French-Style Apple Torte with Maple Tahini Cream

Last fall, I was walking 20 miles through the streets of Paris to make sure I got to visit every arrondissament, taking trains through the French countryside, and hanging out in wine bars in Bordeaux. This fall, I’m watching French dramas on Netflix and scrolling through “cheap dream home” listings on Instagram. Such is 2020. So here is this little French-style apple torte to make a fall spent sitting at home a bit sweeter. It’s a cake that is very light and barely sweet, it pairs well with coffee in the morning or wine in the afternoon and has a very ‘lazy day’ feel.

But why am I calling it a torte instead of a cake? What’s the difference? I’m glad you asked! There are a few different opinions on the subject, and I found this little write up from Food52 helpful in creating a semi-accurate definition. Since there is quite a bit of discussion on the matter, I’ll simply tell you why I’m referring this little pastry as a torte (whether it’s technically correct or not). First, it’s European in style. The inspiration for this torte came from two different places—German apple strudel, a pastry that is barely sweetened with no brown sugar or cinnamon, which are both very American apple pairings, and a Dorie Greenspan by-way-of-David Lebovitz recipe for a French Apple Cake. Second, tortes traditionally implement nut flours for a denser crumb. While this cake is not 100% nut flour based, the addition of almond flour gives texture and heftiness to an otherwise very light crumb. And third, it’s has a semi-elaborate decoration. Most tortes are known for their clean looks and fancy glazes. While this cake doesn’t implement any sleek decor, the arranged apple slices take a bit more time than simply folding them into the batter and gives a polished, finished look. And lastly, I’m calling it a torte because I want to. :) The maple tahini cream is beautiful scooped on top and if I close my eyes when I take a bite, it almost feels like I’m back in Paris.

P.S. If you’re looking to take a little getaway from the comfort of your couch, I wrote all about our European adventure last fall on the blog. You can check out my travel diaries here: Paris and Bordeaux.

French Apple Torte 

Yield: 1 8” cake

Ingredients

for the cake:

1/2 cup (80 g) all purpose flour

1/4 cup (25 g) almond flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

2 eggs

1 egg white

3/4 cup  granulated sugar, divided

2 tbsp rum

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter

3-4 small apples, thinly sliced

for the maple tahini cream:

1/4 cup loose tahini

1/4 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup heavy cream, chilled

Procedure: 

1. Preheat oven to 350° F and line a 8” cake pan with parchment paper. Set aside

2. Place butter in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, swirling occasionally for 6-7 minutes, until butter is foamy and fragrant, and browned bits begin to form. Remove from heat and transfer to a heat-proof bowl to cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. 

3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt, and cardamom. Set aside. 

4. In a large bowl, whisk together the two whole eggs, 1/2 cup of sugar, rum, and vanilla extract. Add browned butter and continue whisking until smooth and homogenized. Add dry ingredients to the bowl and whisk gently until no flour streaks remain. 

5. In the bowl of stand mixer or using a hand mixer, whip egg white on medium-high speed until frothy. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and continue whipping until thick and glossy. The mixture won’t form peaks, but will be very thick and look marshmallowy. 

6. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter until completely combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and arrange apple slices on top. 

7. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and the top springs back when touched. Let cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan and continuing to cool. 

8. While the cake is cooling, make the maple tahini cream. In a small bowl, whisk together tahini and maple syrup until smooth. Using a mixer, whip cold heavy cream until soft peaks form, then stream in tahini mixture. Continue mixing until combined. Spoon soft whipped cream over warm apple cake. 

more recipes like this

a culinary travel diary: Paris

read more

a culinary travel diary: Bordeaux

read more

fall apple cake

go to recipe

Salted Honey and Banana Snack Cake

This easy banana cake recipe is made with ripe bananas, sour cream, and a few warming spices and is topped with addictive salted honey whipped cream.

This week has been a busy one and I barely had time to get this recipe typed up and posted, but, whew! We made it! This is a perfect cake for busy days because it’s super easy to throw together and uses ingredients that are probably already hanging out in your pantry. On top of that, I feel like every Wednesday needs a good snack cake.

Salted honey is my new favorite flavor combo and I’ve been incorporating it any way I can. It started a few months ago at the restaurant when we threw together a salted honey chantilly last minute for a special dessert and it was love at first bite. The salty-sweet combo complements pretty much everything and gives a surprisingly complex flavor to otherwise simple treats. In this cake, the tanginess of the sour cream really highlights the salted honey and this little banana snack is one you’ll be coming back to time and time again.

Yield: one 9x13" pan

Author: Anna Ramiz

Print

With ImageWithout Image

Salted Honey and Banana Snack Cake

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 40 Min

This easy banana cake recipe is made with ripe bananas, sour cream, and a few warming spices and is topped with addictive salted honey whipped cream.

