French Apple Cake

Because I've always been a Francophile and this dessert recipe had the word "French" in it, choosing it from a long list of Apple Cake recipes was a no-brainer. The fact that the cake batter is infused with a healthy splash of Calvados (or Cognac) helped make the decision that much easier!

This is one of those special recipes that I stumbled across about 10 years ago and have held on to ever since. It is buttery and rich and truly divine. And it is a dangerous cake to have around, because once you have a bite, you'll want another.
And another. And another.

So unless I feel like living dangerously, I only make it for special occasions, when I know there will be friends and family around to help eat up every last bite. When I offer second helpings I am often met with mild protests, but they always cave in eventually!


French Apple Cake
from Bon Appétit magazine
serves 8

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large Granny Smith apples (about 1 1/4 pounds), peeled, cored, thinly sliced

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large egg yolks
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons Calvados, applejack or other brandy (I use Cognac)
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides. Coat pan with sugar; tap out excess. Melt 1/4 cup butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in 3/4 cup sugar, water and cinnamon and bring to boil. Add apples and cook until apples are just tender, turning frequently, about 15 minutes. Remove apples, using slotted spoon, and arrange decoratively in bottom of pan. Continue boiling liquid in skillet until thick and syrupy, about 4 minutes. Pour over apples.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into small bowl. Whisk remaining 1 cup sugar, egg yolks, eggs, Calvados and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Gently stir in dry ingredients. Fold in 1/2 cup melted butter. Pour batter over apples in pan. Bake until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool cake in pan 5 minutes. Run small sharp knife around side of pan to loosen cake. Turn cake out onto platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Baked Apple Crunch

For the last couple of days we've been wrapped up in a warm, comforting blanket of contentment due to Tuesday's fantastic election results.
Add to the mix a hearty portion of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg laced Apple Crunch topped with vanilla ice cream, and you've got yourself a recipe for nirvana.

This recipe is my adaption of Hannah Davis' Baked Apple Crunch, a recipe from the 1700's that is prinited in the New York Cookbook: From Pelham Bay to Park Avenue, Firehouses to Four-Star Restaurants, by Molly O'Neill.
I love this cookbook! It is crammed with delicious recipes ranging from Afghan to Argentinian, Chinese to Creole, Italian to Indian. And it was the first gift my husband, a native New Yorker, ever gave me (a subtle hint that he had high expectations of my cooking abilities, perhaps?).

My version of Apple Crunch is often requested by friends so I find myself making it over and over every autumn. Once you try it, you'll know why.


sliced up apples, mixed with sugar and spices



the crunch topping



the golden Apple Crunch, hot out of the oven and fragrant with spices (I made this twice in the last week, hence the different dish)


Apple Crunch
serves 6

filling:
2 pounds tart cooking apples, such as Granny Smith
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl mix the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves together.
Peel, core and thinly slice the apples and mix with the sugar and spice mix so all the apples are coated well.
Spoon into round pie plate or square ceramic baking pan.
In another bowl, mix the flour and sugar together, then add the butter and the vanilla.
Using your fingers, combine the mixture so the butter is combined with the dry ingredients.
Spoon over the apples to evenly cover.
Bake for 1 hour, until apples are soft and cooked through and top is golden.
If serving without ice cream, sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of powdered sugar. Pin It