Quatre - quarts aux pommes - Apple pound cake

I LOVE pound cake, especially apple pound cake. While being pregnant it was all I wanted for breakfast. Not only is this recipe very easy to make, it is also delicious and has a great presentation.
My grand mother knows that I love this cake so she gave me her recipe before I moved to Boston. Sadly I never get to make it taste like hers but it is definitely close.
Enough with the talking and let's move on to the recipe.

Ingredients:
• 3 Apples
• The flour, butter and sugar should be the same weight as the eggs
• 1/2 of an orange peel finely grated
• 1/2 a teaspoon of baking powder

For the Caramel
• 15 sugar cubes
• 3 table spoons of water
• 1 drop of lemon juice

Tips:
For this recipe pick some apples that are not going to break while baking, I like to use apple gala.
For a lighter cake, beat the egg whites until stiff and incorporate them delicately to the egg yolk, sugar and butter mix.

{The ingredients}

{The caramel at the bottom of the cake mold}

1 - Prepare the caramel in a little pot. When the caramel gets to a nice blonde colour, pour it into your cake mold.

{Place the apples nicely in the baking mold}

2 - Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Peel the apple, remove the seeds and cut the apples in thick slices. {I used a mandoline to get even slices}. Arrange the apple slices over the bottom of the pan that is already covered by the caramel.

{I was lazy I did not beat the egg whites separately...}

3 - Prepare the dough. In a large bowl, mix the soften butter with the sugar and add the orange zest. Break the eggs, incorporate them to the butter and sugar and finally add the flour and the baking powder.

{The batter over the apple slices}

4 - Pour the dough over the apple slices and put in the oven for 40 minutes. When done, turn off the oven, leave the oven door open and allow for the cake to cool down a little.

{This is what it looks like right out of the oven}

{Bottom side up}

5 - Last step, turn the apple pound cake on a large dish and enjoy!

{Et voila!}

{SOOOO good! you can eat it with vanilla ice cream, it is divine}