Torta di mele
Apple cake
Italian home apple cake with lemon
Ask anyone in Trentino, Emilia or Piedmont for their nonna's torta di mele and they will describe much the same thing: a plain, lemon-scented batter with thin apple slices sunk all through it and fanned over the top, baked in a round tin on a Sunday and finished at breakfast the next morning with caffè latte. It is soft, moist and only lightly sweet, the apples almost melting into custardy pockets. A slice also makes a good after-school snack. Thick wedges of apple are the usual mistake: they stay hard while the batter overcooks, so slice them 3–4 mm thin. Chef's tip: hold back the prettiest slices for the top and brush them with a little melted butter and sugar, so they caramelise at the edges.
- Total time
- 65 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
For the cake
- 3 eating applesabout 550 g, such as Golden Delicious or Renetta
- 1 lemonzest and juice
- 3 eggs
- 5 ½ oz caster sugar
- 2 ⅞ oz buttermelted
- ¼ cup milk
- 7 oz plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
For the top
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tbsp icing sugar (optional)for dusting
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan). Butter a 24 cm springform tin and line the base.
Step 2: Peel and core 3 eating apples, cut into quarters and slice 3–4 mm thin. Toss with the juice of 1 lemon.
Step 3: Whisk 3 eggs and 5 ½ oz caster sugar for 5 minutes, until pale and thick. Whisk in the lemon zest, ¼ cup milk and all but 1 tbsp of 2 ⅞ oz butter.
5 minStep 4: Sift in 7 oz plain flour, 2 tsp baking powder and 1 pinch salt and fold until smooth.
Step 5: Fold two-thirds of the apple slices into the batter and spread in the tin. Arrange the rest in overlapping circles on top, brush with the reserved butter and sprinkle with 1 tbsp caster sugar.
Step 6: Bake for 40–45 minutes, until deep golden, the apples are tinged brown at the edges and a skewer pushed between slices comes out clean.
43 minStep 7: Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then unclip. Dust with 1 tbsp icing sugar and serve warm or cold.
15 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 250 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does torta di mele take?
- About 65 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of eating apples?
- Pears, same amount.
- What can I use instead of lemon?
- Lime, or 2 tbsp bottled lemon juice per lemon (no zest from bottled juice).
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