I baked the ‘Gateau Invisible’ (‘Invisible Apple Cake’) last weekend. It has been very hot and humid in Brisbane but finally we had some rain on Sunday. It was kind of my baking weather so I tried the Invisible Apple Cake that is taking Japan by storm right now.
I often surf through what types of food is trending in Japan. This Invisible Apple Cake seems to be very popular in France last year. There are a lot of “Gateau Invisible Cake” recipe book published in France last year though I did not see much when I was in Paris in December. There are a few invisible cake recipe books published in Japan in Japanese but I could not get any because they were sold out. So I searched on the net and found some invisible cake recipes and adjusted to the ingredients that are available in Australia.
The name “invisible” cake comes from when thinly sliced apple is baked with a cake batter; the layer of sliced apple becomes invisible. When the cake is sliced, you can barely see the beautiful layer of sliced apple.
I used a rectangle pound cake tin. I think should have used one that is 1-2 cm narrower and bake this cake a little more higher. Also I had a good slicer with which I sliced the apples into 2mm thick. It would be better looking cake if you slice it a little bit thicker may be 5 mm by hand. Also you need to be careful when you coat the sliced apple with the batter, try not to break the apple slices and also when you pour the apple batter mixture into the tin, line up the sliced apple in the same way so that when the baked cake is sliced, the apple layers look beautiful.
We enjoyed the invisible apple cake on the rainy Sunday afternoon. The texture of this cake is very moist and because a lot of sliced apple is mixed in the batter, it lowers the amount of calories in the cake. This is very easy to bake, looks fantastic, and is super delicious. Hope you enjoy this very popular invisible cake in Japan right now!
Invisible Apple Cake
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 8 slices
Ingredients
- 500 g sliced apple
- 3 large eggs
- 80g plain flour
- 50g caster sugar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
- 70ml milk
- 50g unsalted butter
- sliced almond
- icing (confectioners) sugar
Instructions
- Prepare the baking tin by spreading a little unsalted butter thinly and place a baking sheet in the tin.
- Preheat the oven to 175 celsius degree.
- Melt the butter and set aside
- Place the egg and sugar in a large mixing bowl and mix them together.
- Add the cinnamon and flour into the mixing bowl and mix them together.
- Add the milk, small amount at a time and stir well each time.
- Add melted butter to the mixture and mix well
- Slice the apples and add them into the mixture.
- Coat the apple slices with batter, without breaking the apple slices into smaller pieces ,with a silicon spatula gently.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and line the apple slices into the same direction in order to make the cut surface look pretty.
- Sprinkle the sliced almond and bake it for about 60min on the bottom rack of the oven.
- Take the cake out of the tin and cool it down for a few minutes.
- Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before slicing the cake to allow the cake to cool completely.
- Sift the icing sugar over and slice to serve.
Cuisine French
Kait says
There is no sugar listed in the ingredients, aside from icing sugar for dusting. But it’s written in your instructions. What is the amount of sugar to use?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Kait, Thank you so much for letting me know! whooops. I will add sugar right now. arrrr
Iron Chef Shellie says
This looks incredible!! I can’t wait to try it 🙂
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Ohhh Thank you Iron Chef Shellie 😀
Ann says
Tried this cake and it didn’t seem to rise or bake very well. This cake does not call for any baking powder or baking soda so how do you get it fluffy? Mine was only about an inch high and not fully baked through. We followed the recipe and instructions to the letter. How did you get yours to fluff up?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Ann, No this cake does not rise a lot. Mine did rise about 2cm but then shrinked down. That’s why I said in the post, the apple could be sliced thicker and use a tall tin. That’s what I would do next time 😀 This cake may look fluffy, but not supposed to be a fluffy cake.The baking time is indication only because everyone’s oven is different. You need to test if it is baked or not by sticking a skewer in and it comes out clear 😀
Danette says
I’ve just popped this into the oven. Cannot wait to try it! Super excited!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Danette, I am excited too 😀 Let me know how it turned out.
Danette says
We loved this dessert! Will definitely make it again. I’m going to try and tweak it a bit to be diabetic friendly. Thanks for sharing!
Sending sunny-good vibes from South Africa 🙂
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Wow From South Africa 😀 Thank you !!
Roseanne says
This is a lovely recipe. For me, the baking time was closer to 1:20 minutes. There was too much resistance from the apples before then. Also, I cut my apples 2mm thick, and I felt that was almost too thick. Next time, I think I would add some additional sugar. It could be a tad sweeter, and I was thinking of sprinkling the slices with some sugar and using a torch to brûlée it.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Roseanne, I agree with you. I thought 2mm is a little too thin. I would try 5mm next time. Touching to brulee would be great idea. I have seen another fruit like raspberries in the middle and salted caramel on top layer as well. There are savoury ones too 😀
Roseanne says
Two days out, and my experience is this is something best consumed on the day it is made. It does not get better as it sits. Also, my husband who is not a fan of sweets, thought that there needed to be more sugar in the recipe.
Kris says
This almost looks like a clafoutis batter instead of a cake. I need to try this… it looks and sounds so delicious!! <3
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Kris 😀 It is delicious <3 Please let me know how your's turn out 😉
Marinka says
Shihoko, this looks amazing, so moist, so delicious. I will certainly try to make it, as apple cakes and pies are still my favorite.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Thank you Marinka 😀 I love any apple cakes too!
Mary says
I so wish this recipe was converted to US measures…I am going to try making it but I am not sure about the conversions! Wish me luck…it looks amazing!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Mary, Thank you for your comment. I will make it in US measures and upload it very soon. This is a very popular recipe and many readers are in US 😀
E.K says
Arigatou Gozaimashita, Shihoko-san! My parents had a surplus of apples, and I have friends who are moving to Japan, so I made this for them last Saturday. They loved it! So easy and delicious! Please keep up your good work!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Konbanwa E.K-san. I am glad to know that your Invisible cake turned out delicious! Happy cooking Japanese food 😀