Who doesn’t like apple pie? Sweet and spicy scented clouds of crisp slices sprinkled with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice bubble through a golden lattice crust. The smells that drifted out of Ma and Papa’s kitchen window linger in my mind. I’ve talked about Ma (my grandmother Louise) many times on this blog. I’d open her driveway gate and run past the apple, peach and pear trees to their back door to find her waiting, smiling. She was dressed in one of her many flowery housecoats with pearl tinted snaps. In her kitchen, there was always homemade dessert.
In Italy, I still make her apple pie but when I’m pressed for time, I turn to her apple cake recipe. It’s easy to make and not overly sweet. Enjoy it for breakfast, an afternoon snack or dessert served warm out of the oven or at room temperature.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter, softened plus extra for greasing the cake pan
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 ¾ cups of self-rising flour plus extra for dusting
- 6 small crisp apples, peeled, cored and chopped – I use mele annurche, honey crisp or cortland apples.
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a cake pan with butter and dust it lightly with flour. Mix the eggs and sugar together until fluffy. Add the butter to the mixture and mix until combined completely. Sift the flour into the mixture. 
Add the apples and mix. 
Pour the cake mixture into the buttered and floured cake pan. 
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool or serve while warm. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream, if you like.
Add the jam, vino cotto and nuts (pistachios, almonds, walnuts). Stir frequently over low heat until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Let the mixture cool to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 350° F before making the dough.
Divide the dough into quarters. Roll one quarter of the dough into a rectangle. The dough should be about 1/4 inch thick. Use a spoon to spread the filling along the bottom third of the dough. 
Fold the bottom over the filling. Fold the top over, enclosing the filling within the dough. It will look like a log. Turn the log over (seam-side down) and press gently to flatten it. Cut into 2-3 inch pieces. Gently shape each cookie into a moon shape. 
Make 3 slits on the rounded side of each buccellato. Place the cookies on a unlined baking sheet. Repeat until dough and filling are finished.
My love for Sicily and city of Siracusa hasn’t waned. Visiting her is like slipping on my well-worn leather trench coat. Crunchy sea air, dark coffee fumes, baking buttery maritozzo and memories wash over me. 
I walk through the 
At Bar del Ponte Cristina, the baristas pull luscious, aromatic cappuccinos, caffès and caffè lattes. Trays of freshly baked cornetti, simple and chocolate filled brioche, bombe fritte (donuts), and sfgolie alla ricotta (fried pockets filled with ricotta cheese) fill the glass shelves. The maritozzo con uvetta is my favorite. The boat shaped pastry is made with sweet brioche dough speckled with raisins and lightly topped with sugar crystals. 
Maritozzo originated in Roman where raisin, pine nut and candied fruit studded maritozzi quaresimali were served during the Lent. In Rome today, plain maritozzo sliced open and filled with whipped sweetened cream are more common. I prefer the Sicilian version served alongside a cappuccino while sitting at an outdoor table looking at the Temple of Apollo and listening to Sicilian chatter. Buon colazione!
A friend asked me today, why Sicily? The first answer is because my paternal grandparents were born in Augusta, Sicily. They lived there for more 35 years. I was connected to Sicily well before I ever stepped foot on her beautiful soil. My maternal grandparents are from the region of Campania which meant I grew up with a mishmash of Sicilian and Neapolitan culinary traditions, stories and superstitions. 
Since then I’ve visited Sicily countless times with family, friends, and clients. It feels like home. Although the authenticity of the Vucciria market has declined, the Capo and Ballarò markets are a short walk away as are pastry shops serving cannoli, iris, and marzipan sweets as well as traditional and modern restaurants, pizzerias and wine bars. 
Many moons ago I visited Cetara with Francesco, my father-in-law and 4-year-old nephew. The day remains etched in my mind. The hot July sun chased us as we sped past sandy beaches, the crystalline waters of the Amalfi Coast and lemon trees. After an hours drive on a seemingly never-ending windy road we arrived at the fishing town of Cetara.
It was here that I met my friend 
This lemon-centric dessert reminds me of summer days. The scent of the sea and the local yellow fruit bring cravings for delizia al limone. The citrus taste and springy cake are refreshing and light. The bottom layer is made of pan di spagna – sponge cake – soaked in a lemon infused simple syrup or in a limoncello syrup. The filling changes from bakery to bakery. Most use pastry cream infused with lemon zest. Delizia al limone is made in a cake-form frosted with a lemon whipped cream and in individual dome portions. I prefer the latter at the end of a salty beach day in Cetara with family.
Located on the Amalfi Coast, it is rarely visited by tourists who speedily drive by to other picturesque and overcrowded towns. Although the beach front is minuscule, the water is crystal clear and Cetara is known for its exceptional seafood and colatura di alici (fermented anchovies likened to Roman garum). The essence of anchovy is the taste that I’m after.
The most popular colatura centric dish is spaghetti mixed with the sauce, olive oil and crushed garlic cloves. We add a few salted anchovies and parsley to the mix. I also drip it over boiled potatoes.
I wake up often with food memories dancing in my head. Visions of pizza dough stuffed with sausages and broccoli, peppers and onions, and escarole braised with black olives, anchovies and smoky olives. Mom filled pizza dough with ingredients that she had in the house. Nothing went to waste. I fought for the corner pieces, in love with the yeasty pillowy golden crust.
While the dough is rising make the filling.
Let the filling cool while you roll out the dough. 
Grease the pan with olive oil. I use a medium size square pizza pan. Divide the dough in two sections. Use a bit more dough for the base of the pizza letting it flow over the sides of the pizza pan. Roll out the bottom half of the dough in the shape of the pan. Place in well oiled pan, add filling; covering the dough evenly. Top with the remaining dough. Seal the edges by pinching the dough together with your fingers or press together with fork tines. In a pinch use pre-made dough.
Cover and set aside in a warm place for an hour. Place in preheated oven at 400° for 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. It’s mouthwatering served warm or cold.