Apples and the Garden of Eatin'

Recently my husband was asked to participate in an Italian pot luck at his work. It was a good excuse for me to try a recipe from Nick Malgieri's cookbook, Great Italian Desserts.
The book is out of print, so if you can snare a good used copy, go for it. The only downside to this cookbook is that there are no photos (nil, nothing)! I am one of those folks who generally needs picture gratification, and I don't normally buy cookbooks without pictures, but this is one I made an exception for.

                                                         
I wanted something relatively simple, so after browsing through the recipes, I decided on Torta di Mele Ampezza, Apple Cake from Cortina d' Ampezzo. Cortina d' Ampezzo is a little town located in the Dolomite (Alps) mountains in Northern Italy. The town has provided mountain backdrops for such films as Cliffhanger, Krull and The Pink Panther. The resort was also a major location for the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only (thank you Wikipedia).

This quickly prepared apple cake is simple and delicious. Use a firm, tart apple such as Granny Smith or Pippin.

Ingredients:
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter 
1/2 c sugar
pinch of salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 large tart apples (about 2 lbs) Suggest Granny Smith, Pippins or Northern Spies
1 tbsp suger
1/4 tsp cinnamon


Combine the butter, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl and beat till soft and light, either by hand, with a hand mixer set at medium speed, or in a heavy duty mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Combine the flour and baking powder and sift once. Stir the flour mixture into the batter. Spread the batter evenly into the bottom of a butter and paper lined 9" springform pan.


Peel, core and halve the apples. Cut each half into 3 or 4 wedges and arrange the wedges on their sides, overlapping slightly, on the batter, about 1/2" from the sides of the pan. Fill in the center with more apple wedges, fanning them out from the center. Sprinkle with the sugar, then the cinnamon. 


Bake the torta in the middle level of a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes until the apples have  taken on a deep golden color and the torta feels firm when pressed in the center with a fingertip.


Cool the torta in the pan for 5 minutes, then unbuckle the sides of the springform pan and slide it off the base, still attached to the paper, to cool on a rack.


After the torta has cooled completely, run a knife or a spatula between the torta and the paper, slide the torta from the rack onto a platter, and pull off the paper.


Keep the torta loosely covered at room temperature.


Makes about 8 serving


This cake would also go well served with a cream anglaise sauce:
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/creme-anglaise-i/Detail.aspx