This easy Italian apple cake is simply made with plenty of golden delicious apples to fully enjoy the apple flavor: 1 kilo (2 pounds) of apples and no other spices added. The juice from these apples makes this cake creamy and fluffy. This Torta di Mele is perfect for an Italian breakfast, an afternoon snack, or an everyday cake for the end of a meal. This humble cake is a rustic Italian apple cake recipe from after the war; easy to make with simple ingredients.
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The origin of this Italian apple cake
This recipe is purely an apple celebration, an easy way to enjoy fresh apples on a picnic or for lunch at the office. The original recipe is an old Italian apple cake from the '50s.
It was my mom's favorite recipe when growing up. Back then, fruits and vegetables were locally grown under the Mediterranean sun, they were sweet and full of flavors. The Mediterranean cuisine was a celebration of those natural ingredients.
The original recipe
My mom has framed the page of the agenda where my grandmother found the recipe. Next to the recipe my grandmother's handwriting "Buona".
For each day the agenda had different menu ideas and one recipe.
Would you like to know what was on the menu that day?
Country style risotto: probably with garden vegetables
Tongue and ham in jelly: that wouldn't be my favorite
Tagliatelle soup: interesting
Boiled beef and calf head: calf head is actually the calf cheeks, which you can still buy today (if you want to buy them!?!)
For dessert the Apple cake
My grandma .. (you can scroll down if you are not interested in her wisdom)
I have very vague memories of my grandmother Gilda Bosurgi Zerbi.
Born in 1893, she was already quite old when I was little.
She had 8 children and my mom was among the youngest ones. I remember her sitting in an armchair joking with us children.
She had a great sense of humor and was very knowledgeable about cooking and the quality of ingredients.
I still use her definition of bad olive oil:
"An oil made with buttons and umbrella handles!"
Which back then were made out of bones.
Yuck !
Ingredients
Once you peel and cut the apples, you will need some lemon juice to prevent the chunks of apples from turning brown from oxidation.
You can add some grated lemon zest to the batter if you use non-treated lemons.
The other essential ingredients are:
Dry ingredients:
- Plain flour
- White Sugar
- Baking powder
Wet ingredients:
- Fresh eggs
- Butter
Find the ingredient amounts in the recipe card.
For this cake, you do not need any special equipment.
A cake pan 9 in - 24 cm in diameter, optional a removable bottom.
I use a KitchenAid Mixer to make the batter, but you can easily use a whisk and a wooden spoon
What apples to use
Most of the apple cake recipes use cinnamon or other spices and just enough apples to barely taste them.
This recipe has no additional spices or brown sugar, as this Italian apple pie was made during the war when ingredients were scarce.
This cake is all about the flavor of the apples, so choose a tasty variety.
I like to use Golden Reinette apples which are sweet and crunchy.
You can also use Royal Gala, Granny Smith apples, or any juicy type of apples local to you.
Instructions
This cake is very easy; here are the simple steps:
- Cut the apples into large chunks
- In a large bowl, mix them with lemon juice so they don't get brown
- In a separate bowl, prepare the cake mix, first whisking the butter at room temperature with the sugar
- Then add the eggs, combining them one at the time
- In a bowl, mix the flour with the baking powder and add it to the cake batter
- The batter should be soft and creamy
- Cover the bottom of the cake pan with parchment paper, coat with butter and flour
- Pour the cake mix into the prepared pan and spread it evenly
- Cover the top of the cake with the apples, pushing the apples down into the mix
- Melt the ¼ cup - 50 gr of sugar and ¼ cup - 50 gr of butter in the microwave
- Pour the sugar and melted butter over the apples
- Bake in a preheated oven at 355 F - 180 C for 1 hour
- Once the cake is ready, let it rest 10 minutes before removing it from the pan
- With a rubber spatula, detach the apples and the cake from the side of the pan
- Remove the ring
- Place the cake on a serving dish removing the bottom of the pan and the parchment paper
Make apple cupcakes instead
If you want to bring this cake for a picnic, you can make cupcakes instead of a whole cake.
