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Easy, fabulous and just a little boozy: Say 'bonjour' to Apple Calvados Cake

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By Leslie Brenner

If you’ve got a few apples, a springform pan and a splash of brown liquor, have we got a cake for you.

Easygoing and pretty much foolproof, this spirited apple cake is majestic enough to impress celebrants around a dinner table, casual enough to nibble with a cup of coffee on a rainy afternoon, and laid-back-festive enough to feature at brunch.

One very much like it first grabbed my attention when Dorie Greenspan published her wonderful book Around My French Table more than a decade ago. In it, I found a dessert called Marie-Hélène’s Apple Cake, which Greenspan described as “more apple than cake.” Ah, oui!

Over the years, I’ve played with it — first swapping out half of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour, and then getting rid of both and using spelt flour instead, for maximum ancient-grain goodness. Then I switched Greenspan’s dark rum for Calvados — France’s famous apple brandy. Wowie kazowie! That double-apple thing is spectacular. Apple jack works just as well.

Don’t have apple brandy? And kind of brandy — Cognac, Armagnac, Spanish Brandy de Jerez, whatever you’ve got will be great. Or use whiskey, such as bourbon or rye.

It’s all good. So is the apple situation: Grab four apples, whatever kind you happen to have, including mix-and-match. Cut them into big chunks, and fold them into a quickly whisked batter that doesn’t even require you to plug in a mixer.

Baked up, the apples melt into softness, gently cloaked in cake. It’s so nice that all through fall and into winter, I try always to have apples on hand in case the mood strikes. Thank you, Dorie — and Marie-Hélène, whoever you are.