ITALIAN MOIST APPLE CAKE (TORTA DI MELE)

A delicious Italian recipe for children and granchildren.

SERVINGS:10

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 apples
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 cup sugar
• Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla pod or a few drops of good vanilla essence
• 5 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups plain flour
• 2/3 cup butter
• Small packet (17 g /heaped tablespoon)  baking powder
• 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/340°F. Put the butter into a pot and melt in the oven, taking care that it doesn’t burn.
2. Peel the apples and cut them into small pieces. Add the lemon juice and 50 g (1/4 cup) of the sugar. Mix together and set aside.
3. Break the eggs into a large bowl. Add the remaining sugar and beat together well.
4. Add the melted butter, the vanilla, the flour and the baking powder, mixing well.
5. Add the apples.
6. Put the mixture in a 12 inch/30 cm cake tin, sprinkle the toasted pine nuts on top and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
7. Serve with whipped cream, custard or vanilla ice cream.