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Recipes

Perlette’s apple cake

A stunning bake that’s packed with autumn fruits

November 4, 2024 08:47
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Photo: Patricia Niven
2 min read

Serves: Makes 1 x 25cm (10") cake

Perlette was my husband, Victor’s grandmother; a formidable and passionate woman who lived an extraordinary life, including time spent with the French Resistance during WW2. She spoke French and little English and I speak English and little French so the only topic that we were easily able to communicate on was baking.

I understood just enough baking–related French words to follow her descriptions and I now cherish those few recipes she described to me. Before she stopped baking in her later years I tasted this cake made by her, known by Victor as Nanny’s Gateau Aux Pommes. I had to take my memory of eating it and the few words of French description offered to come up with a recipe; it’s defining feature being an extraordinary quantity of apple in proportion to cake. I hope my boys, who often speak of their Grande Nanny, can keep their connection with her a little closer through eating, and one day baking, this cake.

Method: 

Ingredients

For the apples

2.7kg (6 lb) crisp eating apples, such as Cox’s or Braeburn

190g (6¾ oz) caster sugar

20g (¾ oz) ground cinnamon

squeeze of lemon juice

For the cake

180g (6¼ oz) unsalted butter

225g (8 oz) vanilla caster sugar

270g (9½ oz)/5½ whole eggs, beaten

255g (9 oz) plain flour

4g (⅛ oz) sea salt

10g (¼ oz) ground cinnamon

100g (3½ oz) caster sugar