MARIE-HELENE'S APPLE CAKE@FRENCH FRIDAYS with DORIE!

 Friday it is, and its time for French Fridays with Dorie, i so want u to hang in for tea, or do u like Espresso more?

Dont say no , coz u'll love this cake so muc  that u dont want to miss tea time!!

I feel like i have been wanting to bake this recipe forever, i feel like i know it forever, is this recipe there in any other book of Dorie's, i wonder?

Or have it anytime anyday, and if u havent picked up your book French Fridays with Dorie, pink it now!

 I love how Dorie figured out this recipe from Marie-Helene's fantastic baking, eyeball baking i tell u!

Would have loved to be a guest at Marie-Helene's too, her home sounds like a delicious dream....

 

The part i love the best about this recipe is the Divers Apples, ie Different Apples, i must be pronouncing all French words i read here the Portuguese way , thats what happens when u speak portuguese, u pronounce some English words the P way too!

Ok now we are talking apples arent we, 4 different kinds.

  I live in a tiny [but beautiful] state, that has local men and women who sit on highways selling fruits, with either their basket on a sack cloth or a wooden cart, i love shopping with them and they are scattere over the city too.

Not far from my place ,jus a 10-15min drive actually , a women sits with jus a few baskets on her sack cloths , i asked her to pick me 4 different ,best,kinda apples when she goes to the market [every morn] and this is what she got me:-)

 Yeah there was a pear in there too , ha ha, and i was actually thinkin of addin a pear coz we had a few at home!

Peel them ,core them, chop them , if u have some nifty tool for this, tell me too so i know which one to pick too!

  If u havent already noticed, yeah i have a little fixation for pink, and i love my Pink Ceramic Knife and Peeler.

I am so tempted to toss the apples with golden syrup or maple , instead i stick to good ole Vanilla ,plump Vanilla beans with the innards scraped!!

This recipe is so easy peasy and u have a stick blender ever easier peasier...unless ur blogging and taking step by step pics, the easy equation doesnt change ,but the time equation does!

Coz all u need to do is whisk 2 large eggs till nice and foamy [used the whisk attachement for this].

 And it really does get foamy pretty fast, Cusinart  i love u...

 When it gets nice and foamy ur ready to step foward...

Add 3/4 cup sugar and beat till foamier for a min or 2!

 I thought Lemon Zest would be very interesting here too!! I did add cinnamon and cardamon to part of the batter ---very very nice.

See, nice and thick and foamy after beating in the sugar.

Whisk in 3tbh dark rum and a nice fat vanilla bean, the innards ie..i had already added the vanilla to the apples though..

 Whisk in half the flour [ie 3/4th cups flour whisked with 3/4 tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt]...Add half the melted butter [total=8tbh =1 stick]

 in 2 stages,

So repeat with the flour and butter, whisking gently to have a thick batter.

Bdw, the flour is whisked with 3/4tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt  [skipped coz i added salted butter]

At this stage i [forgot to] folded in 1/4 cup freshly grated tender coconut ,and 2tbh of poppy seeds...
yeah i had coconut ready and wanted to add it to half the batter that i added the cinnamon and cardamon too, well my excuse is i was multi tasking [lunch baby] so i forgot!

BDW, its tender coconut that wasnt too tender, or not tender enough to eat straight...

Cinnamon and cardamon is good too,yeah i am Obsessed with Poppy and Lavender too!!

Now pour the gorgeous batter over the apples.

With a rubber spatula fold everything around so that all the apples are well covered with the batter!

 

  Scrape the mix into a well buttered 8inch sprinform , Place on a parchment line baking sheet!or halve the recipe and scrape into 2 mini sprinforms as i did!

Now i was so so tempted to add a crumble and i did , a crispiest ,buttery crumble , recipe here!

ITs get around fast and is super delish too!

 The crisp topping brings together the great threesome of flour, sugar, butter, only better with toasted ground hazel nuts, vanilla and lime zest!

