So tender, so apple-y, so special, and EASY.
The older I get the more I love apples. I buy them regularly, usually the lovely newer, sweeter types, Envy and Sugar Bee. But in this case, what you want are good-old Granny Smiths. Please remember – don’t use any of the newer sweeter varieties for this cake.
Surely this recipe has existed for a long time in the French cuisine, I’d just never heard of it until it was in Cook’s Illustrated awhile back. It’s made in a loaf pan and although you can slice it into regular slices, like you’d slice a thick piece of bread, the recommendation was to cut the servings into wedges (to look like a piece of apple pie).
One important thing here – you do need to cut the apples on a mandoline. Very exacting because to make this cake work, the apples have to be a uniform, thinness. 1/10th of an inch to be exact. At the cookbook club event my granddaughter hosted a few months back, she made this cake, and it was really well liked. I LOVED it. Especially with the cinnamon-enhanced whipped cream on top.
Once you peel and slice the apples, eighteen apple slices are kept aside for the top – to make the top layer extra beautiful. The remaining are mixed into a small amount of cake batter. The apples and the batter go into the loaf pan and it’s smoothed out flat. Then the remaining pretty slices are dipped one side into what’s left of the batter and shingled strategically on top, batter side up. Any leftover batter (a smidgen) is poured on top. The loaf is baked for nearly two hours – a long time. The cake is then glazed with a little bit of melted apple jelly to give the top a nice shiny tint.
The recipe suggests a parchment sling placed into the pan for the baking, but Taylor and I didn’t do that. The cake is cooled in the pan for at least 2 hours, then you need to get it out of the pan. We had no problem by using two long spatulas. The slicing of the gateau, however, was a bit difficult. Of course I was trying to slice it into 10 servings instead of 6 (suggested), but I used a sharp bread knife and very, very carefully held my fingers on either side of the knife as I slowly cut through. Everyone had a small serving, which was ample after our big dinner! Especially with that lovely whipped cream on top.
What’s GOOD: every little morsel of this was fabulous. Make it again? Absolutely I will. Taylor did 90% of the work, but I helped here and there. And I did the slicing! Maybe the hardest part.
What’s NOT: this isn’t something you can whip together at the last minute since it requires nearly 2 hours of baking and at least 2 hours of cooling as well as the prep time. Add it up = 5 hours.
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Gâteau Invisible – French Invisible Apple Cake
In gâteau invisible, the batter that lightly binds slim apple slices all but disappears during baking, leaving the focus on tender, concentrated fruit. Do NOT use a sweeter apple, use only Granny Smith. It takes about 5 hours of time start to finish to make this.
Source: America’s Test Kitchen.
Serves: 6
2/3 cup sugar
1 whole vanilla bean
2 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled
2 teaspoons apple jelly, melted
WHIPPED CREAM:
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons brown sugar, dark
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1. CAKE: Place sugar in a large bowl. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, then using the tip of a sharp paring knife, scrape out the seeds and add to the sugar. Discard vanilla bean – or reserve for another use. Add eggs to sugar and whisk until sooth. Whisk in flour, baking powder and salt until smooth. Batter will be thick.
2. Using a mandoline (important, as the apple slices must be uniform), slice one side of the peeled Granny Smith apple 1/10″ thick (2 1/2 millimeters) until you reach the core. Turn apple 90 degrees and slice until you reach the core. Continue on remaining sides; discard core. Repeat with remaining apples. Reserve 18 well-shaped slices for the top. Add remaining slices to batter and fold gently to coat. Set aside for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, adjust two oven racks to middle and lower-middle position. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper, place on lower rack to catch drips. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2″ loaf pan with vegetable oil spray. Line with an 8×12″ piece of parchment, smoothing so parchment is flush with pan sides and letting excess hang over long sides of pan. Lightly grease parchment.
4. Stir apple mixture, breaking up clumps of slices as needed (batter will have loosened) until all apple surfaces are lightly coated.
5. Using large slotted spoon, lift about ¼ cup of apples, letting excess batter drain back into bowl. Transfer apples to prepared loaf pan, keeping most apple slices flat (it’s OK if some fold) and leveling with back of spoon. Continue until all apples have been transferred to pan and 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter remains in bowl.
6. Dip 1 side of reserved slices in remaining batter and shingle, batter side down, in 6 rows of 3 slices on top of cake. Press firmly on apples with back of spoon to level. Spread any remaining batter over top and smooth with back of spoon. Bake on upper rack until top is well browned and apples can be easily pierced with skewer, 1½ to 1¾ hours, rotating pan halfway through baking. Transfer to wire rack.
7. Run knife around each short side of cake. Brush top with 2 teaspoons melted apple jelly. Let cool for 1½ hours (cake will deflate). Using parchment as sling, carefully lift cake out of pan and place on rack. Let cool completely, at least 2 hours.
8. WHIPPED CREAM: Combine 1 cup heavy cream, 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon in stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Whip on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes.
9. SERVVING: Using sharp chef’s knife, slice cake and serve with cream. Source: americastestkitchen.com
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