This invisible apple cake is a simple cake that is perfect for all apple lovers. Made with thinly sliced apples and a thin batter that is seasoned with cinnamon and nutmeg. Serve it with a scoop of ice cream, caramel sauce, or simply topped with powdered sugar.
If you have anyone that you know that loves apples this is the dessert for them. It is made of layered sliced apples and thin batter to help them together. You can have it with a cup of coffee in the morning or as a wonderful dessert with ice cream or caramel sauce. If you want to get really adventurous you can even slice it thickly and use it as the base for a decadent French toast recipe.
In this recipe
There isn’t much in this recipe and almost all of the ingredients should already be in your kitchen or pantry. This makes it easy to make when you want something tasty.
Apples: you will want to choose a nice crispy apple that is suitable for baking like Honeycrisp, Braeburn, granny smith, or pink lady.
Half and half: adds a little more richness to the cake, however you can use any kind of milk for this recipe. Even nut milk as long as they aren’t flavored.
Eggs: they are going to be the binding agent for the cake, make sure they are at room temperature.
Getting thin slices
One of the most important parts about this cake is to make sure that you slice the apples thinly. If you have a mandolin, an apple slicer, or something else that will mechanically slice the apples for you then you will get nice even slices very quickly. However, if this isn’t the case then you can just slice them by hand. You will want them about the thickness of two stacked quarters or your phone charging cable. This will keep them nice and thin but not so thin that they fall apart.
Making the batter
This is one of those recipes where you don’t need a stand mixer or anything special. All you need is a bowl and a whisk. You will add all of the ingredients other than the apples to the bowl and whisk until it is smooth. This batter will be about as thin as pancake batter. That is important since you will need it to coat all of the apples with very little batter remaining. This is also one of those recipes that you want the batter smooth, so it is ok to mix until you no longer see any lumps.
Layering the invisible apple cake
This part will probably take you a little bit of time, and by a little bit of time I mean just a few minutes. You will want to make sure that you lay the apples flat in the baking dish. This will allow them to cook more evenly, and you will not have large gaps where air bubbles might form. When you are stacking the apples in the dish make sure that you have placed some of the apple slices around the sides. They will leave a cool little design on the side.
A few little tips and tricks
A little trick I use is to make the batter before I peel, core, and slice the apples. Then I cover it and put it in refrigerator until the apples are ready. This gives the dough time to relax and become smooth. Also, it is important to make sure that you let the cake cool completely before removing it from the pan. This cake will be very moist so this is one that you cannot leave out overnight. Make sure to wrap it in an airtight container before storing it in the refrigerator.
Looking for other apple recipes?
Invisible Apple Cake
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- 9 X 5-inch baking dish, greased
- Whisk
- Mandolin, optional
Ingredients
- 2 pounds apples peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
- ¾ cup flour
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup half-and-half
- ¼ cup butter unsalted melted
- 3 eggs room temperature
- ½ tablespoon vanilla
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F, 190°C, or gas mark 5. Grease the baking dish and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl combine all of the ingredients except for the apples and whisk until the batter is smooth. The batter should be quite runny.
- Add in the apples and gently mix to coat all of the slices.
- Gently layer all of apple slices in the baking dish making sure some of the slices are placed along the sides. Once all of the apples are added pour the remaining batter on top.
- Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool completely, about an hour, and then dust with powdered sugar or caramel sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