And with ur CusinArt , it so so quick ,jus add in all the ingredients! And whir it around!

 And ready, cling wrap in and pop it in the freezer while u get going with the batter, yeah i did this first actually!

 See how pretty and crumbly the buttery crumble seems, and with lods of cinnamon , it perfectly compliments the Apple cake !

 Yeah i coudn resist the pretty pear and brushed it with golden syrup and passion fruit jam [some combi that one]

Even it out and bake for 60 mins till tops are golden brown and knife inserted deep in the centre comes out clean and the cake pulls at the sides of the pan too!

 Ahh, the large scoops make it so easy to add in any batter with less mess!

 See, it does pull away from the sides of the pan!

Carefully run a blunt knife around and before u fully open the Springform make sure there are no apples stuck to it!

 Oh Apples....

Serve with some delicious BlueBerry Sauce with whole BlueBerries!

 Or with some cashewnut powder frosting ,ie salted butter melted whisked with cashew nuts powder, icing sugar , vanilla or almond extract!!
Or replace cashewnut powder with coconut powder!
Bliss both ways, a scrape of cinnamon is gorgeous too!!

This is one cake i dont want to miss , More apple per bite and each bite a good mouthfull , and deliciously delightfull!

This recipe is so good , i think it will work with any fruit or any flavor!

And a non dessert lover,oh yeah they exist even in ardent foodies ,will love this gorgeous dessert!

A sprinkling of icing sugar, does it look delicate enuf to be french?

the deco is easy to make with some crumble baked in a mini ,tiny ,loaf pan!

Silicone works perfect!
 Recipe for you!

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 4 large apples (if you can, choose 4 different kinds)
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons dark rum
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I used Almond extract instead of Vanilla)
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled 

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter an 8-inch springform pan and put it on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and put the spring form on it.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in small bowl.

Peel the apples, cut them in half and remove the cores. Cut the apples into 1- to 2-inch chunks.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk until they’re foamy. Pour in the sugar and whisk for a minute or so to blend. Whisk in the rum and vanilla. Whisk in half the flour and when it is incorporated, add half the melted butter, followed by the rest of the flour and the remaining butter, mixing gently after each addition so that you have a smooth, rather thick batter. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the apples, turning the fruit so that it’s coated with batter. Scrape the mix into the pan and poke it around a little with the spatula so that it’s even-ish.

Slide the pan into the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean; the cake may pull away from the sides of the pan. Transfer to a cooling rack and let rest for 5 minutes.

Carefully run a blunt knife around the edges of the cake and remove the sides of the springform pan. (Open the springform slowly, and before it’s fully opened, make sure there aren’t any apples stuck to it.) Allow the cake to cool until it is just slightly warm or at room temperature. If you want to remove the cake from the bottom of the springform pan, wait until the cake is almost cooled, then run a long spatula between the cake and the pan, cover the top of the cake with a piece of parchment or wax paper, and invert it onto a rack. Carefully remove the bottom of the pan and turn the cake over onto a serving dish.

Serving
The cake can be served warm or at room temperature, with or without a little softly whipped, barely sweetened heavy cream or a spoonful of ice cream. Marie-Hélène’s served her cake with cinnamon ice cream and it was a terrific combination.

Storing
The cake will keep for about 2 days at room temperature and, according to my husband, gets more comforting with each passing day. However long you keep the cake, it’s best not to cover it — it’s too moist. Leave the cake on its plate and just press a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper against the cut surfaces.

 GiveAway Update:- Gorgeous flavorful Giveaway here.
Am also linking this post to all the deliciousness at Dr.Laura's  delish blog!!

Am happily linking this bake to Bangalore bakers excitn bake event here !
And its every week ,mind u!!

Am sending this Cherry Clafouti to the lovely host of this months Monthly Mingle, Deeba of Passionate about Baking , a truly delightfull blog filled with gorgeous bakes, and am delighted that this months theme is fruits, and fruity delights! Monthly Mingle was started by Meeta ,of another fantastic blog, What for Lunch Honey?