This is a really moist and delicious basic apple cake that looks really pretty, but it could hardly be quicker and easier to make. A speciality of Italian grandmas, and a real fail safe crowd pleaser anywhere!
Most of the desserts on this blog feature either chocolate or lemon (I don’t have a recipe with both lemon and chocolate in yet but who knows, maybe it could be a thing!).
Mr. Scrummy finds this incredibly annoying. And I find it incredibly annoying that he finds it incredibly annoying. For goodness sake, who doesn’t love a good chocolate or lemon dessert? (I’ll list a few at the bottom of the post, in case you’re interested!)
Crowd pleasing apple desserts!
I must admit I’ve come across a few others who aren’t fans of chocolaty or lemony desserts, but I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t love apple desserts.
I’m sure there’s someone somewhere who isn’t keen on apple desserts, but if you serve a good old apple pie (try this easy Dutch apple pie – it’s delicious!) or a nice freshly baked apple cake the next time you entertain, I don’t think you’ll hear too many complaints.
What’s a torta di mele?
A torta di mele is an easy Italian apple cake that everyone’s nonna has a recipe for!
It’s very light and fluffy, it’s packed full of apple slices, and it also has a distinct lemony kick (Hey, Mr. Scrummy, if you thought you were escaping lemon or chocolate altogether, think again…).
How do you make a torta di mele?
My version of the torta di mele most probably isn’t the most traditional way of making it.
I’m always looking for the simplest ways to make delicious food, so in this recipe there’s no separating of eggs or beating of butter and sugar.
What drew me to this recipe is that it can be a super easy one bowl cake. You melt the butter in the microwave, which helps you get a rich, soft and moist cake. Mix all the ingredients together, including 2/3 of the sliced apples. Arrange the remaining apples on top and bake.
I told you this was a simple cake. The biggest job is peeling and chopping the apples.
Before…
After…
I like to add some pine nuts to my apple cake as well, but these aren’t essential. In fact without these additions this is a pantry staple cake. All you need is:
- flour
- sugar
- eggs
- butter
- apples (of course!)
- a lemon
I can almost always make this easy apple cake without having to go to the supermarket because I nearly always have the few ingredients in needed to make it. If I leave out the pine nuts, that is, which is perfectly fine.
That’s what I call an easy dessert.
Can you freeze this easy apple cake?
Oh, absolutely! This is a very freezer friendly cake. If I want to freeze it I let the cake cool completely, then wrap it securely in foil and/or a large Ziploc bag.
To serve, simply defrost for a couple of hours, then reheat in the oven before serving. You don’t want it to dry out though, so I usually just warm it on the ‘keep warm’ setting for half an hour or so.
Sprinkle some icing sugar over the top before serving as you would from fresh, with a nice big amount of cream or ice cream. Or even custard if you’re in the UK or Australia.
Or, heck, let’s go with all 3 – custard, cream and ice cream. Just pile it all on. Delicious!
Another apple cake for you
Try this sticky apple and ginger cake. It’s another quick and easy one bowl recipe, and makes a fabulous alternative Christmas cake!
And for those who would prefer to make one of my ever-popular easy desserts of the lemon or chocolate variety:
You really can’t go wrong with this 6-ingredient gooey Swedish chocolate cake. It’s make ahead, the easiest dessert you can imagine, and I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t love it.
These 5-minute chocolate pots are one of the most popular recipes on the blog for a reason. They’re kind of classy, but you only need chocolate, water, cream, and precisely 5 minutes to make them. They’re also a great option if you like to make your desserts ahead.
This easy magic lemon pudding can divide a room, but it’s an old favourite of mine. Make it with just 5 ingredients (and no eggs!). Perfect if you’ve got some lemons to use up.
Easy apple cake (torta di mele)
Ingredients (UK/Australia? Click below for grams/ml)
- 1 cup self-raising flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 lemon rind and juice
- 3 eggs lightly beaten
- 4.5 ounces butter melted
- 4 apples (actually, 2.5 to 4 apples (see note below), depending on size, peeled & sliced thinly)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon optional
- ¾ cup pine nuts 1/2 cup in batter, ¼ cup on top - optional
- Icing sugar for sprinkling at the end
to serve
- icing sugar for sprinkling over the top
- cream ice cream or custard (or all three!)
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 355F / 180C.
- Line an 8 inch round cake pan with baking paper and lightly grease with butter or spray with oil.
- Zest and juice the lemon and set the zest aside. Put the chopped apples in a small bowl and pour the lemon juice over them.
- Combine the flour, sugar and lemon zest together in a large bowl, then add the eggs, melted butter, cinnamon & pine nuts (if using) and 2/3 of the apples. Stir until just combined.
