Nita’s apple cake (Torta di mele di nonna Nita)

The recipe for this cake is from nonna Nita's handwritten recipe book. A deliciously moist apple cake – one of ten in Nita's precious recipe book.

Nita’s apple cake (Torta di mele di nonna Nita) Credit: Paola Bacchia

• serves

  12

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  1:15 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

"I was lucky enough to see Nita's heirloom recipe diary when I spent an afternoon with Signora Jolanda, the widow of Bibo (a close friend of my father's from Pola/Pula), and her daughter Samantha. Anita, or Nita for short, was Samantha's paternal grandmother, a regal-looking woman with a heart of gold and a love of cooking."

Ingredients

• 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 80 g (⅓ cup) caster sugar
• 30 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus an extra 20 g and a little for greasing
• 200 g (1⅓ cups) plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 150 ml milk
• 125 ml (½ cup) dry white wine
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• sea salt
• 4 small-medium apples (Pink lady, Fuji or Jonathan), about 600 g
• 2 tbsp cherry jam
• 1 tbsp brandy
• 30 g (¼ cup) sultanas 
• 40 g amaretti biscuits (12–14 biscuits, depending on their size)
• icing sugar, for dusting (optional)

The cake will keep in a sealed container in a cool spot for up to 3 days.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Grease the base and side of a round 21 cm springform cake tin, then line with baking paper.
2. Place the egg yolks, sugar and the 30 g of melted butter in a large bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, milk, wine, lemon zest, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Beat lightly with a whisk to remove any lumps and combine; the mixture will be quite liquid. Leave to rest for 30 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
3. Peel and core the apples. Cut the apples into quarters, and each quarter into segments about 6 mm thick. In a small bowl, mix the jam and brandy until combined.
4. Pour half the batter into the cake tin. Top with half the apple slices, then dot with half the extra butter. Scatter over the sultanas and the amaretti, crushing them by hand as you go. Add the remaining apple, dot with the remaining butter and drizzle with the jam mixture. Pour on the second layer of cake batter, which will partially sink between the apple slices.
5. Bake for about 1¼ hours, or until the cake is golden and firm to touch. Check the cake periodically and reduce the oven temperature by 10°C if it is browning too quickly.
6. Wait until the cake cools before removing it from the tin. Serve dusted with icing sugar, if desired.

 

Istria: Recipes and stories from the hidden heart of Italy, Slovenia and Croatia by Paola Bacchia, published by Smith Street Books (RRP $55.00). Photography by Paola Bacchia.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

"I was lucky enough to see Nita's heirloom recipe diary when I spent an afternoon with Signora Jolanda, the widow of Bibo (a close friend of my father's from Pola/Pula), and her daughter Samantha. Anita, or Nita for short, was Samantha's paternal grandmother, a regal-looking woman with a heart of gold and a love of cooking."