The soft apple cake without butter and milk is a delicious and fluffy lactose-free dessert, suitable for breakfast, for our children’s snack, or simply when we crave a traditional dessert that is good, simple, and light. The apple cake is one of those desserts that you never give up on, a classic of pastry, especially homemade, and there are countless versions of it. It pairs perfectly with both a good coffee and tea. The apple cake without butter and milk keeps for days without losing its extraordinary aroma and flavor. Orange juice can be completely or partially replaced with fresh juice from other fruits or water, remaining a soft, fragrant, and truly delicious dessert. For this recipe, I used the symbolic apple of my territory, the Annurca apple. We can, of course, also use other types of apples, since in our beautiful Italy there are countless varieties of this fruit with thousands of virtues.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 16 slices
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Fall, Winter, and Spring
Ingredients
- 3 cups All-purpose flour
- 4 Large apples
- 2/3 cup Sugar
- 3 Medium eggs
- 1/2 cup Vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup Fresh orange juice or water
- 1 teaspoon Strega liqueur
- 1 pinch Salt
- to taste Grated orange and lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla paste (Or one packet of vanillin)
- 1 packet Baking powder
Tools
- 1 Pan Round 12 inches
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 356°F.
In a large bowl, break the eggs and mix them thoroughly with the sugar, using a steel whisk. Add the pinch of salt, vanilla, grated zest of the orange and a lemon, fruit juice (or water), liqueur, and oil until you get a smooth and creamy mixture.
Sift the flour with the baking powder and add them to the egg mixture; finally, add the flesh of three apples (already peeled and cored), chopped more or less coarsely, and mix gently to distribute them evenly in the mixture. Line the mold with parchment paper, pour the mixture, and level it with the back of a spoon.Cut the remaining apple into small wedges and decorate the surface of the cake, placing them gently without letting them sink into the batter.
To create a delicious and tasty crust, sprinkle the surface of the cake with plenty of granulated sugar before baking the cake at mid-height for about 40/45 minutes.
The cooking times are based on my static gas oven, with cooking only from below. To make sure our delicious apple cake without butter and milk is cooked, insert a skewer that should come out perfectly dry; otherwise, extend the cooking time until the skewer comes out dry.
As soon as the cake is cooked, take it out of the oven immediately to prevent the residual heat from drying it out excessively.
