A Cinnamon Nutty Apple Cake -- Gâteau aux pommes, à la cannelle et aux noix

February 23, 2007

The question to what makes the texture of a cake perfect remains vague and impossible to answer. Light and airy? Dense and compact? What makes it the best is what makes le dégustateur or la dégustatrice, you, happy. Factors such as how you feel, how hungry you are, what season it is and what the weather is like matter as well. And, like a caméléon, things can change too since we keep evolving in our taste for food. Yet, I have to reckon that I have always loved cakes and breads with a dense texture. German and Russian breads remain favorites of mine, which explains my regular strong inclination to use flours giving a denser texture to baked goods. Whole wheat, spelt, and chestnut flours belong to this family of heavier flours. My mum used to tease both my dad and I as the two of us would not have any problem eating a hard-boiled egg with a piece of bread for example. Together. She would refer to this type of food association using this French expression, un étouffe-chrétien, (literally stifling Christians, which actually means that "the food is so dense that if you eat it, you can die from a lack of air"). Quite an odd language image, I can agree with that part. I should certainly research where it comes from.

After using chestnut flour to prepare a savory cake, I decided to try a sweet cake this time, in which I wanted to feel bits of crunchiness. I thought about nuts immediately. The season for apples not yet over, I loved the concept to include two gorgeous Pink lady -- amongst my favorites -- which, combined with buttermilk, added moisture to the cake. And the result was great. Nice texture, not heavy, sweet and nutty. With cinnamon adding a nice balance to the apples, I was pretty pleased. Result? You now have two reasons to buy chestnut flour and try. And, if you do not think it is true, try at least to convince yourself that there is always enough time for a break in the day, for a nice drink and a piece of apple cake.

Apple Nutty Cinnamon Cake

You need:

3.5 oz chestnut flour
3.5 oz all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
5 1/4 oz sugar
1/2 cup minus 1 Tsp buttermilk
1 stick (8 Tsp) salted butter, melted
2 Pink Lady apples
2 oz pecans
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1,5 tsp baking powder

Steps:

Mix and sift the two flours together in a large bowl. Add the baking powder and cinnamon.
Melt the butter.
Place the eggs with the sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer and beat until white. Remove and add the flours with a wooden spoon. Mix well, then add the melted butter. Mix until absorbed before adding the buttermilk.
Add the apples (diced and keep a few slices for the top) and the pecans (coarsely chopped).
Grease a rectangular cake mold and add flour to coat it. Pour the batter in the mold. Place a few apple slices on top. Place in a preheated oven at 350 C for 50 mns to 1 hour, or until the blade of a knife comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cake.

Le coin français

Gâteau aux pommes, à la cannelle et aux noix

Ingrédients :

100 g de farine de châtaigne
100 g de farine blanche
3 gros oeufs
150 g de sucre
100 ml de lait ribot
115 g de beurre salé, fondu
2 pommes Pink Lady, coupées en dés
60 g de noix de pécan
1 càc de cannelle moulue
1,5 càc de levure chimique

Étapes :

Mélangez et tamisez les deux farines dans un saladier. Ajoutez la levure et la cannelle.
Faites fondre le beurre.
Dans un saladier (ou dans avec un mixeur à main), battez les oeufs avec le sucre pendant quelques minutes, jusqu'à blanchiment, puis ajoutez les farines avec une cuiller en bois. Mélangez bien puis ajoutez le beurre fondu et attendez que tout le liquide soit absorbé avant d'ajouter le lait ribot. Mélangez.
Ajoutez les dés de pomme (gardez quelques tranches) et les noix de pécan concassées.
Beurrez un moule à cake rectangulaire et farinez-le. Versez-y la préparation. Parsemez de quelques tranches de pomme. Enfournez au four préchauffé à 180 C pendant 50 mns à 1 heure, ou jusqu'à ce que la lame d'un couteau ressorte sèche du gâteau.