- Tip the batter into the cake pan and smooth on top, then arrange the rest of the sliced apples on the top in a circle pattern (see photos in post and recipe video). Sprinkle over the rest of the pine nuts (if using).
- Bake for about 1 hour, or until a skewer pushed into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool completely, then sprinkle with a bit of icing sugar before serving.
Margaret says
Hi Helen
I have made it three times now and it’s so easy and such a hit with everyone and so yummy looking. I am such a lousy cake maker but this just worked for me
Thanks so much
Helen says
Hello Margaret! I’m so happy this has made you feel like a star baker (which you are of course!). This is my favourite kind of recipe – the kind that always seem to work out even if you do it a little differently each time. Another recipe I find is like this is my Greek yoghurt blueberry muffins – just in case you’d like to give those a try too! 😉
Yvonne says
Hello Hele,
I made this twice last week, and put whipped cream on top – delicious.
Today I am making it again for guests. It’s a lovely cake, and I used a combination of Granny Smith and Gala apples. Sweet and sour. We can buy small bags of self-raising flour here in Canada, but it’s expensive. I used regular flour, and added one teaspoon of baking powder and it made for a nice risen cake.
Another keeper recipe. Thank you Helen.
Helen says
Hello Yvonne! Thank you so much for your feedback, and it’s really helpful to know using plain flour plus baking powder works fine. I find this one of those cakes that you almost can’t go wrong with – so glad you like it!
Samantha Kuan says
I really want to try this recipe, I’ve had your mini banana cake one and loved it! However, I only have an airfryer – do you think that could work?
Helen says
Hello Samantha! I’m so happy you want to try this recipe too! What kind of air fryer do you have? If you have a large one that will fit in a regular sized cake pan just follow the recipe as written but reduce the temperature slightly (about 25F or 15C) and reduce the time by 25 to 30%. So I’d start by baking for about 40 minutes. Check if it’s done and then keep checking every few minutes after that. Check the bottom too – sometimes I find the bottom takes a bit longer to cook in an air fryer. You might need to flip it for a few minutes towards the end of the cooking time.
If you only have a small air fryer, then I’d use the same pan you used for the banana bread. Check to see if it’s done after 30 minutes. I hope you do give it a go! Good luck!
Carol says
I haven’t made the cake yet so therefore no rating. You mention chopped apples but in the pics you posted I see only sliced apples. I’m wondering if the apples in the cake are chopped and the ones on top are sliced. Would you please clarify?
Carol Melazzo
Helen says
Hello carol! Sorry about the confusion. I always slice the apples fairly thinly. I stir 2/3 into the batter and save the rest to arrange on the top.There are some photos in the post and also a video. I hope this helps, and of course I hope you enjoy the cake! 🙂
Leslie says
This just came out of the oven and we have not yet sampled it-dear friends are coming to dinner tonight and the husband is a proud Italian American, like my husband, who loves Italian cooking. I love the simplicity of the recipe and the delicate yet rustic beauty of this little cake. I will post again after dinner! Thank you for the inspiration!
Helen says
Hello, Leslie! How did it turn out? I hope it passed the taste test from the proud Italians! I’m pretty confident about this recipe, so hopefully they did like it! 🙂
Image Earth Travel says
Just made this with the pine nuts and it’s wonderful! My partner and I ate half the cake in one sitting. 😉
Helen says
Hi! Thank you so much for leaving a review! I love this cake too – I love that it’s so easy to make and very light – but incredibly delicious! Sorry I was the cause of you eating so much of it!!!
Vera says
Hi Helen,
Thank you for this recipe. I adapted it. It turned out great!
I used sunflower oil, instead of butter, and one egg with 2 tablespoons of milk instead of the 2 other eggs. I didn’t use cinnamon, vanilla or nuts. And I cut up one apple only.
I thought, how am I going to make this cake with the ingredients I have in my cupboard? It was made affordable too.
Thank you for the inspiration. This cake tasted great with a cup of black coffee too.
Best wishes,
Vera
Helen says
Hi Vera! This is a really helpful review – thank you! I love that you adapted it quite a bit and it was still good! I love how easy and tasty this recipe is – one of my go-tos for sure! 🙂
Kim says
Can you substitute all purpose flour or cake flour. Thank you. Kim
Helen says
Yes, no problem kim. Just add 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder to the cup of flour! Enjoy!
Luciana says
great recipe!
i did it for my mom’s bday and everyone loved it!
Such a great mix of sweet and citric, really nice 🙂
Helen says
This is so lovely to hear, Luciana. It’s a real honour that you chose to make this recipe for your mom’s birthday and I’m so glad (relieved?) she enjoyed it!