Here is how you make them:
- Cut the apples into smaller chunks
- Prepare the batter as above
- I like to use silicon cupcakes
- Pour 1 tablespoon of the batter into each cupcake; makes 12 cupcakes
- Top it with the apples
- Pour over each cupcake 1 teaspoon of melted sugar and butter.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 355 F - 180 C for 30 minutes
How to serve it
You can serve this Italian apple cake warm or at room temperature, sprinkling the top with icing sugar.
If you store it in an airtight container, it will keep for 4 days and will not dry out.
The apples create a very moist and creamy center, so you don't necessarily need to serve anything with them.
However, you can serve it with a nice vanilla ice cream or Italian gelato if you wish.
Other fruits you can use
This cake can be made with many other fruits like pears, peaches, pineapples, strawberries, or a mix of wild berries.
What is key to the outcome of this cake is the abundance of fruits compared to the batter.
It is more fruits than cake!
Other desserts with fruits
Here are other fruit cakes where fruit can vary. For example, the Tarte Tatin, which is usually made with apples, I make it with peaches.
Or the overripe pear crumble, you can make it with any fruit you need to use up, even mixed-and-match fruit combinations.
Also, this strawberry shortcake can have the strawberries replaced with peaches, apples, or pineapple.
Don't miss this easy Italian fruit tart with custard, Crostata di frutta.
This divine dessert is incredibly delicious and surprisingly easy to make!
One of the secrets behind the ease of this recipe lies in the inverted tart-shell trick.
Found out more in the recipe!
If you are making this Italian apple cake, torta di mele, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, or sign up to my newsletter.
📋 Italian Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 5 apples (2 lb - 1 kg)
- ½ lemon juice half of a whole lemon juiced
- ½ cup butter at room temperature
- ½ cup caster sugar
- 2 fresh eggs
- 2 cup flour
- 4 teaspoon baking powder
Topping
- ¼ cup butter (50 gr)
- ¼ cup caster sugar (50 gr)
Equipment
Looking for kitchen gadget gifts?Instructions
- Cut the apples into large chunks5 apples
- Mix them with lemon juice so they don't get brown½ lemon juice
- Prepare the cake mix, first whisking the butter at room temperature with the sugar½ cup caster sugar, ½ cup butter
- Then add the eggs, combining them one at the time2 fresh eggs
- In a bowl mix the flour with the baking powder and add it to the cake batter2 cup flour, 4 teaspoon baking powder
- The batter should be soft and creamy
Making the cake
- Cover the bottom of a round baking tin with parchment paper, butter and coat with flour
- Pour the cake mix into the baking tin and spread evenly
- Cover with the apples, pushing the apples down into the mix
Making the topping
- Melt the ¼ cup - 50 gr of sugar and ¼ cup - 50 gr of butter in the microwave¼ cup butter, ¼ cup caster sugar
- Pour it over the apples
Bake
- Bake in the oven at 355 F - 180 C for 1 hour
- Once the cake is ready, let it rest 10 minutes before removing it from the pan
- With a spatula, detach the apples and the cake from the side of the pan
- Remove the ring
- Place the cake on a serving dish removing the bottom of the pan and the parchment paper
- Serve warm or at room temperature
Video
Notes
- Once you cut the apples, they tend to become brown. To avoid that, mix them with some lemon juice
- Make sure you remove the butter from the fridge 1 hour before you make the cake
- Add one egg at a time to make sure they are well combined
- Push the apples into the batter so the juices from the apple will form a nice creamy center
- If you do not want to add the sugar and the butter on top of the apples, you don't have to. The cake will be nice even without it
- If you want to make cupcakes instead of a cake, cut the apples into smaller chunks and bake at 355 F - 180 C for 30 minutes
Nutrition
Jill
I love using my Grandma's recipes. I have her recipe cards from my Mom. Such a great connection to have with family through the kitchen. These cupcakes look so good - love how loaded with apples they are!
Laura
Grandma's recipes are the best
Shashi at Savory Spin
Oh my - growing up, my grandmother and parents though tongue was a special addition to the meal - but I'd rather have skipped that and had seconds of desserts like this!
Laura
Ah, ah, ah, me too. Never fancied it
Tara
Such beautiful memories! These little cakes look perfect. My daughter is a huge fan of apples and would especially love them.
Laura
Thanks, I am sure she will love them
pauline anderson
Turned out just like the picture love it !
Laura
Thank you for your comment, I am glad you love it
Kate | Veggie Desserts
I love how these cupcakes really let the apples shine through. They look amazing.
