Le Crocodile (80 Wythe Ave.) is a sophisticated French brasserie on the ground floor of Williamsburg’s Wythe Hotel.
For this week’s addition to the Community Cookbook, Le Crocodile’s Executive Pastry Chef Leanne Tran has shared her recipe for French Apple Cake. Learn how to make this elegant dessert below and find last week’s Community Cookbook recipe here.
Le Crocodile’s French Apple Cake
Makes one 8” cake, serves 6-8
Ingredients
- 1 cup of all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1⁄4 teaspoon of salt
- 1⁄2 cup of butter, softened
- 2⁄3 cups of sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon of Myers dark rum
- 3 small granny smith apples, peeled and diced into small cubes
- Turbinado sugar
- Powdered sugar
- Crème fraîche, for serving
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- Prepare an 8 inch round cake pan with non-stick spray and parchment at the bottom.
- In a stand mixer, paddle the dry ingredients with butter on medium speed until combined and a cornmeal like consistency is achieved.
- Incorporate the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla and rum.
- Using a spatula, fold in the apples.
- Transfer to baking pans and smooth out the batter.
- Sprinkle generously with the turbinado sugar and bake for 35 minutes or until the center reads 200F on a thermometer.
- Let cool completely before flipping the cake onto plate, and inverting again right side up onto your serving platter.
- Serve with powdered sugar and crème fraîche.