29 Comments

radish · February 24, 2007
wow, chesnut flour - i'm going to have to walk over to chealsea market, my new favorite place on earth, and pick up some for this cake - which looks divine!!
Rosa · February 23, 2007
This cake looks very appetizing! I love your apple, nut and cinnamon combination...
mickymath · February 23, 2007
il doit être excelent!! j'en ai fais un hier de gateau dans ce genre!! biises micky
joey · February 25, 2007
Apple cake....yum! This cake looks delicious and I'm sure it will be good topped with some vanilla ice cream too (if you are feeling a little more indulgent) :)
Merisi · February 24, 2007
Thank you for this recipe! I shall try it. Chestnut flour always evokes memories of a drive over wooded Tuscan hills between Florence and Montecatini, where we found a restaurant in the middle of the woods, and had fresh baked chestnut flour cake for dessert. I love denser cakes, espescially with fruit and whole grains, your sweet tooth gets satisfied and yet, you can feel so virtuous about having eaten somesthing healthy. :-) Bon appetit, Merisi
Béa · February 25, 2007
Thank you very much. Definitely a nice touch to use buttermilk. Should you not find buttermilk easily, I believe milk (whole preferably) could do! And yes Pink Lady are great in this recipe. Merci de vos commentaires. Je suis sure que si vous ne trouvez pas de lait ribot, le lait peut faire l'affaire. Choisissez-le plutot entier a ce moment-la. Et en effet, les Pink lady sot superbes dans cette recette.
Helen · February 23, 2007
Pink Lady...so juicy this time of year! Il a belle allure ton gateau!
Fabienne · February 23, 2007
Super, et une occasion supplémentaire d'acheter du lait Ribot ! Merci !
$ha · February 23, 2007
Pink Lady are my favorite apples too! Your pictures are so... beautiful and your recipe seems to be great! I love chestnut flour ...
Alhya · February 23, 2007
moi aussi, les pink lady figurent parmi mes pommes favorites! et ce gateau m'a tout l'air d'être exactement tout ce que j'aime: en plus tu y glisses de la farine de châtaigne.. à croire que tu lis dans mes rêves les plus doux!
eva · February 23, 2007
Quel joli assemblage de saveurs, ... si on n'a pas sous la main de lait ribot, par quoi peut-on le remplacer ?
Laurie · February 23, 2007
I love dense cakes, but I also like light cakes depending on what the recipe is. I love your combination and the apple slices atop your cake are beautiful and are a great visual to what's inside.
Veron · February 23, 2007
great texture indeed! I cannot wait to try chesnut flour, I have been debating about this for a while...seeing this now...surely is a sign!
sylvie · February 23, 2007
Ce cake est splendide et j'adore l'association pomme-cannelle !
Kim · February 23, 2007
This recipe has all the potential to become one of my borrowed signature desserts. Your Apple Nutty Cinnamon Cake will be perfect for when I am hosting a brunch or for a tea party. Keep up the good work, Bea.
Patricia Scarpin · February 23, 2007
Bea, This cake is beautiful, I love the color! I've always loved dense cakes, too, and it's quite funny since here the lighter cakes take the spotlight.
YOYO · February 23, 2007
Wo~~~w! so fat cake~ delicious! ^^
leonine19 · February 23, 2007
hmm, i love this combination, it seems so delicious!
janelle · February 23, 2007
Mmmm with buttermilk, too. I am beginning to really appreciate buttermilk. Lovely idea for a cake!
gilly · February 23, 2007
Bonjour, Béa! This cake looks like the perfect comforting treat for the cold nights we've been having!
Aurélie · February 23, 2007
Hmmm, je l'aime déjà ce cake ! Si on n'a pas de lait ribot, du lait normal peut faire l'affaire non ?
peabody · February 23, 2007
It looks nice and dense.
Susan from Food "Blogga" · February 24, 2007
I love the sweet-tartness of pink ladies but have never baked with them. Thanks for giving me the idea. And your cake looks moist and dense to me--just the way I love it!
Tanna · February 23, 2007
“the food is so dense that if you eat it, you can die from a lack of air” what an incredible way to picture food! Yikes!! This cake is perfect and I think a break in the day, coffee and apple cake should happen everyday, it just doesn't often enough!
Clea · February 23, 2007
Hmm, il est parfait pour mon goûter là tout de suite !
Brilynn · February 23, 2007
I like a denser texture as well. I've never used chestnut flour but I think I will have to track some down. I don't think I've seen it here.
Hélène (Cannes) · February 25, 2007
Superbe, ce gâteau. A la place du lait ribot, j'utilise le lait fermenté arabe (Elben, pour ne pas le nommer !). ça a le même goût et on en trouve dans tous les supermarchés. Bises et bonne fin de week-end Hélène
lory · May 29, 2007
miam,maintenant je peux essayer ce super cake!
Valerie · October 4, 2011
Comment faire pour transformer ce cake en gateau sans gluten? Avez vous essaye depuis?