Invisible Apple Cake (Gâteau Invisible)
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 milk, slightly warmed
- 3 tbs butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup 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.
I followed to a T and it is inedible. Its raw after 2 hours (i cooked for an extra hour) The apples made it too wet i think.
HI Candace, I’m so sorry the recipe didnt work for you. Were the apples sliced paper thin?
Same thing happened to me. I don’t know whether it’s raw or just very wet. Nothing like a cake.
Wow! This is amazing! The simplicity, full flavor, and easy recipe makes this a winner for sure. My husband wants to skip dinner and have this, he couldn’t resist. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe.
Hi Mary, ahahahah i have days like that when I just want the dessert as my dinner! love it! Thanks for the kind feedback!
I follow you on Instagram, and all of your recipes look so scrumptious! But when I saw this, I knew I had to try it. It is in the oven as we speak. I will update when we try it. Thanks for being cute as a button and sharing all of these recipes that are new to me. Mary
HI Mary, aw thank you for trying out the recipes!!! You are very kind! I hhope you liked the cake!
should the butter be salted or unsalted
I use salted butter but either will work!
Hi Stella! This looks so good. I’m trying to avoid dairy though. Would you know – what can I use in place of butter and how much? Thanks!
Hi Day, thank you so much! I would go with melted coconut oil or olive oil here!
I used coconut oil, 10 drops of stevia & almond flour, fingers crossed that its edible, its in the oven now.
Hi again! I made this recipe the 4th times and everyone is very satisfied with the delicious taste. I am wondering if I can prepare it ahead of time and bake it the next morning. I really appreciate your response.
i am also wondering this, if it can be mixed ahead of time, placed in fridge and heat later??
I was so excited to make this…. Mine was just a mushy mess of apples…maybe too much apple?? 2 pounds seems like an awful lot for this recipe. I would love to make again…any tips would be great!
Hi Jill, i’m so sorry the recipe didnt work for you the first time around. I’m thinking maybe you need to bake it for longer. Some ovens are stronger than others and vice versa. And then also allow it to fully cool and set. If you cut into it too soon, it will be a soggy mess. Wait like an hour. Hope this helps.
Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the wee Donkey, this was fantastic. I made it this afternoon using Sweet Tango apples and my husband devoured the entire loaf. A very simple recipe always yields the most delicious results. And I love that this cake isn’t overly sweet. Just outstanding.
Hi Jude, lol thank you so much for trying the cake out and I really appreciate your kind feedback!
Looks fluffy and delicious! I’ll try it for the Weekend 😋
HI Gabriele, You’re gonna love it!
Was a bit intimidating by the comments, but went for it. Very easy to make & tastes great. Minimal ingredients. Next time I’ll add a bit more cinnamon.
Hi Arleen, I’m so glad you decided to try it and of course, that it worked out for you! Thanks for the rating and feedback!
soggy, rubbery, and not at all something I would serve to anyone. research more recipes for this type of cake before trying to bake and you will learn that there is much more technique required for a successful bake than is described here.
So sorry the recipe did not turn out well for you!
Hi Kristen you probably didn’t read Stella’s note and followed the recipe correctly. I made this recipe 4x and turned out perfect and delicious. Sorry about your bad turn out. Hope you’ll give this another try.
Sincerely,
Merlita
What note? I want to give it another try. Mine is wet and soggy. 🙁 Thanks!
I didn’t have much luck with this recipe either! I left my cake in the oven almost eternally covered with with foil paper towards the end of baking and prayed it would set! And It didn’t set! It was too runny inside! I’ll try it again maybe I used too much apples or not enough flour? 🤔
I made this today after seeing it all over Instagram. It’s easy and tasty. But I’d call it “apple bread pudding “, not cake. On IG it sounded like it had a crunchy phyllo dough wrap but it’s very mushy and soft. It’s custardy and eggy and not cakey. I baked it for 75 mins and it still seemed undercooked in middle. Tasty but not elegant.
Hi Eileen, glad you ultimately liked the loaf. Its more of a custard cake. yes.
Made this a couple of weeks ago, used granular sugar by mistake instead of powder auger still turned out great!!! Making it again today with the CORRECT ingredients lol. Great recipe thank you!!!
Hi Pam, that’s awesome and its good to know it works both ways! Thanks for sharing your feedback!
I have just made this, but in a round pan, since I do not have a loaf pan. It took about 40 minutes to bake and it is absolutely delicious! I also used regular flour and stevia sugar. No eggy taste, just creamy, apple-y, cinnamon-y goodness. I do not have mandolin and was afraid that shredding the apples would leave too much juice, so I used a peeling tool and the pieces were exactly as thin as the ones in your pictures. I will definitely make this recipe again. Thank you!
Hi Camelia, I’m sure it looked great in a round cake pan! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback with eveyrone!
Delicious cake! Wondering if it can be frozen (to prevent me from eating it all at once).
Hi MH, lol i feel you. I haven’t frozen it personally but I think you can if you protect it well with plastic wrap and two layers of aluminum foil.
Made this yesterday with Granny Smith apples. I felt it could have used more cinnamon but that may be because of the apples I used. Very tasty and would be fantastic in a puddle of melting French vanilla ice cream.
Hi Kathleen, I need to try it with the ice cream too!