Let’s start with the title of this recipe: Plumcake with Sibillini Pink Apple! Do you know the Sibillini Pink Apple? Have you ever heard of it? As a proud Marche native, I hope you have because I have always been fascinated by them. These small and fragrant Pink Apples are mainly grown in Marche and Umbria, in the hill areas and valleys. Their distinctive features include a slightly flattened shape, colors ranging from deep green to soft pink to bright orange tones, making them a hallmark of this native variety.
Also known as Marchigiana Pink Apple, it had almost disappeared from our countryside before being cultivated again, becoming, in 2000, a Slow Food Presidium. A rustic species like most of the cultivars, rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. It is a source of nutraceuticals and is recommended for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and kidney disorders.
With an intense and aromatic scent, a thick and crunchy skin, and a tart flesh, it is used in the kitchen for many preparations. From main courses like risottos or soups where it is diced, to meat main courses, and of course, desserts. Its natural characteristics also make it perfect for jams.
They are harvested from early September through October and can be stored until March. They should be picked while still unripe green with hints of pink and orange tones. They will gradually become more pink and juicy.
The Sibillini Pink Apple was already known in ancient times, mentioned in some Roman era writings, cited as “one of the ancient fruits of the inland” and also in a mention by the Latin poet Quintus Horace Flaccus. The Pink Apple of the Sibilla Mountains has been recognized by many art scholars in the paintings of Caravaggio’s Still Lifes.
Why am I telling you about it today? Did you follow the stories or glimpse the posts related to the Blog Tour designed and organized by Sibillini Romantici? If you’ve seen them, you know I was a guest, along with 19 other bloggers, in the towns of Amandola, Rotella, and Montedinove to discover the typical products of the Marche territory. Particularly the White Truffle for Amandola, the Ascension Chestnut in Rotella, and the Sibillini Pink Apple in Montedinove. Indeed, this small town, between the Aso and Tesino valleys, in the province of Ascoli Piceno, at the foot of the Mount Ascension, is the perfect backdrop for the true leading actress! The Pink Apple is, in fact, the focus of the “Sibillini in Pink” Festival . Supported by the Presidium Slow Food and the community itself that welcomes tourists and visitors from all over Italy and beyond to know the properties and benefits of the fruit through dishes and conferences dedicated to it.
The blog tour, funded by the European Union Next Generation EU with the Pnrr Borghi Autentici funds, aimed at the revival of three Authentic Marche towns, beautiful but fragile places as unfortunately demonstrated by the 2016 earthquake. Historic centers rich in history to discover together with Emanuele from Galee Sibilline, our super guide and coordinator of the 20 bloggers from 7 Regions of Italy. An extraordinary job promoting the territory, knowing the villages and typical products of these three towns. Each with its own characteristics, crossing hill roads by bus, skirting rivers, discovering their stories and legends. I thank the Mayors of the three towns who welcomed and pampered us, the entities and associations that intervened. I want to thank all the producers we met during the 4 days of the tour because they transmitted to us the passion and love for their territory and the products derived from it. And then an infinite thanks to those who chose and invited us, allowing us to live a unique experience!
Mark your Agenda: the “Sibillini in Pink” Festival will take place from October 28 to 29, 2023, in Montedinove in the historic center of this splendid village. The food stands where you can taste the Sibillini Pink Apple will be open for both lunch and dinner. You will also find the street artists of “Sibillini in Art” and the Market of Typical Products! Do not miss it!!! Also, don’t miss on Sunday, October 29 the show of the Flag-wavers of the Quintana of Ascoli Piceno invited to the event now in its 13th edition.
Now, enough chitchat, let’s eat! This was the motto that accompanied us during those days and this is what I thought this morning when I was in my kitchen preparing this apple cake, a rustic cake, crunchy on the outside like the Pink Apple, and with a fragrant and delicious heart like the Queen of the Sibilla.
If you don’t want to use too many ingredients, have little time, and especially have those two rolls of ready puff pastry looking at you from the fridge, try this recipe: Filled croissants with apple! A easy, quick, and super delicious recipe, you can also find the video recipe on the YouTube channel with step by step! Don’t forget to subscribe, every time a new recipe is published you’ll be notified and you can rush to see it!
