TORTA DI MELE AL BURRO (buttery apple torte, from Friuli-Venezia, for eight)

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½ cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

3 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and cut into slices ¼ inch thick

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 whole eggs, plus 1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup granulated sugar

½ teaspoon grated lemon zest

confectioners’ sugar



1. Preheat oven to 375*. Generously butter a 9 inch round spring form pan with 2 inch sides. Line bottom of the pan with a round of wax paper. Butter the paper and dust pan with flour, knocking out excess.

2. In a large frying pan over low heat, melt the butter. Pour 6 tablespoons of it into a small bowl or cup and set aside. Add the apple slices to the butter remaining in the frying pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

3. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, beat together the whole eggs and egg yolk until blended. Add the 6 tablespoons melted butter, the vanilla, the granulated sugar and the lemon zest. Stir in the flour mixture and the apples. Spoon into the prepared pan, smoothing the top.

4. Bake until the cake is browned, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cook in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove the sides of the pan, then slide the waxed paper and torte off of the base onto the rack and let cool completely.

5. Just before you are ready to serve, place confectioners’ sugar into a small sieve and dust the top of the cake.


from Michele Scicolone, Savoring Italy (Williams Sonoma)

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