All That's Left Are The Crumbs: Apple and Calvados Cake from Normandy ~ #TheCakeSliceBakers

January 20, 2023

Apple and Calvados Cake from Normandy ~ #TheCakeSliceBakers

This Apple and Calvados Cake from Normandy has pieces of tart apples and earthy walnuts, nestled in a tender and buttery cake. With a hint of Calvados this French apple cake is the essence of simplicity.

The Cake Slice Bakers are excited to announce the new cake-centric cookbook they will bake through in 2023 - Gateau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes by Aleksandra Crapanzano. Aleksandra, a James Beard Award–winning writer, shares her secrets of the cakes Parisians like to bake at home. Recipes such as a simple yogurt cake, a surprisingly easy Bûche De Noël, and Walnut Pear and Roquefort Madeleines will show you the surprising simplicity of a French cake.

The Cake Slice Bakers are a group of dedicated bakers who all love cake. Each year we choose a new cake-centric cookbook and bake our way through it. Every month we are given 3 choices and on the 20th day of each month we reveal what we have chosen on our blogs. This month's choices were Apple and Calvados Cake from Normandy, Orange Blossom Honey Cake, and Flourless Chocolate and Red Wine Cake. It was so hard to choose just one of these cakes but I eventually selected the Apple and Calvados Cake because the method of making the cake intrigued me.

To say this cake was easy to make is an understatement. The method itself was what made me chose this cake to bake - whisk the eggs and sugar, and then add the oil like you are making a mayonnaise? Um, sure but I am making a cake here. Throw the dry ingredients in and whisk again. What, no gently folding in? The batter is quite firm, so use your muscles to fold in the apples and walnuts. Then you bake the cake for more than a "normal" cake. Please, don't let any of this fool you into deciding to pass on this cake - Bake. This. Cake. You will not regret it. The flavor is amazing, the Granny Smith apples still a little crunchy, the walnuts add that wonderful nutty back note. It is also flavored with Calvados - which is an apple cider brandy and a Norman specialty from the northwest region of France - so good! I dusted the cake with a little powdered sugar and enjoyed it slightly warm from the oven which was just perfect.

Apple and Calvados Cake from Normandy

Printer Friendly Recipe

Ingredients

2 large eggs, at room temperature
400g (2 cups) granulated sugar
255ml (1 ½ cups) vegetable oil
45ml (¼ cup) Calvados
390g (3 ¼ cups) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
pinch of ground cloves
125g (1 cup) walnuts, coarsely chopped
3-4 baking apples (preferably Granny Smith), peeled and coarsely chopped
powdered sugar for dusting, if desired

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180 ℃ (350℉).
Spray a 9-inch springform or a 10-inch cake pan.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the eggs and the sugar.
Add the oil as you would to make a mayonnaise, in the thin stream as you continue to whisk.
Add the Calvados while continuing to whisk.
Add the dry ingredients and whisk to incorporate.
Fold in the walnuts and the apples.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 85-90 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is Gâteau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes by Aleksandra Crapanzano. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.

The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.