Last week,
Abbie and I went to the
Hopewell Furnace and found that they had a small apple orchard open for apple picking. We picked about 5lbs of apples which have been sitting on my kitchen table, waiting for inspiration. Today, inspiration struck. During my last year of college, I spent a semester abroad, in Italy, and lived with a wonderful host family. Every morning for breakfast, there would be hot espresso, warm milk, and this delicious Torta di Mele or Apple Cake. I quickly fell in love with the cake and requested that my host mother walk me through making the cake so that I could write down the recipe and bring it home with me. Her recipe uses olive oil (I’d suggest a ‘Lite’ olive oil instead of the more flavorful Extra Virgin variety) in place of butter and while we use baking powder, she used, “lievito per dolci.” There doesn’t seem to be a difference between the two and I’m not sure if the chemical composition is the same, but it rises and tastes exactly as I remember. For apples, feel free to use whichever type you like, though a tart, firm apple such as the Gala or Granny Smith seems to work best.
| Torta di Mele (Apple Cake) |
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| Ingredients: |
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| 2 Eggs |
300 g (2.25 cup) All-Purpose Flour |
| 200 g (1 cup) Sugar |
1 tsp Baking Powder |
| 1/2 cup Olive Oil |
4 Apples, peeled and sliced thinly |
| 1 cup Milk |
1 tbsp Confectioners Sugar (optional) |
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| Instructions: |
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Preheat oven to 350F.Break eggs into a mixing bowl and add sugar.
Add oil and milk and slowly add flour.
Mix together until smooth, and be careful not to over-mix.
Add baking powder and mix in well.
Pour mixture into an 8×10 baking pan and layer apples on top or press under batter.
Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Sprinkle confectioner’s sugar on top while still warm.
Serves up to 16.
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