Delicious Italian Apple Cake: Torta di Mele, a moist and tender Recipe

Indulge in my version of the classic Italian apple cake, Torta di Mele. For apple enthusiasts, this dessert is a heavenly delight, with no spice to overshadow the delicious apple flavor. Enjoy a moist and tender cake with a rustic topping of tender and juicy apples, perfect with a morning or afternoon cup of coffee or tea. It's so delectable that it won't last more than half a day at home. I highly recommend trying it!

Receta de Delicioso Bizcocho de Manzana Italiano, Torta di Mele.

A Torta di Mele (Italian apple cake) typically has a moist and tender texture. The combination of ingredients such as apples, eggs, sugar, flour, and often some form of fat like butter or oil contributes to the overall texture. The apples in the cake add moisture, and the baking process helps create a soft and fluffy crumb. The texture can vary slightly based on the specific recipe and variations used. Some recipes might result in a denser cake, while others aim for a lighter, more airy texture. 

Overall, Torta di Mele is known for being a comforting, flavorful cake with a pleasant texture that combines the sweetness of apples with a soft and often slightly crumbly consistency.

Torta di Mele

Ingredients:

- 2-3 apples (any type except red delicious)

- 3 eggs

- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar (230g)

- 1 cup milk

- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (320g)

- 2½ teaspoons baking powder

- ½ stick butter (60g)

- ½ teaspoon lemon zest

 Juice of a lemon to coat apples

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 °F (190 °C).  Lightly grease and line cake pan, preferably a springform pan (with removable base mold) 9" or 10". (See note.)

2. Wash and peel the apples and brush with lemon juice. Beat eggs with sugar until stiff (about 4 - 5 minutes). Once you have the desired texture (pale yellow and fluffy), add the remaining ingredients one by one in the following order: the flour mixed with baking powder, butter at room temperature, and the milk with the vanilla. Whisk at low speed until well blended, and finally add the lemon zest.

3. Pour the mixture into the baking pan and place the apples in a circle starting with the edges and moving toward the center. Bake at 375 °F (190 °C) for 35-45 minutes. Sprinkle a little icing sugar if desired. Serve warm or cold. Enjoy your Torta de Mele!

Notes:

For even baking and rising, try using a greased flower nail placed in the center of your 10-inch or larger cake pan. This simple tip can help ensure that your cake cooks evenly and rises to perfection. Once your cake is baked and cooled, simply remove the flower nail. Give it a try and see the difference it can make in your baking!

The following photo is for those who miss their country, especially for those from Santiago, Dominican Republic who are living abroad. Here is the monument (Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración) during the daytime, as requested by some of you. If you want to see the monument at nighttime, you can check out the photo I posted earlier, here.

If you enjoyed this recipe, you may also love this one:

Delicious Chocolate Pear Cake Recipe 

Spit-roasted Pig in Dominican Republic

Great men are not always wise, Nor do the aged always understand justice. ~ Job 32:9 

Omelet Wraps for Brunch

My daughter Ruby taught me how to prepare this dish, I had already mentioned to you here, that she liked to cook and prepared some divine omelets. Today's recipe is a fusion of tortilla-inspired wraps with Portuguese-style Piri-piri chicken.

Piri piri is a hot sauce used for seasoning and marinade made with serrano chiles, but if you're like me and can’t find piri piri in any food store near your home, then it’s OK to use Tabasco sauce. I find this is a fabulous recipe for breakfast or brunch, your family and friends will love you for it! I hope you like it as much as we do at home, and if you do prepare it let me know in the comments.

 

Prepare marinade and divide in two bowls.

It is a great seasoning sauce, I recommend it!

Season chicken with half of the sauce and let marinade for 30 minutes. 

Slice avocado and tomatoes. I had to include this photo of the tomatoes, because I love how it looks!

Stir-fry the chicken and cook until lightly browned.

Omelet cooking with a bubble and all! Are you feeling hungry?

Divide the cooked chicken, avocado and tomatoes and between the two omelets, spooning the mixture in a line down the middle.

