French Fridays With Dorie: Marie-Helene's Apple Cake

 I'm ashamed to say that I've really fallen behind in my attempt to cook along with my fellow French Fridays With Dorie friends (wow, that's a lot of Fs). I remember being so proud of myself having baked this Apple Cake (which is delicious, by the by) a full two weeks in advance of its date on the schedule -- and then I failed to post an entry.

Then I let November slip by with nary a recipe made -- and there were some good ones, too! Pumpkin-Gorgonzola Flans, Potato Gratin, Caramel-Topped Semolina Cake....uh, yum!! Anyway, I plan to make all of these at some point, and in the meantime December is a new month, and hopefully I can get myself back in the game -- it's looking like the four recipes for the month will be Sweet and Spicy Cocktail Nuts, Beef Daube, Leek and Potato Soup, and Speculoos. Holiday-appropriate, no?

Back to Marie-Helene's Apple Cake -- as you can see by the photo it is rammed with apples. I used a variety, as I'd been apple picking not long before and had no less than six different kinds in my fridge. This cake is lovely in that it's not overly sweet, and it stayed moist for several days. The dark rum added a deeper flavour and richness that I liked. I would add cinnamon next time, as I can't get enough of the apple-cinnamon combination.

I think the cake is at its best warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but it was also nice on its own at room temperature with a cup of coffee (not ashamed to admit this was my breakfast at work more than once).

Don't be concerned about the ratio of apples to batter. The batter bakes up around the apples quite nicely, and it turns a tempting golden brown shade as you can see.

I just had a thought -- how divine would this be with a butter-rum sauce drizzled overtop?! Next time!