Classic Apple Cake

Ever since I read that this month's chosen blog for the Tried & Tested event is Deeba's Passionate about baking, I was super excited. I am sure all the bloggers out there, specially those interested in baking have been visiting her lovely blog either for recipe inspiration or just for eye candy. But the by the time I realized that I have to stop drooling and actually make something if I want to participate, it was almost time to hit the deadline. And there came the difficult part, which recipe to choose. I mean all of them sounded equally delicious. Finally I settled for Marie Helene's Apple Cake, simply for the reason that I had few apples dying to be eaten and also because this recipe was from Dorie Greenspan's  book "Around My French Table". And if you have keeping a watch in the cookbook world, then this is one book, everybody had unanimously cheered for. 









Method:

• Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Generously butter an 8-inch springform pan, (I used 9 inch regular cake pan) or individual dessert bowls.Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put the pan 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 {cut them slightly smaller for individual bakes}.
• 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 scarped vanilla bean.
• 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/rings and poke it around a little with the spatula so that it’s evenish. Sprinkle the top with slivered almonds.
• 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. {Individual dessert rings baked for about 30 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.

Notes: 

1. The substitution made by me were primarily due to non-availability of ingredient at home. Though the result was good, yet would suggest to try sticking to original version for better results
2. In my oven, the top was dark browned by 43 mins. Any longer and it would have been burnt, as you can see in the pics, top is really dark (maybe that was because of usage of walnuts on top). In any case do keep a watch on timing after 40 mins. Ideally the cake pan should always be rotated at mid-way of the baking time
3. The cake was very mildly sweet, but that could be because of the level of sweetness of apples. So have a bite of the apple you are going to use, then adjust the sugar accordingly.