Skillet Caramelized Apple Cake from Brittany

At this time of year, both regions boast orchards of blooming apple trees of all varieties and hence nurture an extensive repertoire of apple recipes – be it sweet or savory. Countless apples pies, chicken and pork roasts with stewed apples, apple cider in Brittany, Calvados in Normandy… apples are the Queen of the local gastronomy year-round. And frankly, as a Brittany native, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of cooking and baking with them.

So after the Calvados and Apple Flan recipe from Normandy, here is this Skillet Caramelized Apple Cake from Brittany, one of my favorite apple recipes from my home region (although to be fair, as a biased Brittany recipe-devotee, I might always show up here with yet another new “favorite” Breton recipe).

A super easy, quick and rustic apple flan-like cake

Known in French as a “Michon aux Pommes”, this rustic-looking dessert features a succulent flan-like texture and big clusters of caramelized apples.

As fragrant and luscious as it is, the recipe is ridiculously simple and thrown together in a few short minutes, for a result that is big in flavor and exciting textures. The apples are first cooked with a generous knob of butter (salted butter, as per 100% of Brittany recipes).

This step brings an effortless elegance to the dish, with sweet caramelized notes of a tarte tatin, creating an interesting contrast with the cake batter. The cake batter is similar to a sweet crêpe batter: a liquidy mix thrown together in 2 or 3 minutes, and poured over the caramelized apples before getting popped in the oven. Its eggy texture is soothing and unctuous, but remain firm enough to be called “a cake”.

I like to enjoy this cake hot, straight out of the oven, with the browned edges crisp and slightly brittle, and the middle still gooey and a bit steamy. But if you let it cool down in temperature, it will firm up nicely and you can slice it and serve it like a classic cake. Cooking notes:

• For more interesting flavours, choose a mix of tart and sweet apple varieties
• This recipe requires a 9-inch skillet or stove-top and oven-proof equal sized dish

If you try this Skillet Caramelized Apple Cake from Brittany recipe let me know! Leave a comment or share a photo on Instagram.

A recipe adapted from Aimer La Cuisine de Bretagne, by Jacques Thorel.