Cake with apples (quatre-quarts cake)

The quatre-quarts cake takes its name from the way it is prepared. You’ll need "four fourths": four ingredients will form the dough. And all of them are supposed to have the same weight. The quatre-quarts, being so easy to prepare, is a classic of French country cuisine, and you can diversify it in many ways.

• serves

  6

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 200 g caster sugar
• 200 g unsalted butter
• 200 g self-raising flour
• 2-3 apples

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180°C.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Beat well until they become fluffy. Add the sugar. Mix well. Add the butter, which you’ve melted beforehand. Mix well. Gently add the flour, a little at a time.

Peel and core the apples, then slice and add to the mixture just before you put your cake in the oven (this is optional, you can prepare your cake without apples).

Once it’s done, pour into a cake tin. Put in the oven for 45 minutes (this is an indication only, so check regularly).

Note

• Some true cooks will prefer to whisk the egg whites and add them to the mixture at the end, after the flour. It will give the cake a lighter taste. To flavour your cake, you can add orange or lemon zest or vanilla extract. You can also add chocolate chips.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.