Gâteau Invisible aux Pommes

Desserts

Tissue-thin apple slices bound together with just enough custardy batter to hold them in place, baked until the edges caramelize and turn golden. The apples taste concentrated and slightly caramelized, the batter adds richness without weighing things down, and the texture is somewhere between a tarte aux pommes and a clafoutis. It's delicate, buttery, not too sweet, with that pure apple flavor coming through in every bite. Completely delicious.

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Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Servings 6

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Ingredients  

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• 1.5 kg eating apples Braeburn,Cox, or Granny Smith work brilliantly
• ½ lemon juice of it
• 4 egg
• 150 gr caster sugar
• 130 gr plain flour
• 250 ml whole milk
• 60 gr unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt
• unsalted butter for greasing the tin

Equipment

• 1 Loaf pan 23cm
• 1 knife
• 1 chopping board
• 1 electric mixer
• mixing bowl
• sieve

Instructions

1. 1. Prep your apples

   Heat the oven to 180°C (160°Cfan). Peel, core, and slice the apples into the thinnest slices you can manage, aim for 2-3mm. A sharp knife and a bit of patience will get you there.Toss the slices in lemon juice as you go to stop them browning.
2. 2. Make the batter

   Whisk the eggs and sugar together until pale and thick, about 3 minutes with an electric whisk. Sift in the flour and salt, then whisk until smooth. Gradually add the milk, then the melted butter and vanilla. The batter should be completely smooth and about the consistency of double cream.
3. 3. Combine everything

   This is where it gets interesting. Add all the apple slices to the batter and fold them in gently but thoroughly. Every single slice needs to be coated. It'll look like far too many apples for the amount of batter. That's exactly right.
4. 4. Into the tin

   Butter a loaf pan generously. Pour in the apple-batter mixture and level the top as best you can.The tin will look properly full, that's normal.
5. 5. Bake until golden

   Into the oven for 50-60minutes, until the top is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Don't open the oven door for the first 45 minutes, it needs that uninterrupted time to set.
6. 6. Cool and serve

   Let it cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out. Serve warm or at room temperature. It keeps perfectly for 2-3 days covered, though it never lasts that long in our house!

Notes

• Apple choice matters
  Eating apples work better than cooking apples here, they hold their shape and don’t release too much liquid. Braeburns are particularly good, but Cox or Granny Smith work brilliantly too.
• The vanishing trick
  Don’t panic when you see how little batter there is compared to apples. The trick happens in the oven as the batter finds its way between every slice, creating the invisible binding that gives this cake its name.
• Serving suggestions
  Brilliant on its own, lovely with a dollop of crème fraîche, and absolutely perfect with a cup of proper coffee. Some people add a dusting of icing sugar, but honestly, it doesn’t need the extra sweetness.
• Storage
  Keeps covered at room temperature for 2-3 days. You can refrigerate it, but let it come back to room temperature before serving, the texture is much better.
• Why it works
  The high ratio of fruit to batter means each slice is essentially pure apple held together by just enough cake to bind it. It’s not quite a tart, not quite a cake, but something altogether more interesting.

About this recipe

The Gâteau Invisible aux Pommes appeared in French kitchens sometime in the 1990s, though pinning down exactly who invented it is like trying to find the first person who put butter on bread, everyone claims credit.

The healthy 90’s
What we do know is that it emerged during France’s obsession with lighter desserts. The 1990s were peak health-consciousness in French cooking, with chefs racing to prove they could create magic with less butter, fewer eggs, and more fruit. This cake was the home baker’s answer to all those complicated restaurant techniques.

Why invisible?
The “invisible” name is an accurate description of what happens. French bakers call it “invisible” because you can barely see the cake batter once it’s baked. What looks like a solid block of apple slices somehow holds together perfectly when you slice it, as if the apples have fused themselves into cake form. This technique reflects something particularly French about cooking: the willingness to trust that seemingly impossible things will work if you follow the process properly. Only French home cooks would look at a mountain of apple slices, add what appears to be nowhere near enough batter, and think, “This will definitely work.”

The cake became a sensation because it solved a particularly French problem: how to showcase perfect apples without hiding them under heavy pastry or drowning them in cream. It’s autumn cooking at its most elemental, apples being apples, with just enough structure to make them into something greater than the sum of their parts.

Variations
Regional variations exist, as usual. In Normandy, they add a splash of Calvados. In the Loire Valley, some versions include a hint of the local Coteaux du Layon wine. Parisians, being Parisians, insist theirs is the most refined version, though it’s essentially identical to everyone else’s.