Italian Treat in Class

In honor of La Festa di San Valentino (Valentine's Day) happening this week, Dr. Goldsberry brought in a traditional Italian dessert - Torta di Miele (Apple Cake).  We ate it so quickly that we do not have a full photo to share!  But we have attached the recipe for any of followers to try it out.

Sampling a dessert today in class was perfect as we discussed themes from our grocery store observations.  We are pulling together our data to help tell the story of groceries/markets in the United States.  It is amazing the things you can discover about places we take for granted everyday when you take the time to look a bit closer.

Torta di Miele - Italian Apple Cake

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

 ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for the pan         

3 medium apples

2/3 cup (80 g) flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 whole eggs plus 1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup granulated sugar (or maple sugar)

½ teaspoon lemon zest

Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375˚ and butter a 9” round cake pan.

2. Peel, core, and slice the apples into thin slices, by hand or with a food processor.

3. Melt 6 tablespoons (3/4 of the stick) of butter in a large skillet. Pour into a glass measuring cup and set aside. (Or just melt 6 tablespoons of butter in the microwave and set aside.)

4. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet.

 5. Add the apple slices to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft. This takes about 10 minutes.

6. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.

7. Beat the eggs and egg yolk well in a large bowl.

8. Add the sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and 6 tablespoons melted butter and mix well.

9. Stir in the flour mixture.

10. If your apples seem a little watery (as mine did), put them in a strainer and then stir them into the cake batter.

 11. Spoon the cake batter into the buttered cake pan and smooth the top.

12. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes, until it is browned.

13. Put the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes.

14. After 5 minutes, put a second wire rake on top of the cake and invert it so the cake is on the wire rack. Leave the cake on the wire rack until it is completely cooled.

15. Just before serving, dust the cake with powdered sugar. (You could make it extra fancy if you put a stencil on top and then dusted it with the powdered sugar!)