Torta di mele is a perfect dessert that can be prepared at any time of the year. It’s a classic Italian apple pie – a specialty of Italian grandmothers everywhere! This apple pie is made with fresh apples, is light, moist, not too sweet and looks pretty too. And the best part? It is so easy!
Torta di mele. Ingredients:
- Butter, for greasing the baking pan
- Granulated sugar, for sprinkling the baking pan
- 3 large ‘Golden Delicious’ apples, about 700 g
- juice of half a lemon
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 extra large or 3 large eggs, beaten
- 3 tbsp cream
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- A pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- Powdered sugar, for sprinkling after baking
Ingredients for the classic torta di mele
Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Grease a round, deep cake plate (Ø 23 cm) made of glass or ceramic with butter or use a baking tin (Ø 23 cm). Sprinkle in enough granulated sugar to stick to the butter and cover the dish. Put aside.
- Peel and core the apples and cut in half, top to bottom. Place each half cut-side down on a cutting board and slice thinly. Place in a medium bowl and squeeze lemon juice onto each apple slice. Repeat the process for the remaining two apples and set the bowl aside.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan and let cool.
- Whisk the eggs and cream together in a small bowl and slowly add the melted butter while whisking. Put aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar, then use a wooden spoon to add the butter, egg, and heavy cream mixture and mix together. The mixture must be thick.
Delicious apple pie from Grandma’s baking book
- Fold the apple slices into the batter. The batter will be very thick.
- Using a rubber spatula, pour into the prepared pan and smooth out the batter.
- Bake for 30 minutes and prick the thickest part of the dough with a wooden skewer. When the skewer comes out clean, remove from the oven while the cake is nicely browned. If not, continue baking until golden brown and filling is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Avoid over-baking. *Note: The typical swab test is not always conclusive since apples are moist. Even if the wooden skewer is damp, it doesn’t mean that the cake isn’t baked through. Also look at the center of the dough to make sure it’s cooked through.
- Let the cake cool on a wire rack for five minutes, using a knife to loosen the edges if they haven’t already loosened. Cover the cake with the wire rack and flip it over with a quick twisting motion so the bottom is now the top. Carefully remove the baking pan.
- Serve warm or chilled. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.
A piece of pleasure
Gluten-free version of the Italian apple pie. Ingredients:
- Butter and almond flour for dusting the baking pan
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 1/2 tablespoons melted butter
- 2 teaspoons of baking soda
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 medium apples, approximately 800g, peeled, cored and cut into 3mm wedges
- Powdered sugar for garnish
- vanilla ice cream (optional)
Golden brown and crispy
Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Butter and flour a springform pan (Ø 23 cm), tapping to remove excess flour; put aside.
- Whisk together the eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed for 5 minutes until pale yellow and thick. Gradually add the flour, milk and butter. Beat on low speed until each addition is combined, then increase speed to medium and beat for 3 minutes. Add the baking powder and vanilla and beat for a further 2 minutes until well combined.
Discover Italian cuisine!
- Put the dough in the prepared form. Arrange the apple slices in concentric circles in the batter, starting at the outer edge of the pan and moving toward the center. The arrangement of the apples should resemble a blooming rose.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 50 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean and the apples are lightly browned.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove the rim of the springform pan. To serve, slice the cake while it is still warm and dust each portion with powdered sugar. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you like.
Dust with powdered sugar
Light, juicy and not so sweet
Try this light and super delicious apple pie!
