Paola's Venetian Apple Cake

Italian apple cakes are like fingerprints, or a tennis serve. No two are alike, even when the list of ingredients is the same. They are an expression of the baker or cook. Some are more apples than batter, some have spice, and some are as plain as can be but still, somehow, memorable.

I've posted apple cake recipes before; in 2015 it was this one spiked with sambuca, and in 2014, this one with a topping of chopped nuts. It's time to add another to my apple cake collection.

This one comes from my friend Paola Bacchia, cookbook author and blogger at Italy On My Mind. Paola's latest book is Adriatico: Recipes and Stories From Italy's Adriatic Coast. It's a culinary tour of the entire eastern coast, from Puglia, the heel of the boot, up to the Gulf of Trieste, where Paola's family comes from.

As you might expect from a book focused on coastal cuisine, Adriatico contains an enticing selection of seafood recipes, including stuffed mussels and brodetto (fish stew), two of my favorites. But this is a well-rounded book, so you will also find recipes for Trieste-style beef goulash, rabbit with peppers from Abruzzo, and classic orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe, from Puglia. There's also a wonderful assortment of vegetable recipes and homespun sweets, like this cake.

I have a sentimental attachment to Italy's Adriatic coast ~ I spent my summers at the beach in Abruzzo when I was growing up and the place still has a hold on me. Opening the pages of this  book, it's easy to see why. In addition to being an author and creator of recipes, Paola is an excellent photographer, and her book is filled with vibrant photos, not just of the food (which, thankfully, is not fancy but appealingly rustic), but also of places ~  from the colorful sidewalk cafes and murky canals of Venice to the sun-splashed villages and soft sandy beaches farther south.

Adriatico is a book to dig into, as you might dig into a good fish stew, like the brodetto on p. 172). Or a slice of this apple-rich cake.

PAOLA’S VENETIAN APPLE CAKE
Paola recommends using tart apples such as Granny Smiths for this homespun cake. I used Gold Rush and Crimson Topaz, two tart varieties from my local farmers' market. Sprinkling cinnamon on top right before baking is optional, but I feel it brings the flavors of the cake together nicely.

Makes one 9-inch cake, to serve 10 to 12

Ingredients
4 tart apples
Juice of 1 small lemon
80 g (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
150 g (3/4 cup) superfine sugar, plus 2 teaspoons
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
150 g (1 slightly rounded cup) unbleached all-purpose flour
30 g (1/4 cup) cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of fine salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350° F / 180° C. Butter a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan. Line the bottom with a parchment round and butter the round.

Peel and core the apples, and cut them into quarters, then cut each quarter into 4 or 5 slices. Place in a bowl, add the lemon juice, and toss to coat the apples. Set aside while you prepare the batter.

Cream together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until pale and light. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract. Measure the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine. Mix the dry ingredients into the egg mixture just until incorporated.

Divide the apple slices into two portions: one of about 250g (9 oz) and the other of about 150 g (5 1/2 oz). Cut the larger portion of apple slices in half, then fold them into the batter, including any juice from the bowl. Leave the remaining apple slices uncut and set them aside.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Arrange the remaining apple slices in a circular pattern on top of the cake, pressing them down gently so they partially sink into the batter. Sprinkle the top with the cinnamon and reserved 2 teaspoons sugar.

Bake the cake for 50 minutes, or until the top is golden and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove the ring from around the cake. Let cool another 20 to 30 minutes, then carefully invert the cake to remove the bottom of the pan and the round of parchment. Re-invert the cake onto a platter. Just before serving, dust the cake lightly confectioners' sugar.