TUSCAN APPLE CAKE WITH CRACKLY MERINGUE
(Serves 8 to 10)
Shredded zest of 1 large lemon
2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 large eggs (4 ounces)
(organic preferred)
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1½ cups (10.5 ounces) sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
Generous pinch salt
1½ sticks (6 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
¾ cup milk
2 large (about 1 pound) apples (Granny Smith, Braeburn or Gala), peeled, cored and cut into ½-inch pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla
Meringue Topping: 1 large egg white 2 tablespoons sugar Place the rack in center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan. In a large bowl, with your fingertips, rub together the first measures of flour and sugar with the salt and butter until crumbly. Remove 1 cup of the crumbs and press them onto bottom of the springform pan and about ½-inch up the sides, making a crust about 1/8-inch thick. Make a well in the remaining crumb mixture. Pour into it the milk, eggs, vanilla, lemon zest, the second measure of flour and baking powder. With a whisk, blend this mixture thoroughly without incorporating the crumbs. Then with a wooden spoon stir in the crumb blend until well blended but still a little lumpy. Fold in the apples. Scrape the batter into the pan. Make the topping by beating the egg white until foamy. Beat in the 2 tablespoons sugar until whites barely stand in peaks. Zigzag it over the top of the batter, leaving two-thirds of the batter uncovered. Don’t cover the cake entirely with the meringue or it won’t bake properly. You need only stripes of it, with much of the cake not topped with the whites. Bake 65 to 75 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool 30 minutes on a wire rack. Slip off sides of the pan and finish cooling cake. Serve at room temperature. Covered in plastic wrap, the cake holds well at cool room temperature for two days. It keeps a week in the refrigerator. Warming in the oven makes it even tastier.
November 2009 • she magazine
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