Here are some apple recipes I’ve made over the years, so you can read and save them! I recommend looking for the Sibillini Pink Apples and trying this Cake with apples and yogurt without butter, soft and delicious, super fragrant! It will win you over!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 6 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
- Energy 285.38 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 44.89 (g) of which sugars 20.81 (g)
- Proteins 9.16 (g)
- Fat 8.69 (g) of which saturated 2.02 (g)of which unsaturated 4.59 (g)
- Fibers 1.75 (g)
- Sodium 116.93 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Plumcake with Sibillini Pink Apple
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 apples (Sibillini Pink)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 eggs (at room temperature)
- 1 tbsp milk (in my case soy beverage)
- 1 tbsp lemon (generous juice)
- 1 packet baking powder
- to taste brown sugar
- to taste slivered almonds
- to taste vegetable oil (to grease the pan)
- 1 pinch salt
Make sure the eggs are at room temperature, so they whip well and you’ll get a super soft and delicious plumcake.
Tools for Plumcake with Sibillini Pink Apples
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Electric whisk
- 1 Loaf pan
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Small Bowl
- 1 Scale
- 1 Oven
Steps for the Recipe Plumcake with Sibillini Pink Apples
Let’s start preparing the Plumcake with Pink Apple by preheating the oven to 350°F. Meanwhile, take a wooden cutting board and a knife. Rinse the apples under running water and pat them dry with a kitchen towel or paper towel. Cut one pink apple into chunks not too small, the other into slices not too thin. I decided to leave the skin on, nice and crunchy and flavorful.
Now that the apple is ready, we can place it on a small plate and put it in the fridge. Sift the all-purpose flour with the baking powder. If you have it in your pantry, you can add 2 or 3 tablespoons of potato starch or cornstarch. Now take the two eggs at room temperature, crack them into a bowl with high edges, add a pinch of salt and the amount of white sugar. Work with the electric whisk until you get a frothy mixture. It will take about 4 minutes. So don’t rush.
Using a spoon, start adding the flour to the frothy egg mixture. One spoonful at a time, working at medium speed with the electric whisk. Then add in a stream the tablespoon of milk, in my case a soy-based beverage, and the tablespoon of lemon juice. When you have incorporated all the flour, turn off the electric whisk. Grease the bottom of the loaf pan with simple vegetable oil (if you want to purchase the 10-inch black and non-stick pan like mine click here) and pour our batter for soft plumcake into it. This very simple recipe can be used as a base for plumcake to be filled with other types of fruits or with the classic and delicious chocolate chips.
Let’s take the Sibillini apples out of the fridge and sprinkle them with brown sugar, mix the apple chunks with your hands. Now position the apple slices vertically in the pan, applying slight pressure, they should stay nice and upright. You’ll see that the consistency of the plumcake batter will help you in this step.
Then randomly place the other chunks, but not between the apple slices, otherwise there will be too much distance between one slice and another. Sprinkle everything with more brown sugar and bake for about 25 minutes. Always do the toothpick test before turning off the oven. The cooking with my old friend oven this morning was exactly 25 minutes! Toothpick test passed on the first try.
Let the Plumcake with Sibillini Pink Apple cool completely in the pan before turning it over and placing it on a plate. I just have to remind you that I look forward to seeing you here on the blog with many other easy, quick, cheap, and super delicious recipes like this one! I wish you a good appetite!!!
Preservation of the Plumcake with Pink Apples
You can store the plumcake with Sibilla Apple in a cake container for about 4 days. It will remain nice and soft inside and crunchy on the outside. One of the most delicious and fragrant rustic plumcakes ever! So look for the Pink Apples from your trusted greengrocer or online, many producers ship them throughout Italy!
Tips for this Recipe
I chose to serve the Plumcake with Sibilla Pink Apple without powdered sugar, I prefer it naturally like this. Consider then that the moisture of the fruit, in this case of the Pink Apple absorbs the sugar, so shortly after you wouldn’t see it on the surface anymore. Keep in mind that molds can form much more easily if there is too much moisture on the surface of the plumcake. So my advice is not to add it or if you really want to do it slice by slice when serving it to your family or friends.
