This Italian apple cake is simply made with plenty of apples to fully enjoy their taste: 1 kilo (2 pounds) of apples and no other spices added. It is the juice from these apples that make this cake creamy and fluffy.
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The origin of this Italian apple cake
This recipe is purely an apple celebration, an easy way to enjoy cooked 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
(and you can scroll down if you are not interested)
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 very knowledgeable about cooking and the quality of ingredients.
I still use her definition of a bad olive oil:
"An oil made with buttons and umbrella handles!"
Which back then were made out of bones.
Yuck !
What apples to use
Most of the apple cakes recipes use cinnamon or other spices and just enough apples to barely taste them.
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 Golden or your favorite local apples.
How to make it
- Cut the apples into large chunks
- Mix them with lemon juice so they don't get brown
- 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 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
- Melt the ¼ cup - 50 gr of sugar and ¼ cup - 50 gr of butter in the microwave
- Pour it over the apples
- 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
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 butter in each cupcake, makes 12 cupcakes
- Top it with the apples
- Pour over each cupcake 1 teaspoon of melted sugar and butter.
- Bake at 355 F - 180 C for 30 minutes
How to serve it
You can serve this Italian apple cake warm or at room temperature, 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 it.
However, I you wish, you can serve it with a nice vanilla ice cream.
Other fruits you can use
This cake can be made with many other fruits like for example pears, peaches, pineapples, strawberries or a mix of wild berries.
What is key for 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. As 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 a mixed and match fruit combinations.
Also this strawberry shortcake can have the strawberries replaced with peaches, apples or pineapple.
If you are making this Italian apple cake, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.
📋 Italian Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 5 apples (2 lb - 1 kg)
- ½ lemon juice
- 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
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.