French Apple Almond Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan, and set aside.
• In bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine remaining 8 ounces butter, 1 1/3 cups sugar and the salt. Mix until blended. Add eggs and whisk until smooth. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour and baking powder until thoroughly mixed. Fold in a few of the apples, and spread batter evenly in pan.
• In large bowl, toss remaining apples with Calvados, ginger and cinnamon. Arrange apple slices in closely fitting concentric circles on top of dough; all the slices may not be needed. Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon sugar over apples.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of cake dough comes out clean and apples are golden and tender, about an hour and 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toss the apples with the lemon juice in a medium bowl. Line a sheet pan with parchment.
• Heat a large frying pan over high heat and add the butter. Wait until it stops foaming and is becoming light brown, and add the diced apples, turbinado sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Spread the apples in a layer and cook without moving them for a couple of minutes, then turn the heat to medium-high and sauté, moving the apples around in the pan, until golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape out onto the lined sheet pan and allow to cool completely.
• Spread the cooled apples evenly over the pre-baked tart shell.
• Make the almond topping. Beat the egg whites lightly in a bowl, just until slightly foamy. Whisk in the sugar and stir in the almonds. Spread evenly over the apples.
• Place the tart on a sheet pan and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the crust and topping are golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

Steps:

• Make crust:
• Stir egg yolks and Calvados in small bowl to blend. Combine flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter; cut in, using on/off turns, until butter is size of small peas. With machine running, add yolk mixture. Process until large moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap dough in plastic; refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let soften slightly before rolling out.)
• Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 14-inch round. Transfer to 11-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Fold overhang in and press, forming double-thick sides. Chill while making filling.
• Make filling:
• Combine almonds, 3/4 cup sugar, eggs, 1 tablespoon Calvados, extracts and salt in processor. Blend until soft paste forms. Add 4 tablespoons butter; blend 10 seconds. Spread in crust. Chill until firm, about 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, stir apples, 1 tablespoon Calvados and 1 tablespoon sugar in large bowl. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Drain apples; overlap in concentric circles atop filling. Melt 2 tablespoons butter; brush over apples. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
• Bake tart 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F. Bake until apples are tender, about 45 minutes. Transfer to rack. Stir preserves and 1 tablespoon Calvados in small saucepan over low heat until preserves melt. Strain into small bowl; brush over apples. Cool. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line the base and sides of a 20cm round cake tin. Peel, core and slice the apples to about the thickness of a £1 coin. Melt the knob of butter in a large frying pan then tip in the apples. Cook over a medium heat, stirring every so often till softened, but not soggy, about 5 mins. Splash in the Pomona and leave to cool. Tip onto a plate to cool more quickly if you like.
• Using an electric whisk or wooden spoon, beat the softened butter and sugar until creamy and light. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating after each addition, then fold in the flour and almonds. Finally, fold in half of the cooled apples. Spoon the mix into the prepared tin, smooth the top and scatter with the rest of the apples, pressing down lightly into the batter.
• Bake for 1 hr, until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Check the cake after 45 mins, cover with foil if it's browning too quickly. To make the glaze, warm the jam and Pomona in a small pan until the jam melts.
• Once the cake is out of the oven, prick it all over with a skewer and drizzle over a little more Pomona. Cool for 10 mins, then turn out of the tin and transfer to a wire rack. Brush the glaze over the apples and serve sliced, with dollops of Pomona cream. Best eaten on the day it's made, or warmed through the next.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5, and lightly oil a 20cm springform tin and line the base with a circle of baking parchment.
• In a stand mixer, or using a hand blender, whizz together the oil and maple syrup for 30 secs. Add the eggs and whizz for another 1 min before adding the apple sauce and blending for a further 30 secs. Tip in the ground almonds, baking powder, 1 tsp salt and cinnamon, blend for 30 secs and your batter is done. Pour it into the tin, and bake for around 30-40 mins or until the top is a deep golden brown, the cake is coming away from the sides a little, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• While it's cooking, make the topping. In a small frying pan, cook the apple gently with the rest of the topping ingredients and ½ tsp salt until the apple is soft and gently caramelised. When the cake is ready, scatter the bronzed apple chunks on top of the cake. You could also make it with chunks of caramelised peach or plum on top, or some cherry compote, or any berries which you have softened in a pan with a little water and maple syrup. Eat warm, as a pudding, with a spoonful of Greek yogurt, or cold with a cup of tea or coffee.