SOFT APPLE CAKE – Recipe by Piero Benigni – This cake of my own recipe is among the best that can be prepared with apples. Soft and delicate, it is made with simple ingredients and very easy, even for those with little skill in the kitchen. Moreover, if made with corn oil instead of butter as I suggest, it is extremely light and healthy.
Ingredients for 8 persons
- 2golden Delicious apples (medium size)
- 2eggs
- 200 gsugar (7 oz (1 cup))
- 260 gflour (9 oz (2 cups))
- 120 gmilk (4 1/4 oz (1/2 cup))
- 50 gcorn oil (1 3/4 oz)
- 10 gbaking powder (2 1/2 teaspoons (1/3 oz))
- 1orange
Tools for the soft apple cake
- Oven
- Bowl
- Chopping Board
- Knife
- Grater
- Whip electric
- Scale
- Wooden Spoon
- Pan 11″ diameter
- Non stick spray
Getting ready
Whip the eggs with the sugar for several minutes until the mixture is light and pale yellow. Grate in the bowl the peel of half an orange but avoid the white skin below, since it gives a bitter taste. Then add corn oil, milk, sieved flour and baking powder. Mix well with the whip again.
Flour should always be sieved when preparing cakes! Not for unlikely impurities: just because it takes air, will make the dough rise better and the cake will be softer.
Peel apples and cut in very small cubes, about 3/8″ (1 cm) size. Add apples cubes into the bowl and hand mix well with the wooden spoon. Pour the dough into the pan and spread it evenly.
Cooking the soft apple cake
Put the pan in pre-heated oven, not fan-assisted, halfway up, temperature 340 °F (170 °C), heat above and below. If the oven is fan-assisted only, cook at 320 °F (160 °C)
Cooking will last about 1 hour but start checking after 45 minutes, since every oven has his own way of cooking. It is done when the surface is brown as in the last photo and the toothpick test positive.
Always do the toothpick test when making cakes: fully insert it in the middle of the cake and check with the fingers that it comes out perfectly dry. When the cooking is finished, take out the pan from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes, then gently remove from the mold. Hot cakes are fragile! The bottom should be of the same brown colour as in photo.
Put the cake on a grill for half an hour. It will drop a lot of water and will last better in the following days.
I suggest to sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar before serving. It will last several days without problems, but leave it in the air without putting it under a bell, a napkin placed on top will be perfect.