Invisible Apple Cake

5 from 8 votes

This invisible apple cake recipe is packed with thinly sliced apples held together by lightly sweet cinnamon-vanilla custard. It’s soft, delicate, and topped with golden almonds and powdered sugar for an easy dessert that looks far more complicated than it is.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 10

Servings: people

Author: Bea & Marco

Ingredients

Dry ingredients

¾ cup (100 g) all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon fine salt

Wet ingredients

2 large eggs room temperature
½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (60 ml) milk room temperature
3 tablespoon (40 g) unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Apples and topping

2 lb (900 g) Gala apples weighed whole before peeling and coring
¼ cup (25 g) slivered almonds
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), using upper and lower heat without the fan. Position the rack in the lower third of the oven. Grease and line a 4.4 x 10-inch loaf pan (11x25 cm) with parchment paper, leaving some overhang for lifting out the cake. 5 x 9-inch pan (13x23 cm) works, too.

Prepping the apples

Peel each apple and cut down along all four sides of the core, leaving the rectangular core behind. Slice each apple piece evenly to about 1/16 inch (2 mm) thick.
2 lb Gala apples
Place the sliced apples in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap to help prevent browning.

Dry ingredients

Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.
¾ cup all-purpose flour, ¾ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp fine salt

Wet ingredients

Using a handheld mixer at high speed, whisk the eggs and sugar for about 5 minutes, until pale and slightly thickened. The mixture should fall in ribbons that sit on the surface for a few seconds before disappearing.
2 large eggs, ½ cup granulated sugar
Mix in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and whisk just until the batter is smooth. Don't over mix.
¼ cup milk, 3 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 tsp vanilla extract
Add the apple slices to the batter and gently coat every slice. A spatula works, but clean hands make it easier to separate slices stuck together without breaking them.

Bake

Spoon the coated apples into the pan in batches, arranging them mostly flat and adding batter between the layers. Lightly press them into place and build the center slightly higher for a gently domed top.
Sprinkle the slivered almonds evenly over the top. Bake for about 70 minutes. Check the cake after 30 minutes and, if the almonds are already golden, loosely tent the top with aluminum foil. Continue baking until a skewer inserted into the center comes out without wet batter.
¼ cup slivered almonds
Leave the cake in the pan for 30 minutes. Lift it out using the parchment paper and let it cool completely.
Chill for 1 to 2 hours, or overnight, for the cleanest slices and best texture. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving.
1 tbsp powdered sugar

Notes

The batter should be thick enough to cling to the apple slices without immediately sliding off. If it feels too thick to coat them properly, increase the milk gradually, using no more than ⅓ cup (83 ml) in total.
A 9 × 5-inch loaf pan has almost the same base area as the tested pan and can be used without scaling the recipe.
Weigh the apples whole, before peeling and removing the cores.
Don’t remove the cake from the pan after only 10 minutes. The warm sides can relax and spread. Give it the full 30-minute rest.
This cake has a custardy texture and tastes best chilled.
Protect the almonds. Check the cake after about 30 minutes. If the almonds are already golden, loosely tent the top with aluminum foil so they don’t burn before the center finishes baking.

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