Invisible Apple Cake

A sliced loaf of apple cake dusted with powdered sugar sits on a wooden cutting board, with a soft, golden-brown crust and visible apple layers inside.

This Invisible Apple Cake is packed with ultra-thin apple slices and warm spices, creating soft, cozy layers with just enough batter to hold it all together. 🍎

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Keyword apple

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1

Cooling time 2

Total Time 3 20

Servings

Calories 261kcal

Author Maria Koutsogiannis

Equipment

9x5-inch loaf pan
apple corer
mandolin

Ingredients

For the cake

1 cup all purpose flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp kosher salt
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
½ cup Shamrock Farms Vanilla Spice Eggnog
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 lbs apples (about 3 large or 4 medium) Fuji, Honeycrisp, or Pink Lady apples, peeled and cored, sliced into 1/8th inch thin slices and then sliced again into half-moons
3 large eggs, room temperature
⅔ cup granulated sugar

For the topping

4 tbsp icing sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Whip Shamrock Farms Vanilla Spice Eggnog into whipped topping

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375F.
Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray or butter and then line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang of parchment paper on the long sides of the pan to help remove the cake once baked.
In a small bowl whisk together the all purpose flour, ground cinnamon, kosher salt, ground nutmeg and pinch of ground cloves. Set aside.
In another small bowl whisk together the eggnog, melted butter, vanilla extract and maple syrup until combined. Set aside.
Prepare the apples: Peel and core the apples. Slice into ⅛ inch thin slices using a mandolin or sharp knife and then slice the apple ‘circles’ in half to get half-moon shapes. Set aside in a bowl.
In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer with the whisk attachment to beat the eggs and sugar together until pale, about 90 seconds. (Alternatively you can do this by hand using a whisk, this will take about 2 minutes).
Add half of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined. Next add all of the eggnog mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
Finally, add the remaining flour mixture and mix until just combined and the batter is smooth.
Add the thinly sliced apples to the batter and use a large wooden spoon or spatula to gently mix the apples into the batter until coated. Set aside 12 slices of apple to use to decorate the top of the cake.
Use your hands to layer the apples into the loaf pan, overlapping the slices in rows with the cut sides of the apples facing the out edges of the pan. Evenly distribute the apples across the loaf pan, layer by layer, until the pan is full and all of the apple slices are used.
Pour any remaining batter over the apple slices in the pan. Then, press down gently on the top of the cake and then tap the loaf pan gently on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles in the cake. Use the reserved 12 apple slices to decorate the top of the cake as you see fit.
Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 60-70 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the cooking time, until a skewer or toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean / batter-free and the top is golden brown. When done, place on a cooling rack and let cool for 1-2 hours.
After the cake has cooled for 2 hours, run a small knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake. Use the overhanging parchment paper to remove the cake from the pan to a serving tray or cutting board.
In a small bowl whisk together the icing sugar and ground cinnamon. Set aside.
Whip the Shamrock Farms Heavy Whipping Cream into a fluffy whipped topping.
Use a sharp knife to cut the cake into slices and top sliced with the eggnog whipping cream and/or dust with the cinnamon icing sugar mixture.

Video

Notes

You can also top this with vanilla ice cream instead of whipped cream.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Enjoy leftovers cool from the fridge or warm gently in the microwave.

Nutrition