I got some invisible cake for you today. You can’t see it, right?! :P Just kidding. Even though the French name implies this cake is invisible: Gateau Invisible aus Pommes aka. The Invisible Apple Cake – it is absolutely not invisible. But you could say the apples within the cake are hard to spot since they are sliced so thinly… I guess that is the actual idea behind that name :P
Well… autumn finally arrived, the temperatures dropped, leaves are starting to fall and it is raining much more. Bummer! Time to spend more time inside than outside I guess. It also means more time for baking – at least for me. Right now I am making a lot of recipes with apples. There is so much you can do with apples! Classic apple pie, apple cake or desserts with apples – the possibilities are endless. My blogger colleague Andrea from Zimtkeks & Apfeltarte just published a book dedicated to all things apple – if you are interested, take a look: Köstlich Backen mit Äpfeln* aka. Delicious Bakes with Apples ;)
This recipe will not be in that book but there are so many other ones – I bet you will find the perfect recipe for you… or better said several ones since they are all so good!
The cake is not like the typical apple cake you might know – first of all, it is shaped like a loaf cake and not round and second of all you can hardly see the apples inside the cake when baked. They kind of melt together with the batter to form one big block of batter-apples-dough-apples-dough-apples… and so on ;) This makes the cake very juicy, packed with apple flavor and just delicious! If you haven’t tried an invisible cake yet, this is your chance to change that! It’s a must-bake for every apple pie/cake lover out there!
As some of you might know, I am skipping white sugar wherever possible, so this cake is made with birch sugar aka. xylitol. I also used spelt flour instead of regular ap flour. You can do that too but if you don’t like that or don’t have those ingredients at hand, just use whatever you have at home from the “regular” stuff. Works fine as well.
The cake is not that complicated to prepare, but the very thin slices of apples require some “assiduity work” :P If you want the layers to be neat and evenly distributed, you have to work in layers like I did and place the apple slices pretty much one by one. That will give you that “invisible apple” look. If you don’t want to spend that much time for a cake (it really took a while) just pour the batter with the apples into the baking tin, smooth it out… and hope for the best :P
It might not look as evenly distributed but it will be equally delicious for sure! This is just a little note on the side – I don’t want to hear any complaints about spending too much time placing apple slices into the tin for hours (just kidding – it did not take hours)!
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
For the streusel:
1/2 cup (60g) spelt flour
2 tbsp. xylitol (or regular sugar)
2 tbsp. butter, cold
2 tbsp. sliced almonds
For the cake:
4 large eggs
1/3 cup (65g) xylitol (or regular sugar)
1 cup (130g) spelt flour
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 cup (80ml) milk (or plant-based milk)
1/3 cup (80g) butter, melted
5-6 medium-sized apples (e.g. Elstar or Pink Lady)
Für die Streusel:
60g Dinkelmehl (Type 630)
2 EL Birkenzucker (oder normaler Zucker)
2 EL kalte Butter
2 EL Mandeln, gehobelt
Für den Kuchen:
4 Eier (M)
65g Birkenzucker (oder normaler Zucker)
130g Dinkelmehl
1/4 TL Zimt
80ml Milch (oder Pflanzendrink)
80g Butter, geschmolzen
5-6 mittelgroße Äpfel (z.B. Elstar oder Pink Lady)
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Start with the streusel. Add the flour and xylitol (or sugar) in a bowl and mix. Add the cold butter in small pieces to the mix and rub everything between your fingers until you get nice streusel in various sizes. Add the sliced almonds and mix in. Place in the fridge until needed.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a loaf tin (about 9×4.5 inches) and line with some baking parchment – it should overlap the edges of the baking tin. That will help you to lift the cake out of the tin when baked. Set aside. Melt the butter and let cool down a bit.
3. Add the eggs and xylitol (or sugar) in a large bowl and mix until well combined and foamy. Add the flour and cinnamon and mix until well combined. Add the milk and mix in. Add the melted butter and mix in. Set aside.
4. Wash and peel the apples. Cut into quarters and remove the core. Slice the apples thinly and place them in the batter – be careful and try not to break the apple slices. The apple slices should be coated with the batter completely. Place the apple slices in an orderly fashion in the prepared baking tin. Try to get even layers of apple slices – the more clean layers you can get the better. Sprinkle the streusel on top of the cake and bake for about 40-45 minutes. If the streusel or sliced almonds get too dark, cover with some aluminum foil towards the end of the baking time. Take out of the oven and let cool down completely. Place the cake in the fridge for about 2 hours before serving and slicing.
1. Mit den Streuseln anfangen und dafür das Mehl und den Birkenzucker in einer Schüssel vermischen. Die kalte Butter dazugeben und mit den Fingern Mehl und Butter verreiben, bis sich schöne Streusel bilden. Die gehobelte Mandeln dazugeben und vermischen – bis zur weiteren Verwendung in den Kühlschrank stellen.
2. Den Ofen auf 180°C (350°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Eine Kastenform (etwa 23x12cm) leicht einfetten und mit Backpapier auslegen. Das Papier sollte auf allen Seiten überlappen, damit man den Kuchen später leicht aus der Form heben kann. Zur Seite stellen. Die Butter schmelzen und etwas abkühlen lassen.
3. Die Eier mit dem Birkenzucker (oder normalen Zucker) in einer großen Schüssel schaumig schlagen. Mehl und Zimt dazugeben und unterrühren. Milch und geschmolzene Butter dazugeben und unterrühren. Zur Seite stellen.
4. Die Äpfel waschen, schälen, vierteln und entkernen. Die Äpfel in sehr dünne Scheiben schneiden und in die Schüssel mit dem Teig legen – die Scheiben sollte möglichst dünn sein, aber sollten nicht zerbrechen, also vorsichtig arbeiten. Die Apfelscheiben sollten komplett mit dem Teig bedeckt sein. Die einzelnen Scheiben in Lagen in die vorbereitete Form schichten. Je gleichmäßiger die Schichten sind, umso besser. Wenn alle Äpfel in der Form sind, die Streusel darauf verteilen und dann für 40-45 Minuten backen. Sollten die Streusel zu dunkel werden, mit einem Stück Alufolie abdecken. Den fertigen Kuchen aus dem Ofen holen und komplett abkühlen lassen. Damit sich der Kuchen gut schneiden lässt, vor dem Servieren für etwa 2 Stunden in den Kühlschrank stellen.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
PrintInvisible Apple Cake
- Prep Time: 30m
- Cook Time: 40m
- Total Time: 4h
- Yield: 1
- Category: Cake
- Cuisine: French
Description
Delicious cake loaded with apples – the Invisible Apple Cake aka. Gateau Invisible aux Pommes.
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Enjoy baking!
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