Apple Cake -- The Classic #TheCakeSliceBakers

August 20, 2023

Apple Cake -- The Classic #TheCakeSliceBakers

A good apple cake is a thing of beauty.

Simple. Comforting. Classic.

This is a good apple cake.

For my August Cake Slice Bake, I chose to make Aleksandra Crapanzano's "Gateau aux Pommes Classique" (or Apple Cake -- The Classic). Check out the links below to see what the other lovely bakers chose!

The cookbook author describes it as a moist apple and raisin-studded loaf, scented with rum and glazed twice.

Now, I don't love raisins.

But I'm not thoroughly anti-raisin either (I do like a good oatmeal raisin cookie sometimes).

However, the thought of a cake full of raisins didn't appeal to me very much.

I really try to make a recipe exactly as written the first time -- and then tweak it to my liking. So to stay faithful to the recipe, I used golden raisins, which (as everyone knows) are far superior to normal ones.

The books says that this classic cake is served across France, with each region using its own liqueur as flavoring. Cognac, Armagnac, even Bourbon.

I really only use alcohol for cooking and had a bottle of brandy that I bought like 8 years ago.

My daughter dropped it a couple of days ago. RIP, bottle of brandy.

I had nothing else to use. Not even rum extract. So vanilla extract it was (apologies, People of France). Next time I'll use rum.

After baking, the cake was glazed with apricot preserves, left to cool, and glazed again with a powdered sugar and ~~rum~~ vanilla icing.

Delicious.

So give this apple cake a try. Even if you don't use raisins or rum, it's a classic.

Apple Cake--The Classic

from "Gateau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes"

Cake:

1 1/4 cups raisins

2 T dark rum

2 sweet apples (like Golden, Honey Crisp, Fuji)

8 1/2 T butter, room temp

1 cup powdered sugar

3 large eggs, room temp

1 cup + 3T all-purpose flour

1/4 salt

1/2 t baking powder

5 T apricot jam

Glaze:

1 T dark rum

1/3 c powdered sugar

1. Heat oven to 350. Line an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Cut the paper large enough to leave a 3" overhang to lift the cake out.

2. Put the raisins in a small heat-proof bowl. Cover with boiling water, and leave to soften for a few minutes. Drain.

3. Bring the rum to a boil and pour over the raisins.

4. Peel and core the apples, and cut into small pieces (1/3-1/2").

5. In a stand mixer, whip the butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, and beat until pale and creamy. Add the eggs one by one, beating until homogenous.

6. Sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold the flour mix in carefully, then fold in the raisins and apples.

7. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven, but not from the pan. Warm the apricot jam, and strain out the solids. Pour over the warm cake. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Glaze

8. Just before serving, remove the cake from the parchment. Mix the rum and powdered sugar and stir until smooth. Drizzle over the cake.

Enjoy :)

Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is Gâteau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes by Aleksandra Crapanzano. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.

The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.