Tuscan Apple Cake with a Crackly Meringue

From The Italian Country Table: Home Cooking from Italy's Farmhouse Kitchens by Lynne Rossetto Kasper (Scribner 1999). Copyright 1999 Lynne Rossetto Kasper.

Prep time: 25 min

Cook time: 65-75 min

Total time: 1 1/2 hours

Yield: Makes 1 9-inch cake, serving 10 to 12

I make this cake from Tuscany instead of a pie because it actually benefits from being made ahead, while apple pie is best eaten on the day it's baked.

Lynne's Short Apple Cooking Guide

Ingredients

• 2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, (organic preferred)

• 1 1/2 cups (10.5 ounces) plus 2 tablespoons sugar

• Generous pinch salt

• 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

• 3/4 cup milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• Shredded zest of 1 large lemon

• 2 large eggs

• 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 2 large (about 1 pound) apples (Granny Smith, Braeburn, or Gala), peeled,cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

• 1 large egg white

• 2 tablespoons sugar

Instructions

• 1. Place the rack in center of the oven and preheat to 375°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan. In a large bowl, with your fingertips, rub together the first measure of flour, the 1 1/2 cups sugar, salt, and butter until crumbly. Remove 1 cup of the crumbs and press them onto bottom of the springform pan and about 1/2-inch up the sides, making a crust about 1/8-inch thick.

• 2. 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 crumbs until well blended but still a little lumpy. Fold in the apples. Scrape the batter into the pan.

• 3. Beat 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 2/3 of the batter uncovered.

• 4. Bake 65 to 75 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

• 5. 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 2 days. It keeps a week in the refrigerator. Warming in the oven makes it even tastier.