Ingredients

for the cake

• 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 cup (60 g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (50 g) brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (115 g) sour cream, at room temperature
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour

for the frosting

• 1 cup (230 g) sour cream
• 3/4 cup (170 g) heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup (30 g) powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 cup (80 g) honey
• 1 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

to make the cake

1. Preheat oven to 350° F and line a 9x13” pan with parchment paper.
2. Place butter in a small saucepan and set over medium heat, swirling regularly, until it begins to foam, about 6 minutes. Butter should be fragrant and nutty, with little brown flecks. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, cinnamon, and kosher salt. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine browned butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Mix on medium speed until smooth and reaches the consistency of very wet sand.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition until homogenous, followed by the vanilla extract and the bananas.
6. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the sour cream beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. When the last of the dry ingredients have been added, mix until just combined and no dry streaks remain.
7. Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth into an even layer with a small offset spatula. Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until cake is golden brown and beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. A knife or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

to make the frosting

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment combine sour cream and heavy cream. Whip, starting on low speed and gradually increasing speed until cream is thickened and soft peaks form.
2. Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract, honey and salt, and continue whipping on medium-high speed until medium peaks form, or the consistency of whipped cream.
3. Scoop and swirl frosting over the cooled banana cake and serve immediately.

Similar Recipes

Banana Tahini Breakfast Cake

Banana Muffins with Cinnamon Oat Crumble

Dirty Chai Banana Bread

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @gatheredatmytable on instagram and hashtag it #gatheredatmytable

Created using The Recipes Generator

Lemon Olive Oil Loaf with Pluot Basil Jam

It’s been a minute since I’ve shared a new recipe on here. I spent the last month taking a little break, pursuing a couple of other projects and taking a much-needed social media breather, but I’m back, baby! And I’m bringing this sweet little lemon olive oil loaf with me. At the restaurant this past month, we’ve been racking our brains to create brunch items that are fairly low-maintenance to make, but delicious and interesting. With sweeter dishes like waffles and French toast on the regular menu, brunch dessert isn’t a huge seller and it’s been kind of a bummer to create something new each week and have it not sell well. But, on the bright side, it’s gotten my little creative recipe development wheels spinning, brainstorming slightly sweet bites that are great in the morning with a cup of a coffee or as an afternoon pick me up—this guy fits the bill.

This lemon olive oil loaf is slightly sweet, very tangy, and super moist. It only needs a bowl and a whisk and uses ingredients you probably already have on hand. You can also sub the lemon zest for pretty much any other flavor you’re in the mood for…orange or lime zest, chamomile tea, chai spices…it’s ultra versatile and ultra delicious. One little note—this cake has a high moisture content (from the olive oil and yogurt) and will take a little longer to bake through. It’s going to be deeply golden on top, but if you feel like your cake is getting a little too dark while the insides still need more time, you can tent it with aluminum foil to help keep some of that browning at bay.

Pluots are the prettiest little purplish fruits, a cross between plums and apricots, and they make for a bright fuchsia jam which I am 100% on board with. If you can’t find pluots, you can totally use plums or peaches or apricots, all would work beautifully with this little loaf.

Lemon Olive Oil Loaf with Pluot Basil Jam

Yield: one 9x5” loaf and about 1 cup of jam

Ingredients

for the jam

1 lb (about 4) pluots, sliced 

4-5 basil leaves

3 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp water

1/4 tsp salt

for the cake

1 cup (130 g) olive oil

2 cups (250 g) all purpose flour

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 eggs

1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar

1/4 cup (85 g) honey

3/4 cup whole milk yogurt

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla 

Zest of one lemon

for the glaze

1/4 cup (30 g) powdered sugar

2 tbsp whole milk yogurt

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp honey

Procedure 

to make the pluot basil jam:

1. Place sliced pluots, sugar, water, basil and salt in a medium saucepan and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until pluots are soft and sauce is thickened to syrup consistency. Remove from heat and let cool completely. 

to make the lemon olive oil cake: 

1. Preheat oven to 350° F and line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Set aside. 

2. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside. 

3. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, honey and eggs until light, fluffy, paste forms, about 2 minutes. 

4. Add yogurt, heavy cream, vanilla, and lemon zest and whisk to combine. Slowly stream in olive oil, whisking continually. When all of the olive oil has been added, continue whisking for one more minute. 

5. Add dry ingredients to the liquid mixture and whisk until just combined and no flour streaks remain. 

6. Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, until deeply golden brown and a knife or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool slightly and then remove from pan. 

to make the glaze:

1. Sift powdered sugar into a small bowl. Add yogurt, lemon juice, and honey and whisk until smooth. Add a splash of heavy cream if the glaze is too thick or a tablespoon of powdered sugar if it is too thin. Pour over cooled cake and serve with pluot basil jam. 

more recipes like this

dirty chai banana bread

go to recipe

a fancy strawberry shortcake

go to recipe

blood orange and rosemary snack cake

go to recipe