Confessions of a Culinary Diva: Marie Helene's Apple Cake

Anything short of the Hot Chocolate L’African served at Angelina’s on the Rue de Rivoli in Paris gives me a chocolate-induced migraine. So trying this week’s French Fridays with Dorie challenge, Nutella Tartine, was out of the question. Nutella was created in the 1940’s by Pietro Ferrero to extend the limited supply of chocolate in his wartime baking. It has become something of a beloved chocolate and hazelnut spread and a frequent peanut butter alternative. But it contains chocolate, certainly not the Belgian kind used at Angelina’s, and it was left to my sous chef to provide comments for this article. His review was short and sweet—like the Nutella Tartine—and can be summed up thusly: “It tastes like a raised chocolate jelly doughnut, only I would rather have one from Winchell’s. It is much to do about nothing.”

The ingredients for Nutella Tartine - sort of like making toast

Butter Brioche before broiling

In the broiler (I remembered to keep the door open to prevent fire - learned that one the hard way!)

Voila - Nutella Tartine in less than 6 minutes

I also wanted dessert that night, so I prepared Marie Helene’s Apple Cake as a supplementary dish. Two spatulas up for this cake. It has a great flavor profile and texture from the mixture of four different apples – pink lady, gala, golden delicious and granny smith. The cake portion was light, reminiscent of a pineapple upside down cake in texture. Quick and easy to prepare, this is now part of our dessert rota. It has few ingredients, doesn’t cost a fortune to make and can please even the most strident food critic.