Apple Torte With Pine Nuts and Raisins

This cake may be a little camera shy, or perhaps not so photogenic, but apples, vanilla, and lemon, in fresh baked buttery sponge cake, along with pine nuts, and raisins, fill the kitchen with the aroma capable of taking you straight to Tuscany, where this cake originates from.

Apple Torte With Pine Nuts and Raisins
Torta di Mele con Pinoli e Uvetta

Ingredients:
2 large Golden Delicious apples
Juice of ½ lemon
3 eggs
1 ½ cups sugar, plus some for dusting
½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/3 cup raisins, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
¼ cup pine nuts

Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly butter spring form pan (10 inch), dust with flour, and tap out the excess.Peel, halve, and core apples; slice them thinly, and sprinkle with lemon juice. Set aside.

Whisk together eggs, and sugar, until creamy. Then add milk, butter, vanilla extract. In a separate bowl sift flour, add salt, baking powder, and lemon zest, and combine. Add the egg and butter mixture to the flour, using a wooden spoon, and incorporate well. Drain the raisins, and add them to the batter, along with pine nuts.

Pour the batter into the pan, and arrange apple slices on the top in concentric circles. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, for about 45 min. Transfer to wire rack, and cool completely before removing pan sides, and serving. Dust with sugar, and serve cut into wedges.

Recipe adapted from a Williams-Sonoma book “Savoring Tuscany”, by Lori de Mori
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