An "invisible" cake, and French at that, and with apples - such a recipe couldn't escape my curiosity. As a result, I've been baking it for the third time in the last week. And I have a feeling this won't be the last.
The peculiarity of this cake: lots of apples and minimal batter. The batter itself is more like a crepe mixture. Another undeniable advantage of the invisible cake is that it contains almost no sugar, flour, or butter. And that, you'll agree, can't help but please.
So why "Invisible"? It's all because in the finished cake, it's practically impossible to detect the batter; it's all just apples that seem to disappear into the cake. The batter itself is more like custard, and the apple slices melt in your mouth. To achieve this effect, you need to follow three simple rules:
- The apples need to be sliced as thinly as possible;
- Each slice should be covered with batter;
- The cake must be chilled in the refrigerator.
This treat tastes best on day two, after chilling overnight. Trust me, it's worth the wait! But for that, you'd have to make it in complete secrecy. Experience shows it disappears faster than you can make it! 😂
By the way, the invisible cake can be made with pears or a combination of pears and apples. That version is also very, very delicious.
Apple varieties to choose for this cake
For the invisible cake, choose juicy and sweet apples. They're key to the texture and flavor of the finished cake. In my opinion, these apple varieties work well: Fuji, Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, Jonagold, and Ambrosia.
Granny Smith apples, on the other hand, are better for making crumbles, Charlotte cakes, or crepe cakes with apples. Their tart, intense flavor would stand out too much in the invisible cake.
Ingredients for 5 portions
- 2 lb Apples (900 g)
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 cup Milk (100 ml)
- 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar (50 g)
- 1/2 cup All-purpose flour (70 g)
- 1 tsp Vanilla sugar
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp Butter (20 g)
- 1/2 Lemon
Invisible Apple Cake Recipe
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a baking pan with butter and line it with parchment paper. Thanks to the butter, the parchment will stick well to the pan.
Beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla sugar, and a pinch of salt using a mixer or fork until the mixture turns pale in a large bowl.
You can adjust the amount of sugar depending on your taste preferences and the sweetness of the apples. I had sweet apples, and in my opinion, two tablespoons of sugar were more than enough.
The butter should be melted beforehand and cooled so that it's not hot.
Add the milk and melted butter to the egg mixture, followed by whisking until combined.
Mix the all-purpose flour and baking powder together, then sift them into the batter. Mix the batter thoroughly until it's smooth and free of lumps.
At this stage, if you'd like, you can add some lemon zest to the batter.
The batter turns out quite thin, almost like the consistency for thin crepes.
The amount of flour can range from 1/2 to 2/3 cup (70 to 80 grams). Use your judgment based on the consistency of the batter.
Peel and core 1 3/4 to 2 pounds (800 to 900 grams) of apples, making sure to remove the seed pockets as well.
Slice the apples as thinly as possible. It's convenient to do this using a mandoline slicer. The thinner the apple slices, the more delicate the cake will be.
If the apple slicing process takes a long time, or if you happen to have apples with high iron content that brown quickly, you should immediately place them in a separate bowl, sprinkle with the juice of half a lemon, and gently toss. This time, I didn't need to do this 🙂
Place the thinly sliced apples one by one into the bowl. Using a rubber spatula, gently mix each apple slice with the batter, being careful not to break them. The batter should coat every piece of apple on all sides.
This process is a bit time-consuming, but it's worth it.
Grease a baking pan with butter and line it with parchment paper - the parchment sticks better to the buttered surface.
Transfer the apple slices to the pan in small batches, trying to arrange them horizontally. The closer the apple slices are to each other, the better.
I'm using a pan that's about 9 by 5 inches (23 by 13 cm). You can use a rectangular loaf pan, a square 8 by 8 inch (20 by 20 cm) pan, or a round 8-9 inch (20-22 cm) diameter pan.
Place the cake in the preheated oven at 350°F (180°C) and bake for 35-50 minutes until it's done. The baking time depends on the peculiarities of your oven, the material of your baking pan, and the height of the cake.
Once baked, remove cake from oven and let it cool partially in the pan, then remove it and peel off the parchment paper. Once completely cooled, refrigerate the cake for 2-3 hours, or better yet, overnight.
The ideal shape for this cake is rectangular with straight edges, so you end up with a "brick" shape. If you're using this shape, about 10-15 minutes before it's done, you can sprinkle the top with streusel, chopped nuts, or sliced almonds for an impressive decoration.
In my case, the cake turned out trapezoid-shaped, so I had to flip it over before decorating.
Serve the "Invisible" cake chilled. In my opinion, a scoop of vanilla ice cream and fragrant mint leaves are the perfect accompaniments.
By the way, this recipe makes a relatively small cake. If you want a "grown-up" version, simply double the ingredients and use a pan twice the size.
Invisible Apple Cake Video Recipe
| Nutrition (per 100 g) | |
|---|---|
| 3 g | Fats |
| 21.7 g | Carbs |
| 2.3 g | Proteins |
| 117.8 ccal | Calories |
2 Comments
The cake is truly invisible. I made it, left for work. Came back, and it’s gone. Disappeared… The family is asking for more and bigger!)))
In my opinion, this is the best apple cake. Incredibly delicious and tender.
Oh my! This is so incredibly delicious! Thank you!
I really appreciate such a thorough recipe!