Roll up the omelets, cut in half and serve. I know you are now very hungry. Craving some of these wraps? Try the recipe below.

Omelet Wraps  

Esta receta en español: AQUÍ

 

Ingredients: 

5 large eggs

2 Tablespoons of milk

2 skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and chopped

1 medium tomato sliced o 6 cherry tomatoes, quartered

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

freshly squeezed juice of

2 limes

2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 Tablespoon of piri-piri sauce, or 3 dashes of Tabasco

Pam spray or butter to coat the pan

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Mix the olive oil, lime juice, and cilantro into a bowl and divide.

2. Place half the mixture in a shallow dish, add the Tabasco sauce, and mix well. Add the chicken and mix in with the marinade. Set aside for 30 min.

3. Add the avocado, and tomatoes, in the remaining olive oil and lime juice mixture and stir gently to coat.

4.  Place eggs in a bowl, add the milk, salt, and pepper, and beat lightly with a fork.

5. Stir-fry the chicken in a nonstick skillet, cook thoroughly (about 5 minutes), or until the juices run clear, set aside.

6. Heat the omelet pan over medium-high heat and coat the bottom and sides of the pan with butter or Pam spray. When heated through, pour in half the eggs. Tip the pan to spread the eggs evenly over the base. When the omelet sets, transfer to a warm plate and cook the second omelet in the same way.  

7. Mix the cooked chicken with the avocado and tomatoes and divide between the two omelets, spooning the mixture in a line down the middle. Roll up the omelets, cut in half, and serve.

En español: AQUÍ

Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. ~ Luke 6:28.

Inspired by:

Lemon Mousse, Mousse de Limón

Mousse have a light and creamy texture makes them a favorite in any dessert menu. As done in my passionfruit mousse, I prepared this one with Italian meringue, which is beaten egg whites with a hot sugar syrup instead of beating egg whites with granulated sugar only. This avoids the risk of contamination with raw eggs whites and gives the mousse a better texture and flavor. The following may be eaten alone as a cold dessert or as use a cake filling. Note: Dominican lemons are green, so what you see here are lemons not lime.

Prepare the lemon curd and reserve.

Prepare the meringue and  reserve.

Mix unflavored gelatin with lemon curd, add merigue and stir.

Add the whipped cream to the meringue mixture and fold using a spatula. This time I used a whisk to speed the process and the end result was fine.

Lemon Mousse 

Receta en español: AQUÍ.

Ingredients: 
1 ½ cup of Lemon Curd
1 ½ heavy cream (whipping cream / cream)
1 envelope unflavored gelatin 
For the meringue: 
3 egg whites
1 cup sugar
¼ cup water
½ teaspoon vanilla

Preparation: 
1. Prepare lemon curd and reserve.

2. Prepare the meringue using the same recipe of Italian meringue but halved and because it is to use for a mousse less ingredients are needed, set aside. 

Use the 3 egg whites, 1 cup sugar ¼ cup water and ½ teaspoon vanilla for the meringue. 

Boil 1 cup sugar and ¼ cup of water until it's bubbling with a thick consistency like a syrup. While the syrup starts to thicken you can proceed to beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, add the syrup while it is still hot, in a slow stream while egg whites remain beating at high speed. Continue beating until the meringue cools and looks shiny. For more tips and information read the complete meringue recipe.

3. Hydrate the gelatin in ¼ cup of water, stir with a fork and place in a double boiler to heat and dissolve gelatin; reserve.
4. Whip the cream, reserve.
5. Incorporate the dissolved gelatin to the lemon curd, fold in meringue and then finally the whipped cream.
6. Place in serving containers or in a mold and let cool in the refrigerator until it sets. Serve cold.

Yield: 10 servings.

Note: If you prefer you can use a pastry bag to serve in cups.

Check out these other cool mousse:

Mango Mousse, by Elisabeth.

Maracuyá (passionfruit) Mousse, by Gaby.

Orange Mousse, by Merchi.

Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.~ Proverbs 13:10.