Ok so I originally hadn’t intent to post this recipe, but since you guys gave it so much love on Instagram, I think it deserves a blog post of its own.

I made this cake for a -secret, soon to come- video project and it was more for the behind the scenes of the blog. It’s one of those recipes that only needs a few ingredients to whip together and turns out amazing every time; super rich and fudge-y. The look of this cake is super rustic and somewhat wonky, which is also why I love it – me loving all things rustic and gnarly haha.

You can swap the booze for calvados (fancy french apple brandy) or even pernod. I was gonna use pears instead, but right now the market is full of so many pretty varieties of apples, I couldn’t resist. OH on that note, since it was a “behind the scenes” cake, I only took a couple photos of it, sorry!! But trust me! It’s DAMN GOOD.

And may I add that this cake may be your salvation for thanksgiving *wink wink* Let’s bake it!

Rustic Brandy, Chocolate, and Apple Flourless Cake

Makes one 9 inch cake

Ingredients:
For the cake
– 12 oz dark chocolate (70% or more), chopped
– 1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter
– 4 tablespoons brandy
– 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
– 1/4 teaspoon salt
– 6 large eggs, separated
– 2/3 cup sugar
– Icing sugar or cocoa for dusting

For the apples:
– 4 apples of any variety, cored, sliced in wedges
– 1 tablespoon butter
– 2 tablespoons brandy
– 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
– Pinch of cardamom
– 1 teaspoon sugar

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9-inch spring form pan
2. Set a double boiler (a small pot with barely simmering water with a heat-proof bowl on top) and place the butter and chocolate on the bowl, melt slowly and gently whisk to incorporate. Remove bowl from heat and stir in brandy, vanilla, and salt, whisk until smooth. Let it cool for a few minutes, then add the yolks from the separated eggs along with 1/3 cup of sugar – whisk until sugar dissolves.
3. Beat the egg whites on a bow until soft peak stage (add a pinch of salt and a pinch of cream of tartar if you have some to stabilize them). While beating, gradually at the remainder 1/3 cup of sugar, beat to stiff peaks form (and looks glossy). Very gently, start to incorporate the melted chocolate mix into the egg whites, be sure to fold it in, you don’t want to deflate the hold thing. Once all has been incorporated, pour into pan and bake for about 35 minutes, until top of the cake starts to crack and when you insert a skewer it comes out clean.
4. While the cake cools down, prepare the apples: toss the apples with the butter on a oven-safe pan (or skillet) over medium heat, let the butter melt and coat the apples, then add the brandy, cinnamon, and cardamom and shake the pan to mix. Sprinkle apples with sugar and place pan under the broiler in your oven for about 5-7 minutes until apples cook and tops start to roast. Remove from the pan set aside.
5. To serve the cake, dust it with icing sugar or cocoa, then top with hot apples (make sure to drop the liquid from the pan into the cake too!). You can serve as is or with a scoop of ice cream.

Hmmm hmmmm good!

Recipe adapted from Gather Journal Fall/Winter 2013