Invisible Apple Cake (Gâteau Invisible aux Pommes)
Invisible apple cake is a stunning French dessert where thinly sliced apples bake into a custardy, melt-in-your-mouth cake that looks straight out of a Parisian bakery. It’s light, elegant, and surprisingly easy to make with simple ingredients you may already have on hand.
Prep time: PT25M
Cook time: PT65M
Total time: PT90M
Rating
4.55 stars (11 reviews)
Keywords
invisible apple cake
Ingredients
⅓ cup butter or plant butter (plus more for greasing)
½ cup whole milk or unsweetened soy milk or a rich plant milk like oat milk
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup all-purpose flour or GF flour blend
1 ½ teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1 zest of small orange
½ teaspoon sea salt
pinch ground nutmeg
3 large eggs (room temperature)
½ cup cane sugar (plus 1 Tablespoon for the top)
4 medium apples (Honeycrisp, Fuji or Pink Lady - I used 2 ¾ pounds of apples)
Optional for serving: Powdered sugar and/or whipped cream
Categories
Dessert
Cuisine
French
Steps
Preheat oven to 375°F and grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan or a 10 x 5. Line with unbleached parchment paper for easier removal.
Melt butter on the stove in a small saucepan over low heat with the milk and vanilla bean paste. Once the butter has melted, set the mixture aside off the heat to cool slightly.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, orange zest, salt and nutmeg. Set the mixture aside.
Using the bowl of a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment to beat ½ cup sugar and eggs together for about 1-2 minutes on medium-high speed (alternatively, you can use a large bowl with a hand mixer) until pale and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add half of the dry ingredients to the bowl and whisk on low speed until just incorporated. Whisk in the milk mixture slowly. Add the remaining dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until the batter is smooth.
Peel, core and quarter the apples. You can slice them thinly using a mandolin or a very sharp knife (you are aiming for approximately 1/16-inch thick). Fold the apple slices into the batter gently until evenly coated using a rubber spatula. It is helpful to slice and coat one apple at a time to prevent the apples from oxidizing (browning).
Carefully ladle a cupful of batter using a large spoon into the prepared pan. Flatten out the apple slices after each cupful. Repeat until all the apple slices are added. You can arrange the top layer of apples in a more decorative way, if desired, but don’t overthink it. Once completed, tap the pan to remove air. Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of granulated sugar on top.
Bake for 60-70 minutes until golden.
Allow cake to cool in the pan on top of a wire rack for 1 hour.
Run a knife along the sides of the pan and remove the cake onto the wire rack. Allow to cool for an additional hour.
Optional: Dust the cake with powdered sugar or serve with whipped cream. Cut with a serrated knife for best results. Serve room temp or cold.
Reviews
Natalie on 2026-09-20 (5 stars): Meant to add 5 stars!
Rebecca on 2026-09-17 (4 stars): I must’ve done something wrong because the ends were good, but the middle fell apart. I’m hoping I can get some guidance on this because I would like to make it again.
Craig on 2026-09-15 (4 stars): Very tasty and easy cake with a lot of apples. Am making it again today. We have some apple trees so have a lot of them at the moment.
Just one note, what about the butter? I ended up putting the melted butter in the batter mix at the end. Because most cakes have some but usually butter is creamed with sugar so will do that today as first mixing step and then add the eggs.
