Description
Delightful French apple cake embraces rustic charm with its moist crumb and elegant maple ginger custard sauce. Silky custard elevates this classic dessert, offering sweet warmth and complexity you’ll savor with each memorable bite.
Ingredients
Scale
French Apple Cake Ingredients:
Fruits:
- 1 ½ pounds (680 grams) tart apples (Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/8 inch slices
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (140 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup + 1 tablespoon (220 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 whole egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 cup (240 milliliters) whole milk
- 1 cup (240 milliliters) vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon spiced rum
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Maple Ginger Custard Sauce Ingredients:
Liquids:
- 2 cups (480 milliliters) whole milk
- ¼ cup (60 milliliters) maple syrup
Eggs and Flavoring:
- 5 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon spiced rum
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Aromatics:
- 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
Garnish:
- Powdered sugar (for sprinkling)
Instructions
- Gently microwave apple slices in a shallow bowl for 3 minutes, stirring periodically until they become soft and malleable.
- Toss the apples with lemon juice and spiced rum, allowing them to cool and absorb flavors for 10 minutes.
- Prepare the oven by heating to 325°F and preparing a springform pan with butter, placing it on a lined baking sheet to catch potential drips.
- Create a dry ingredient mixture by whisking flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
- In a separate large bowl, combine whole egg, milk, oil, and vanilla bean paste, mixing thoroughly.
- Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, stirring until just combined.
- Separate and reserve one cup of the batter, setting it aside for later use.
- Whisk egg yolks into the remaining batter, then gently fold in the cooled apple slices.
- Transfer the apple-infused batter into the prepared springform pan, carefully pressing the apple slices to create an even distribution.
- Add flour to the reserved batter, whisking until smooth, then delicately spread it over the apple layer.
- Sprinkle the remaining sugar across the top of the cake.
- Bake for approximately 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, watching for a golden-brown color.
- Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack before removing from the pan.
- For the maple ginger custard sauce, combine milk, maple syrup, and sliced ginger in a saucepan.
- Simmer the mixture, then remove from heat and let steep for 30 minutes to infuse flavors.
- Strain out the ginger slices and return the milk mixture to a gentle simmer.
- Temper egg yolks by slowly whisking in warm milk, then reintroduce the mixture to the saucepan.
- Continuously stir until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
- Remove from heat and incorporate vanilla bean paste and spiced rum.
- Cool the custard at room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled.
- Before serving, dust the cake with powdered sugar and accompany with the cold maple ginger custard sauce.
Notes
- Prepare apples in advance by microwaving and letting them cool to ensure even texture and prevent excess moisture in the cake.
- Always use a springform pan on a lined baking sheet to catch potential batter leaks and maintain clean oven surfaces.
- Temper egg yolks carefully when making the custard sauce by slowly introducing warm milk to prevent scrambling.
- Let the cake cool completely before removing from the pan to maintain its delicate structure and prevent crumbling.
- Steep ginger in milk mixture for a full 30 minutes to extract maximum flavor complexity in the custard sauce.
- Serve the chilled maple ginger custard sauce alongside the warm cake for a delightful temperature and flavor contrast.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 580
- Sugar: 42g
- Sodium: 250mg
- Fat: 30g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 24g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 66g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 8g
- Cholesterol: 140mg