Provincial French Apple Cake

I’ve made dozens of apple cakes, and I gotta say that this is the best one – hands down! Apples sliced paper thin, held together by a light batter, and topped with a sugary butter topping. The recipe originated in France, it’s very typical of French provincial home cooking – homey, easy to make, and perfect after a big dinner. It’s my go-to for Thanksgiving this year!

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon table salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced as thinly as possible*

1. Preheat oven to 400º. Grease a 9″ round cake pan and line with parchment paper, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix in the vanilla, eggs, milk, and oil. Add the apple slices, taking time to make sure they are all coated with the batter. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes.
3. While cake is baking, prepare the topping.

• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• confectioners sugar

1. Combine egg, sugar, and butter in a small bowl.
2. After the cake has been in the oven for 30 minutes, remove from oven and pour the topping over the cake, smoothing out with a spatula.
3. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
4. Remove from oven, run a knife around the edges, and let cool on a wire rack.
5. Turn cake out of pan when it’s completely cool, and dust with confectioners sugar.
6. Can be stored in the refrigerator for several days, pull it out for an hour prior to serving.

*Other apples that will work in this recipe: Fuji, Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, and Jonagold.