French Apple Cake

A slice of cake on a white plate. An apple and the rest of the cake are partially seen in the background.

This simple yet delicious French apple cake is made with a rum-based, buttery batter, and filled with chunks of tart apples. This cake is perfect when apple season hits!

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 35

Servings servings

Calories 294kcal

Author Nina

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
⅔ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
¼ cup rum
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 apples
¼ cup powdered sugar for dusting the top of the cake

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line the bottom of a 8 or 9-inch round baking pan, and grease the sides.
Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Beat butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add eggs and mix until fully incorporated. Add rum and vanilla and mix.
Add dry ingredients and mix until almost combined. Add apples and mix in by hand. Mix until everything is combined. Don't overmix.
Transfer batter to prepared baking pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Let cool in it's pan for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the outside the cake so it doesn't stick to the pan. Leave cake in it's pan until fully cooled, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
Dust the top with powdered sugar when ready to serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Notes

The alcohol from the rum gets baked out and just the taste of the rum is left. If you don't want to use rum, you can use a rum extract. I don't recommend leaving out the rum taste though. It really enhances the apple flavour in this recipe.

I used a 9-inch baking pan for this recipe. You can use an 8-inch pan, but the baking time will be a bit longer.

You can use a combination of 2 types of apples if you like, or just use one kind. I used Granny Smith and McIntosh in this recipe.

Nutrition