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.