Considering it’s still the middle of August, it’s weird to think that we are already thinking of the holidays. But whether or not we want summer to be over, they’re ARE coming! So be prepared. This month’s linkup is, you guessed it, apples! The quintessential rosh hashanah food. We decided to be a little different and make a European style cake filled with more apples than batter and spiked with a little bit of rum (that’s right, no cinnamon and nutmeg in here!).
The recipe was super quick and easy to make (fewer steps than this apple cake), especially because the original called for melted butter. You can easily use a neutral oil to make it pareve and serve it as a dessert after your meaty dinner meal.
Another fun thing about this cake is that it can be made using whatever kind of apple you like. I actually used 4 different kinds of apples, since they were all the same price at the supermarket, anyway. Plus, you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry. Except maybe rum. But you can leave that out and just add a little extra vanilla extract for flavor. the cake is very rummy, so if you’re not into that, use a little less than the recipe calls for.
This cake is wonderful for dessert, but even better as a breakfast with a little bit of whipped cream on top.
French Apple Cake, adapted from David Lebovitz:
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 4 large apples
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons rum
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup neutral oil, for a pareve cake, or 1 stick melted and cooled butter for a dairy cake
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF
2. Heavily butter and flour an 8 inch cake pan. The original recipe called for a springform, but I didn’t have mine. Feel free to use one, and place it on top of a baking sheet if you go that way.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Peel and core the apples, then dice them into 1-inch pieces.
5. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until foamy.
6. Whisk in the sugar, then rum and vanilla.
7. Whisk in half of the flour mixture, then gently stir in half of the melted butter
8. Stir in the remaining flour mixture, then the rest of the butter.
9. Fold in the apple cubes until they’re well-coated with the batter.
10. Scrape them into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top a little with a spatula.
11. Bake the cake for 50 minute to 1 hour, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
12. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake from the pan and remove from pan carefully.
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