
Venetian apple cake
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- Cook:
- Easy
- Serves 6 - 8
- 1-2 tsp vegetable oil
- 1-2 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
- 125g unsalted butter
- 500g Golden Delicious apples
- 4 eggs
- 150g caster sugar
- 150g Italian '00' flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 6 tsp whole milk
- 2 unwaxed lemonszested, plus extra to decorate
- icing sugarsifted, for dusting
- rosemary sprigsto decorate (optional)
Nutrition: (8)
- kcal364
- fat17.5g
- saturates9.4g
- carbs43.7g
- sugars26.5g
- fibre1.7g
- protein7.2g
- salt0.4g
Method
step 1
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Brush the inside of a 23cm cake tin with the oil, then coat with the breadcrumbs, shaking off any excess.
step 2
Melt the butter in a small pan then set aside to cool.
step 3
Peel, core and quarter the apples, then slice thinly.
step 4
Put the eggs and sugar into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Whisk for 10-15 mins or until the mixture is thick and pale, and leaves a trail when the beaters are lifted. Remove the bowl from the heat and continue whisking until the mixture is cool.
step 5
Sift the flour with the baking powder and a pinch of salt. Fold half of this mixture gently into the whisked eggs. Slowly trickle the melted butter around the edge of the bowl and gently fold it in, taking care to avoid knocking out the air and losing volume. Fold in the remaining flour, then the milk and lemon zest, and finally the apple slices.
step 6
Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 45 mins until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
step 7
To serve, dust the top of the cake with icing sugar and scatter over extra lemon zest and rosemary leaves, if you like.