Apple Breton Pound Cake (Quatre-Quarts aux Pommes)
A Breton Pound Cake, known as “Quatre-Quarts” (four quarters) is the ubiquitous French snacking cake. It’s simple, not-too-sweet, just dense enough to be eaten with your hands and full of buttery flavors. This version is studded with lightly caramelized apple chunks to keep it moist and irresistible. A great year-round recipe for your baking repertoire! In French, this Breton Pound cake is called a “quatre-quarts“, which translates to “four quarters”. It is ubiquitous in my home region of Brittany, but also widely known and enjoyed all throughout France. It consists –…
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 55 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- For the apples:
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp (25g) sugar
- 2 large baking apples, peeled, cored and diced (about 250g, once diced)
- A pinch of sea salt flakes
- For the cake:
- 2/3 cup (150g) unsalted butter
- 3 eggs large (150g), at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) sugar
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (150g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp sea salt flakes
Instructions
- 1
Note: This recipe is based on 3 eggs weighing 150g. If your eggs weigh less or more, adapt your other ingredient measurements accordingly. See cooking notes above.
- 2
Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) with a rack in the middle. Grease a 9”x-5” loaf pan with butter and dust it lightly with flour.
- 3
Melt the 150g of butter (for the batter) in a saucepan and set aside to cool.
- 4
In large frying pan, over medium heat, add the diced apples, butter (for the apples), sugar and salt. When the butter starts to melt, mix gently to coat the apples. Cook for 6-7 minutes until the apples are lightly softened and caramelized. Do not overcook them, the dices should still hold their shape. Set aside to cool.
- 5
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until foamy and lighter in color. Whisk in the cool melted butter. Switch to a spoon or spatula, and mix in the flour and salt. Finally, fold in the apples.
- 6
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until firm. Add a spoonful of the egg whites to the batter and mix to loosen the consistency. Add the rest of the egg whites and gently fold in with a spatula.
- 7
Transfer the batter to the prepare pan and bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour, until golden and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- 8
Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and let cool to room temperature completely, before serving.