Laura
Thanks Kate, you find the right words
Janette | Culinary Ginger
You managed to get a great amount of apple in each, they look so good.
Laura
I know, I love them
Elaine @ Dishes Delish
Laura, these look simply scrumptious! I love apples in anything. I also love using my grandmother's recipes as they bring back so many memories!! Awesome recipe as usual and your photos are gorgeous!
Laura
Thank you so much, Elaine. You are my inspiration for all my photography
Leah
Hello, I love how there is apple in every bite.. Could you please clarify the amount of butter and sugar please? Was struggling to get the consistency right. It says 1/2 cup in the list of ingredients and then becomes 1/4i n the directions. In the video it goes back to 1/2. Same conusion with the melred butter and sugar topping. Other than that it's delicious! By the way, are the whites and yolks whipped separately in the traditional method? I'd like to go for more moist cake.
Laura
Thank you for your feedback, I am glad you like it. The ingredients are separated by batter and topping. 1/2 cup of butter is for the batter and 1/4 of butter and sugar is for the topping. I noticed that in the instruction the wrong butter was under the batter and corrected it. No, the eggs are not separated, it is a very easy cake to make.
Ariane
Good, but I found it a bit dry.
Laura
Thank you for your comment. It is strange as the juices released from the apples keep the cake really moist and there are a lot of apples in this recipe. May be was the type of apples you used.
Elise
I LOVED the flavours and simplicity of the recipe. However, I’m sure it’s because of the variety of apple I used, the cake was beyond dry. I will make it again though. Great recipe. Thank you!
Mary
Hi
I follow the recipe but added 1 tsp of vanilla but the cake sought was to thick and not sticky at all.
My question is are the 2 cups of flour measured after they were sifted?
Laura
I actually weigh my flour, so it is a more accurate measurement. I use 250 g of flour which are 8.8 oz. I hope this helps
Lilas
Tried this recipe with some simple changes, and it turned out just amazing
Firstly i added vanilla to the cake batter, i know that it gives a nicer taste
Secondly, i added to the apples a tablespoon of cinnamon and cooked the apples in a pan , and added cornstarch slurry (1 tablespoon of cornstarch and cold water not alot)
And lastly, instead of putting the cake batter to the cake tin first, i added the apples which i regret cuz it got stuck, my mum says its the type of cake tin (that has a whole in the middle)
I loved how sour the apples are and the cake part wasnt too sweet !!! It was a tad bit dry but i didnt mind, cuz the apples were the star of the show for me, so sour and yum, my siblings and I devoured it
Laura
Thank you for your comment. I am glad you liked it. They key is to have lots of apples in there, they are the start of the show
Anne Heaton
Sooo good.
Can this cake be frozen?
Laura
Thaaank Youuu!
I never did but you probably can.
Helena Smit
This cake recipie sounded delicious. I made it once and it came out dry and I thought it was me who had made a mistake, so because it sounded so delicious I tried it again paying particular attention to the quantities of ingredients and the batter was thick & stodgy so I added another egg and some milk to moisten. When I had baked it and it came out of the oven for specified time, it looked delicious, but same thing again - dry. Such a shame.
Laura
Too bad your apple cake was too dry, however the batter is very little compared to the apples so it is not predominant. The only issue I can think is that the apples were not juicy or you didn't push them all the way down inside the batter.
Linda Barnett
I made this for my daughter who loved it so for her birthday i made it again and added 10 fresh raspberries. She loved it even more and as always it was a soft fluffy tart sweet combination. I used pink lady apples as its her favourite but i prefer granny smith or cox. Thank you for this recipe.
Laura
Thank you for letting me know. I am so happy your daughter loves it. The addition og the raspberries is a good one. I will keep it in mind
Diane
Hi, just made this cake. When I saw 1/2 lemon juice, I added 1/2 cup of lemon juice. When I poured the apples on the cake, it was may I say very wet. I added an extra 20 minutes cooking time to get rid of the liquid on top. Needless to say, this cake was beautiful but in my case very dry and lemony. I will try it again but this time using half of a whole lemon juiced. (I prefer saying it this way).
Well as they say, better luck next time!
Laura
Thank you for your comment. I will add your note next to the ingredient so people will not get confused.