My cookbook is here! 
The invisible apple cake that disappears faster than you can make it. Its a one of a kind cake that super crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside!
The Invisible Apple Cake originates from France with a high popularity in Japan! The Japanese also incorporate miso paste into the batter for the extra flavor profile – sounds delicious to me. I personally did not have any on hand and made it the traditional way and loved it!
The aspect of this cake that makes it special is the thin slices of apples. I had never seen a cake use this technique and had to try it when I saw it. Simply peel and core your apples and slice them on a HAND HELD MANDOLINE. If you like this cake, you will love my gluten free Greek Yogurt Apple Cake.
For this recipe I suggest using a sweet tart apple like Fuji apples (what we used) or HoneyCrisp or Pink Lady apples. Since this is a sweet cake, stay away from Granny Smith apples which are more sour in taste.
Make sure you bake this until its done – mine took about an hour to get the golden crisp on the top. Since every oven is different, watch the loaf on about 50 minute mark. It will rise and be puffy but will deflate once it comes out of the oven and cools. I topped mine with a little powdered sugar sprinkle but you can also do a brown sugar and cinnamon mixture to sprinkle on top PRE-BAKE. For this, whisk together two tablespoons brown sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.
If you like this recipe, you will love:
- 3 Ingredient Greek Yogurt Cake
- Traditional Greek Yogurt Cake
- Orange Olive Oil Cake
- 4 Ingredient Lemon Bread
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Invisible Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2/3 cup (157.73 ml) milk, slightly warmed
- 3 tbs butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (62.5 g) flour
- 1/2 cup (60 g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 apples, (about 2 lbs)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 ℉. Line a 9×5" loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, quickly whisk together the eggs, milk, butter + vanilla. And then also quickly add in the flour, powdered sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt and mix until smooth. Batter is supposed to be on the thin side.
- Peel, core and slice your apples REALLY THIN with a mandoline (I used Fuji apples but Honeycrisp or Pink Lady are great here too). Add them into the bowl and mix to coat all in the batter. Transfer the apples only to the pan, a little at a time, gently flattening out any pieces that are sticking up. Pour on the remaining batter to the top of the loaf pan evenly. Transfer to the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes. Or until the top is golden brown.
- Allow to set in pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool for another 15 minutes. Optional: sprinkle with a little powdered sugar and slice to enjoy.
Notes
- Batter is supposed to be on the watery and thin side.
- The cake is supposed to have as custard texture.
- You can use pears as long as they’re thin slice and sweet.
- Gluten free 1 to 1 flour can be used instead of regular all purpose.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 4-5 days.
Just found apples for $.49/lb and decided to make this. It is wonderful! I think I should have taken the cake out of the parchment paper after cooling the first 10 minutes because the moisture set between the cake and parchment paper and caused it to be a bit moist. I think the crust was supposed to be more “crisp” (or at least not moist and soft). Does anyone have the answer to this? Will make again!!! Thank you!
Hi Linette, the texture of the cake is similar to a custard. I hope this helps!
If you would like this to be crispy on the outside, you can broil the top for a minute or two at the end of bake time. BUT MAKE SURE YOU WATCH THE CAKE BECAUSE IT CAN BURN QUICKLY WHILE BAKING ON BROIL.
This recipe was so easy and there’s nothing you won’t already have in your pantry!
Some things that didn’t quite work for me though: I bought a 2 lb apple bag because the instructions said to use about 2 lbs or 4 apples. The bag was 6 apples- I thought maybe they were just smaller apples and went with the weight measurements. I realize now that it was way too much apples! It’s still good, but not that custard consistency you’re looking for. Next time I’ll use less apples. It also took much longer to cook than expected, but I suspect that’s related to the apple to batter ratio or my crappy oven!
Even without the custard consistency it is still a good cake! Just firmer and more apple forward.
Tried this recipe when it was online from The Crowded Kitchen and was disappointed because it was bland. Nonetheless I wrote down the recipe. Here it is again with the same ingredients. It’s a great recipe but I recommend increasing the cinnamon to 1.5 teaspoons and double the nutmeg and ground cloves. It came out flavorful and the house smells great.
It was super easy to make and delicious!
Thank you Masha! I’m glad you liked the cake!
I love this cake and I can’t believe I made something this fancy and unique. The thin layers of apple are so pretty and the cake is delicious. Would make a really nice Christmas gift.
Hi Deb, i feel the same way. And bonus… its simple to make!
Thank you for your kind feedback!
fabulous!
Perfect in everyway!! Thank you
Yummy! I added a little extra butter and cinnamon on top. This was a delicious and easy recipe!
Sounds delicious Marni!
I tried this one and one other recipe for invisible apple cake. This one was far superior! Great!
How do you take the cake out of the pan?
You pull up the parchment paper and out of the pan.
So I’m not sure what went wrong, but my cake took 90 minutes and still wasn’t done. It completely is soaking wet and undone on the inside. The flavor is very good but I’m so sad this turned out totally unsuccessful for me. I was looking forward to this for so long.
I’ve made this cake several times now and every time it is a big hit. Its easy to make Gluten free with 1 to 1 as Stella suggests in the notes. Awesome as dessert or for breakfast with yogurt and nuts on top. Its a great way to use the plethora of apples we get in the fall from our trees. I always go heavy on the apples!
It was perfect custard- like filling with fresh fall apples 🙂 soooo good I’ve made it several times now instead of my usual apple pies.
How do I adjust the recipe for high altitude?
I maid it was delicious, but a little on the softer side.
Great recipe that is delicious. I used spelt flour. The metric conversion is not all metric.
Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
A couple comments. We love Invisible cake with Granny Smith apples and add lemon zest from a whole lemon to it. Also I add cardamom to everything I bake. I sprinkle my invisible cake with almond flakes. The smell in the kitchen while it is being baked is out of this world and the taste is amazing. My husband asks me to bake it again and again.