Krista Gambacorta
June 10, 2026
Difficulty Level: moderate
30 min Prep
1 hr Cook
1 hr 30 min Total
8 Servings
Everyone loves apple pie, but what about apple cake? This classic French-style recipe turns apples into a rustic-looking dessert with all the sweetness and tart flavor of a traditional apple pie, but with a different texture.
We consider this recipe moderate difficulty because you need to prepare the apples and make the cake mixture. It’s not difficult, but it is slightly more time-consuming and involved than a one-pan or slow cooker recipe. However, the end result is a buttery-soft cake that’ll impress whoever sees it. Plus, it looks great for special occasions. Check out the ingredients and cooking steps below.
French Apple Cake Recipe Ingredients
- 4 large baking apples, such as Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, or Granny Smith
- 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 cup of all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
- 1/2 cup of unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons of light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons of dark rum, or 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract if avoiding alcohol
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, for topping
- 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar, optional, for dusting
French Apple Cake Recipe Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease an 8-inch springform pan or 9-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
- Peel and core the apples. Take 3 apples and dice them into small chunks. With the remaining apples, thinly slice for the top of the cake.
- In a bowl, toss all the apples with apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to keep them fresh.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and granulated sugar until pale and slightly foamy.
- In the large bowl, whisk in the melted butter, brown sugar, rum, and vanilla extract.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Fold the diced apples into the batter. The mixture will look heavy with apples, which is what you want.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan and arrange the thin apple slices over the top in a loose circle or fan pattern.
- Sprinkle the top with 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar.
- Bake for 60 minutes, or until the top is golden and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes before running a knife around the edge and removing from the pan.
- Once removed, dust with powdered sugar if using and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
Calories: 287cal
Carbohydrate: 38g
Protein: 3g
Fat: 13g
Cholesterol: 77mg
Sodium: 240mg