Grandma's Apple Pie

Name: Grandma's Apple Pie
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: Stark apple to be cleaned 1.75 lbs; Type 00 flour about 2 1/4 cups 2.3 cups; Eggs about 3 medium, at room temperature 5.8 oz; Sugar ¾ cup; Butter 6.3 tbsp; Whole milk at room temperature 3 oz; Potato starch 1.8 oz; Baking powder 4 tsp; Lemon peel to taste; Lemon juice ½; Fine salt 1 pinch; Powdered sugar to taste

Vegetarian

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Serving: 8
Cost: Low

PRESENTATION

Grandma's Apple Cake gets its moist, tender crumb from a single technique: the apples are sliced very thin, dressed with lemon zest and lemon juice, and folded directly into the batter rather than arranged on top. During baking, those thin slices soften until they nearly dissolve into each bite, which is what makes the texture so distinctly fruit-forward and meltingly soft. The lemon isn't decorative either — it keeps the apple flavor bright and fresh all the way through, so the cake tastes of fruit rather than sugar. It's an Italian apple cake built for everyday occasions — breakfast with coffee, an afternoon snack, the kind of thing that sits on the counter and gets cut into all day. Every slice is evenly moist from edge to center, because the fruit is baked into the crumb itself rather than sitting on the surface. This is also the base version of the recipe, the one that anchors a whole family of variations made with different fats or flours. If you're coming to it for the first time, that's exactly where to start.

{"optimized_intro": "Grandma's Apple Cake gets its moist, tender crumb from a single technique: the apples are sliced very thin, dressed with lemon zest and lemon juice, and folded directly into the batter rather than arranged on top. During baking, those thin slices soften until they nearly dissolve into each bite, which is what makes the texture so distinctly fruit-forward and meltingly soft. The lemon isn't decorative either — it keeps the apple flavor bright and fresh all the way through, so the cake tastes of fruit rather than sugar.\n\nIt's an Italian apple cake built for everyday occasions — breakfast with coffee, an afternoon snack, the kind of thing that sits on the counter and gets cut into all day. Every slice is evenly moist from edge to center, because the fruit is baked into the crumb itself rather than sitting on the surface. This is also the base version of the recipe, the one that anchors a whole family of variations made with different fats or flours. If you're coming to it for the first time, that's exactly where to start."}

INGREDIENTS

For a 9-inch (22 cm) pan: Stark apple 1.75 lbs (770 g) - to be cleaned; Type 00 flour 2.3 cups (275 g) - about 2 1/4 cups; Eggs 5.8 oz (165 g) - about 3 medium, at room temperature; Sugar ¾ cup (150 g); Butter 6.3 tbsp (90 g); Whole milk 3 oz (90 g) - at room temperature; Potato starch 1.8 oz (50 g); Baking powder 4 tsp (16 g); Lemon peel to taste; Lemon juice ½; Fine salt 1 pinch

For the topping: Powdered sugar to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Grandma's Apple Pie

To prepare Grandma's apple pie, first melt the butter and let it cool slightly. Meanwhile, quarter the apples, peel them 1 and remove the core. Slice the quarters very thinly 2, transfer them to a bowl and flavor with grated lemon zest 3.

Moisten with the juice of half a lemon, using a small sieve to catch any seeds 4, and mix gently 5. In a separate bowl, add the eggs and the sugar 6.

Beat with electric whisks for about ten minutes 7. When the mixture is pale and frothy, add the warm melted butter while continuing to beat 8. Slowly pour in the room-temperature milk 9.

At this point sift in the flour, the potato starch 10 and the baking powder 11, then mix with the whisks to obtain a smooth batter 12.

Fold the apples into the batter 13 and gently mix to incorporate them evenly 14. Pour the batter into a greased and parchment-lined springform pan with a 9-inch (22 cm) diameter 15.

Smooth the surface by rotating the pan and tapping it lightly on the worktop 16, then bake in a preheated convection oven at 347°F for about 50 minutes. Check for doneness with a skewer, then remove from the oven and let cool slightly in the pan before unmolding and transferring to a wire rack 17. Once cooled, you can dust your Grandma's apple pie with powdered sugar and serve 18!