Apple cake is a must in Italian cuisine. There are many different recipes, all more or less complicated, but all with a sure result! It can have a base of shortcrust pastry or be soft and fluffy or even be enclosed in a nest of puff pastry, such as the classic tarte tatin. A perfect cake for every moment of the day: it’s fantastic in the morning dipped in milk and coffee, it gives that touch of sweetness after lunch that calms you, and eat at five o’clock with tea it will keep you going till dinner. It only takes 20 minutes to make the entry-level version, plus the time to bake in the oven and has very few ingredients. Try it, you’ll see!
Italian-style Apple Cake recipe
Serves 8
Ingredients:
2 cups Italian 00 flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 ½ lbs peeled apples
3 eggs
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 1/8 cups sugar
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup milk,
1 lemon, only the juice
2/3 cup chopped walnuts and powdered sugar for decoration
Method:
First, slice the apples and put the slices in the lemon juice so they don’t turn brown. Then make the dough by whipping 3 egg yolks with the sugar. Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks in another bowl. Add the butter to the yolks along with the milk and mix well with a wooden spoon. Add one tablespoon of flour and baking powder to the egg yolks at a time, stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming. If any lumps do form, use a whisk and they’ll dissolve immediately. Once the mixture is soft and even, gently add the whipped whites, stirring from the bottom to the top so they don’t break down. Add a sprinkle of ground cinnamon to give your cake an unmistakable aroma and then drain the apple slices from the lemon juice and add them to the dough, leaving a handful to decorate the cake. Butter and flour a springform cake pan so the pie doesn’t stick to it and then pour in your batter, leveling it out well with a spatula. Arrange the remaining apple slices in a circle, sprinkle the surface with the chopped walnuts and bake at 350°F for about 40 minutes.
Extra Tips: To make sure the cake is cooked before removing it from the oven, insert a toothpick into the middle and if it comes out dry, you can remove the cake from the oven. Wait until it has cooled down before removing it from the pan and then serve it, covering each slice with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. If you like the aroma of lemons, add the grated rind of one to the dough to add an extra touch of freshness that will make your cake unforgettable.