Apple Cake Recipe (A French Classic)
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With tart apples baked into a buttery cake with just a hint of rum, this might be the best apple cake you’ll ever taste. It’s simple yet so satisfying—perfect for dessert, a cozy afternoon snack, or even breakfast (yes, it’s that good!).
The summer after my junior year of college, I worked as an au pair in Paris for a family with three energetic little boys. My host mother, Valérie, loved to cook and often enlisted my help in the kitchen once the kids were in bed. Her apple cake recipe, with chunks of tart apples nestled in a tender, buttery rum cake, quickly became one of my all-time favorite fall desserts. Like many French classics—think clafoutis, madeleines, or crepes—it’s wonderfully simple yet incredibly satisfying. A slice is perfect with a cup of coffee in the afternoon or served as dessert with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
“Last year I won first place in a state fair with this recipe…This year I won division champion in our county fair. It’s a total winner of a recipe!”
What You’ll Need to Make French Apple Cake
- All-purpose flour: Forms the base of the cake, keeping it light and tender.
- Baking powder: Gives the cake its lovely rise and fluffiness.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor.
- Unsalted butter: Adds rich flavor and moisture, making the cake soft and buttery.
- Granulated sugar: Sweetens the cake and gives it a crisp topping.
- Eggs: Help bind the ingredients and create structure.
- Vanilla extract: Adds warmth and complements the apples.
- Dark rum: Adds a hint of depth and complexity to the cake. If you’d like to omit the rum, you can replace it with milk, apple cider, or apple juice.
- Baking apples: Tart-sweet varietals provide the perfect balance of flavor and also make the cake incredibly moist. When this baking this cake or other desserts with apples, such as apple crisp, apple pie, or apple cobbler, it’s important to use apples suitable for baking. These apples hold their shape when cooked, so the chunks of fruit won’t turn into applesauce in the oven. Granny Smith apples and Honeycrisp apples are both great options. Feel free to combine different varieties for a more nuanced flavor.
- Confectioners’ sugar (optional): A light dusting gives the cake a pretty finish.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by combining the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
No need to sift; just whisk well.
Set aside. Then, in the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time.
Beat in the vanilla extract and rum.
It will look a little curdled at this point; that’s okay.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
Mix until just combined.
Add the peeled and chopped apples.
Use a rubber spatula to fold the apples into the batter.
Have a 9-inch springform pan greased, or a 9-inch cake pan greased, lined with parchment, and greased again.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and even the top.
Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar.
Bake the cake for about 40 minutes, until golden and crisp on top.
Serve warm or room temperature, plain or with lightly sweetened whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. A dash of cinnamon would be a nice addition, too.
Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions
The cake is best enjoyed fresh but keeps well at room temperature for up to 2 days. Store it at room temperature in a cake dome or covered with foil. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, wrap it tightly with aluminum foil or freezer wrap. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.
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Video Tutorial
French Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled off
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling over cake
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons dark rum
- 2 baking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ½-inch cubes (3½ to 4 cups chopped; see note)
- Confectioners' sugar (optional), for decorating cake
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease a 9-inch (23-cm) springform or regular cake pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray. If using a regular cake pan, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and grease again.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Using a handheld mixer with beaters or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and rum. Don't worry if the batter looks grainy at this point; that's okay. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chopped apples.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and even the top. Sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool on a rack in the pan. Once cool, run a blunt knife around the edges of the cake. If using a springform pan, remove the sides. If using a regular cake pan, carefully invert the cake onto the rack, remove the parchment paper, then gently flip the cake over and place right-side-up on a platter. Using a fine sieve, dust with confectioners' sugar (if using). Cake can be served warm or room temperature, plain or with lightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Notes
- When this baking this cake, it's important to use apples suitable for baking. Baking apples hold their shape when cooked, so the chunks of fruit won't turn into applesauce in the oven. Tart-sweet varietals such as Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, Pink Lady, Braeburn, and Jonagold are all great options. Feel free to combine different varieties for a more nuanced flavor.
- Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cake is best enjoyed fresh but for up to 2 days. Store at room temperature in a cake dome or covered with foil. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, wrap it tightly with aluminum foil or freezer wrap. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Delicious, soft, just sweet enough.
Thank you so much for this recipe! It is simple, yet the results are always impressive, and the taste is perfection. I feel it’s also on the healthier side for a dessert, since the apple-to-cake ratio is quite high (and on that note, don’t be afraid if the batter looks particularly chunky with apples; the cake really fills in while baking). I do use Calvados in lieu of rum, but that’s just a personal preference. Thanks again, it’s fantastic!
i’m excited to try making your cake. I wonder about the possibility of substituting applesauce for some of the butter, maybe 25% of the butter. Do you think this would be feasible, and still result in a nice texture for the cake?
thank you.
Hi Carolyn, it will make the cake a bit wetter, but you can get away with replacing 25% of the butter with applesauce. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Jenn, I live on a remote island. Ingredients are limited here. So I had to pray that what I had would work. It did ! Cake was moist and delicious .
I had to double the recipe. The only flour available here was “normal flour” from Fiji. Wheat flour. I only had 2 medium apples. But I had those 4 ounce applesauce cups. No rum. I used almond extract 1/2 teaspoon. And I don’t have a hand mixer. Lol I used my rubber spatula to mix all the ingredients. Lol
2 cups flour , salt, baking powder, sugar, 2 sticks butter, vanilla extract, almond extract, 2 cubed apples and one 4 oz cup of applesauce. 10 inch spring pan. Baked gas stove at 350 for 50-55 minutes. I did the toothpick test and it worked. Loved this cake. It lasted 10 minutes out of the oven. Lol
Excellent recipe! The rum flavor in the batter is delicious – I will make this often from now on!
Thank you! 🙂
How many grams is 1 stick of butter?
Hi Debbie, it’s 113 grams. The great majority of my recipes (including this one) include conversions to metric/weight measurements. To view them, scroll down to the recipe, and immediately under the recipe title on the right side, you’ll see a little toggle. If you move it from “cup measures” to metric, you’ll see measurements that will work for you. Hope that helps!
Best ever 🥰
I had some old apples sitting in the fridge and literally bits of flour from leftover bakes. Used 3 apples, mixture of plain flour + self raising flour, a couple of too small eggs, subbed rum with orange juice and added mixed spice. The end result was a fabulously light cake filled with apples. Forgiving recipes like this one is a real keeper!
Can I make this in a loaf pan? I don’t have cake tins.
Hi Chantelle, you could try it but I’m concerned that it may be a little gummy in the center. If you want an apple bread/cake in a loaf pan, I’d suggest this — it’s also delish. Hope you enjoy if you make it!
Just made this today and it was a big success. I didn’t have any rum so I used 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract. I also completely forgot to replace the rum with milk, like I had planned to, but cake was perfect anyway. I also sprinkled a little brown sugar and slivered almonds on top before baking. It’s was amazing. It has such a depth of flavor. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
If I’m serving this in 2 days, can I just put it in the refrigerator ?
Thank you !
Hi Kay, It keeps nicely on the counter covered with foil for a few days so you don’t really need to put it in the fridge. That said, it won’t hurt if you want to refrigerate it; just bring it to room temperature before serving.
This recipe is amazing!
Every time I make apple cake I try a different recipe.
This one is a keeper 😋
It’s light and airy, with a little crunch on the edges. Great flavor too
Thank you 💓
Just wow! That cake is delicious. I made it exactly as described with the exception of reducing the sugar in the cake to 2/3 cup and replacing the rum with Grand Marnier (because I didn’t have any rum). The cake was tender, the apples perfect. I don’t believe I have ever written a review online before but this was so good that I felt I had to recommend it!!!