch in Hansel and Gretel, but really, the apples didn’t mind in the least.

Don’t they look happy?

I thought so.  So I took another picture.

Look – it’s like they’re waving!

Ohhhhhhhhhh, and it smelled so good!

Now, mine didn’t have that nice brown top crust like the one in Dorie’s book, but I think maybe my apples were on the large side and they took up a lot of space and the batter was spread a bit too thin to form that crust.  Hmmm…batter spread too thin…sounds like that should be a pun.

Oh well.  No time for puns at the moment.

Even without that brown crusty effect on top, the cake still looked very tasty.

I served this to my family and my husband’s cousin and his wife and daughters, and if I remember correctly, everyone liked it very much.

Of course.

And I had a slice of it the next morning for breakfast.  It goes well with coffee and the paper.

So I took another picture.  Of course.

If you’d like to read about this apple cake some more, go check out the rest of the French Fridays with Dorie links – right here!

Comments

[Mary Ann]

I love how you left your apples in slices- it makes the sliced piece look really elegant. Wasn't this a wonderful little cake?

[yummychunklet]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who ate a slice of this cake for breakfast the next morning. Your cake turned out great! I like big chunks of apples.

[chocolatechic]

Beautiful cake.

[Jessica of My Baking Heart]

Cute post! Your cake looks wonderful! :)

[wanderlustforfood]

I had the same issue with my apples being too big but it still was amazingly tasty. I doubt I'd even chop them smaller next time! Lovely cake!

[Jenn]

I love your step by step pictures. And yes the apples were waving! :)

[Nicky]

I had a slice for breakfast the other day, too! It does go perfectly with coffee and a Sunday paper!

[Mary]

I like your apple in slices instead of chunks..it is a classier MH apple cake!

[KY]

This cake is great for breakfast, midday snack and dessert (with ice-cream)!

[Judy]

I love seeing all your steps. This cake is definitely a favorite now.

[Jessica]

I think this really is a breakfast cake - although it's delicious anytime. And I think the image of apples hugged by batter is perfect. Nice work!

[Aidan]

I had the exact same absence of browning on top -- but aren't the crispy, buttery lacy edges incredible? Me likey!

I've now made this four times, and it is possibly my favorite apple recipe. I liked it so much, I've ordered three trees for the yard at our weekend house in Michigan.. 1 each of Melrose, HoneyCrisp, and Smokehouse (An 1830's variety which is supposed to be spicy and taste like cider!).

[Bertie]

THIS LOOKS FANTASTIC! Sorry, I know it is poor to use all caps, but I had a express my excitment! Nom

[Sasa]

I seem to be having trouble commenting, it keeps disappearing :( This looks pretty golden brown and lovely to me! Apples are in season here at the moment too.

[Meike]

My family got addicted to this cake this past winter, asking me to make it almost every weekend. The recipe I used included 3 tablespoons of dark rum added to the egg mixture - YUM! I also started experimenting with other fruit and they all came out amazing - pears, various berries (fresh & frozen) and one of my favorites was the one with frozen mango chunks, served hot it was one of the best desserts I've ever tasted. Oh, and don't forget the whip cream.