If you’ve ever travelled through Normandy, you’ll know it’s a region that wears its apple orchards like a crown. Rows of gnarled trees, heavy with fruit in late summer and autumn, are as much a part of the landscape as the half-timbered farmhouses and dairy cows. Normandy’s apples have found their way into ciders, Calvados, tarts – and, if you’re lucky enough, into a certain rustic cake you won’t find in any cookbook.
This month’s surprise recipe is Katia’s Normandy Apple Cake – passed down to Caroline Fordham, the wife of our legal counsel Prof David Fordham, by a Normandy farming family she befriended years ago. “It’s the kind of recipe you’re given in a farmhouse kitchen, with a cup of coffee in hand and a promise you’ll never let it be forgotten,” Caroline told us. “I’ve never seen it written down anywhere before; it’s pure tradition.”
The UK is enjoying what experts say will be a bumper apple harvest this year – a result of a perfect mix of cool spring and sunny summer days. That means there’s no better time to try this recipe, which showcases the apple in its most comforting form: slices arranged in neat circles atop a soft, lightly spiced cake, crowned with a golden, buttery topping that bakes into a chewy, caramelised crust.
Photo credit ©Caroline Fordham from her own garden in London! Apples used to bake the cake you see in the photos below
Normandy, of course, is famous for its apple cakes. The region’s love affair with apples dates back centuries, thanks to a climate perfectly suited to orchards. Farmers there have a knack for turning whatever comes off the tree into something delicious — cider for the adults, cakes for everyone. As David put it with a grin, “In Normandy, the only thing they love more than apples is finding a way to make you eat more of them.”
Baking Katia’s Normandy Apple Cake is as much about the smell as the taste. The cinnamon mingling with apples, the buttery topping turning golden… it’s enough to make anyone linger near the oven. And unlike many showy patisserie creations, this cake has the charm of the everyday – the kind of treat you might be served at a farmhouse table after a long walk through the orchards.
Best of all, it comes together with simple ingredients: flour, sugar, eggs, milk, and apples. No fancy gadgets or rare spices – just honest, home-style baking. As Caroline joked, “It’s the perfect cake if you want to impress people without looking like you tried too hard.”
Serve it as the Normans do – plain, with its slightly chewy top – or follow the UK (and US) tendency to gild the lily with a dollop of double cream or ice cream. Either way, you’ll be tasting a slice of Normandy history, one that’s travelled from a rural kitchen to ours, and now, hopefully, to yours.
So, here’s to good harvests, generous friends, and recipes that feel like they’ve been waiting for you all along. And if anyone asks why you’re having a second slice, just tell them you’re supporting apple farmers – it’s practically a public service.
Photo credit ©Caroline Fordham of her fabulous Normandy apple cake
Katia’s Normandy Apple Cake
Traditionally served just as is with its slightly chewy top. If UK and US tastes require a moister cake, add a spoonful of double cream or ice cream.
Serves 8-10
Buttered 20cm loose bottomed sandwich tin
Preheated oven to gas mark 5
For the cake:
110g self-raising flour
110g caster sugar
45ml vegetable oil
30ml milk, semi or full fat
3-4 eating apples, sliced
1 large egg
Fine ground cinnamon, for sprinkling
For the topping:
90g butter
70g caster sugar
1 egg
1. Put all the ingredients for the cake, except the apples and cinnamon, in a bowl and mix to a smooth consistency.
2. Peel and core the apples and cut into slices, slightly thicker than a £1 coin.
3. Arrange the slices in concentric circles onto the cake mix top and sprinkle with the cinnamon.
4. Put cake into the middle of the oven for 20 minutes.
5. Make the topping by melting the butter and sugar in a small saucepan. Do not allow to boil.
6. Remove the saucepan from the heat and very quickly whisk in the egg to avoid it cooking. One is aiming for a smooth pouring sauce.
7. Remove the cake from the oven and pour the topping sauce over it. Stop when the sauce reaches up the sides to the top of the apple level.
8. Return the cake to the oven and cook for about 40-45 minutes until nicely browned.
9. Remove the cake from the oven and let it fully cool before removing from tin.
Photo credit ©Caroline Fordham of her fabulous Normandy apple cake
Buchler Phillips is a UK based independent boutique firm with an impeccable Mayfair heritage, specialising in corporate recovery, turnaround, restructuring, insolvency.