Invisible apple and chocolate cake Ultra easy recipe

A cake with lots of apples, light cake batter, and chocolate chips for even more indulgence.

Apples, apples and more apples. There is so much fruit in this recipe, and the cake batter is really reduced to its strict minimum, that this cake contains more fruit than batter, for a light and ultra-soft result.

Origin of the invisible cake

The term “invisible cake” comes from the fact thatthere is so much fruit in this recipe that the cake batter tends to disappear.

The invisible cake probably first appeared created by a blogger, and gained popularity in the early 2000s. Many blogs and cookbooks began to talk about it, attracting the attention of dessert lovers with its originality, its very visual appearance and above all its unique taste.
It is therefore not a grandma’s cake even if it has all the markers of family baking and the perfect homemade dessert.

Preparing this super easy cake

Necessary Ingredients

• Apples : About 1 kilo of apples that you will peel and cut into thin strips (see above). Tree frog type, golden… you want apples that hold up a bit when cooked, so not Canada type apples.
• Eggs: 3 to 4 eggs to bind the mixture. I prefer 4.
• Sugar : 40 g of sugar to sweeten the cake but very lightly, the fruit already does the job.
• Flour : 60 g of flour for the structure.
• Butter : 20 g of melted butter to add softness.
• Yeast : 1 sachet of baking powder to make the cake rise. You can replace it with baking soda or make a mix.
• And so I add 100 gr of chocolate coarsely crushed. It’s optional of course, the recipe works perfectly without it.

The steps

To prepare the invisible cake, we start by preheat the oven to 180°C. In a large bowl, we break the eggs and add the sugar. We whisk until we obtain a creamy mixture.
We gradually add the flour and yeastWe mix well to avoid lumps. We add the melted butter (I melt it in a bowl in the oven which is starting to preheat) stirring gently. The dough should be smooth. Finally, add the pieces of crushed chocolate.
Finally, we place the thin apple slices in the buttered and floured cake mold by putting them lies flat and covers the entire surface well. We pour the batter on top. It will fit into the gaps.

Fruit cutting

Cutting the apples is essential for an invisible cake.
If you have a mandolin, a robot that allows you to make thin slices or even an apple peeler which peels, removes the core and makes slices in one go, it’s even faster and perfect for having slices of uniform thickness.
Otherwise, start by peeling the apples, cutting them into quarters and core them. Afterwards, cut each quarter into thin slices approximately 2 to 3 mm thick.

Overlay of slices

Layering is a key step in preparing the invisible cake. In a buttered and floured mold, place the apple slices flat, uniformly. Make sure they are not in all directions, we want an effect of superimposed slices a bit like a mille-feuille or a crepe cake.
Then cover with the dough, this ensures that the apples are well submerged, creating the “invisible” effect.

Spoiler, you might say, not like in the photo where I put everything loosely in the dough. It also works if once poured into the mold you make sure to pack the slices well to make them flat as much as possible.

With chocolate

You can add melted chocolate to the batter, like a classic chocolate cake, but that’s not what I’m offering you here.
With chocolate chips or fairly large crushed chocolate shavings, I guarantee that this will give an ultra delicious side to your invisible cake.
When it comes out of the oven, if you eat the cake while it is still warm, you will have melted chocolate here and there, a pure delight!

A bit like homemade cookies or what I do in two of my recipes which have become basics made and remade very regularly, the banana and chocolate cake that my daughters ask me for breakfast, or the way I have since my childhood of pimping up the yogurt cake, with pear and chocolate.

Variations and accompaniments

To be combined with seasonal fruits. Why not pears? I have made this recipe several times with pear, Comice or Williams and it is also a guaranteed success. Plus, pear and chocolate go so well together! The texture is even more tender, this little nugget has become a classic in my house.

Serve with crème fraîche or better raw cream, whipped cream, caramel sauce or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. This will add an even more delicious touch.