Juliet Thomas says
Helen – I really want to give this a go, but these days butter is my nemesis. I’m wondering if it would be possible to sub the butter with a mild tasting olive oil or grapeseed oil? I often bake muffin recipes using oil and they work very well. Any thoughts?
I’m also a pretty good gluten free baker, so once I get the flour combo right (tend to make my own mixes), I’ll let you know
Helen says
Hi Juliet! I actually think olive oil in particular would be great in this cake! I often use it to bake with and I find it keeps the crumb moist and gives a subtle but not too strong fruity flavour. Just substitute the same amount of butter for oil. So I’d go for 110 grams of oil (or 1/2 US cup). I’d love to know how you get on! Good luck!
John Misiag says
Oil has always been a problem for me I will cut back on what is required by 1/3 otherwise it will be too oily and have the oil taste.
Helen says
Hi John! This cake is made with melted butter, not oil. It would probably work with oil too, but I haven’t tried it!
Basia says
This is great Sunday treat, thank you for sharing, it is absolutely delicious…
Helen says
So glad you liked it!
Tracey says
Your Italian apple cake is amazing, full proof and the perfect accompaniment to a lovely cuppa! Thankyou!
Helen says
Thank you so much, Tracey! All the best cuppas need a good slice of cake to go with them! 🙂
Colin says
Oi! Most of the world uses METRIC! (Just mentioning for a friend!) Still tastes yummy though!
Helen says
Hi Colin! Just click the metric conversion button that’s just below the recipe 😉
Fiona Rynn says
Absolutely scrumptious cake! Thank you! Just one question: when do you add the optional cinnamon?
Helen says
Hi Fiona! Oops, did I not say? I’ll check the recipe. I just add it with the rest of the cake batter ingredients, and you can sprinkle a little on top with the apples too if you like. Good luck and I hope you enjoy it!
Alexandra says
Hi Helen I’m a complete disaster when it comes to desserts!! But it’s very easy just waiting for mine to bake as we speak 😜
Will let you know how it comes!!
Helen says
Hi Alexandra! (Lovely name – we were going to call our son Alexandra if he’d been a girl!) Thank you so much for giving this a go. I really hope it turned out OK! I’m sometimes like you. My baking skills leave a bit to be desired sometimes, which is why I only make super super easy cakes! Good luck!
catherine says
Looks delicious, definitely going to give it a go this weekend.
could you convert the cup into ounces please?
THANK YOU
Catherine
Helen says
Hi Catherine! So glad you’re going to make this! You need 4.5 ounces butter, 3.5 ounces sugar, 4.5 ounces butter & 3.5 ounces pine nuts. Hope this helps and good luck!
Martha says
Can I make this out of gluten free flour.
Helen says
Hi Martha. I don’t see why not! I haven’t tried it, but I’m pretty sure it would work fine. Give it a go!
Lisa says
Could dark morello cherries be used instead of apples?
Helen says
Hi Lisa! Why not give it a go? I can’t guarantee it will work, but you can try! I have a feeling it would be delicious with cherries, though!
Marissa says
I am so excited to try this apple cake, Helen! Absolutely gorgeous! Swooning over the texture!
Helen says
Thank you, Marissa! I’m so glad you like it 🙂
Victor says
I haven’t made this cake but it looks delicious and apples is my favorite fruit. Will definitely be making this on the weekend.
Helen says
So glad you like it, Victor, and I hope you enjoy the cake! Thanks for popping by!
Joy says
Wonderful cake. Definitely NOT a one bowl though! It came out very moist. I put it in a tarte pan which gave it a nice edge. I did not have any pine nuts but will try this again with the nuts next time. I would attach a picture but it’s not giving me the option here.
Helen says
Thanks so much for leaving a review, Joy. This is one of my all-time favourite easy cakes. You’re right that it isn’t strictly speaking a one bowl cake, but I like that you melt the butter and then pretty much just mix the prepared ingredients together (in one bowl – haha). I’m so happy you’re going to make it again! 🙂
Linda says
First off, who doesn’t love lemon and chocolate desserts! Are they crazy? lol One look at this apple cake and I so want to make it. I love the look of the apples on top and it’s so easy that it’s a no-brainer to try next time I’m in the kitchen. Can’t wait!
Helen says
Hi Linda! Thank you so much for your enthusiasm! This truly is a very easy cake that it’s hard to go wrong with, and I really hope you give it a try some time. And yup, my husband’s crazy sometimes. Or at least a bit crazy picky when it comes to food!
Joanie says
Oh my goodness, this cake recipe is a keeper! So easy, unbelievably moist and tender and so flavorful. I added a sprinkling of pine nuts to my cake and it was truly spectacular. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Helen says
Thank you, Joanie! I really appreciate your enthusiasm, and hope this becomes a staple in your dessert repertoire!! 🙂