Nonna’s easy apple slices

It was half term here in the UK and with the children on holiday, all of a sudden, life can get quite hectic. We had lots of trips to the park, a couple of meals out, playdates and a few days in France too… that was the best bit. France is quite close to us and I love the French foodie culture.. especially their patisserie and their bread.  So we had lots of nice food (including a shellfish feast!) and a bit of sightseen. It just reminded me how much I miss travelling.

Travelling is good for you, wherever you go, it opens your mind, it gives you an insight on different ways of living and it generally makes you feel good. Sooner or later we will be off to an exciting trip somewhere further away, maybe latin America, Argentina especially is what I have in mind, also because I have relatives there and I simply love the place.

This week I also baked a very simple cake made with apples; the children had it for breakfast this morning. It is light as it is made with oil instead of butter and it is super simple. It reminds me of my grandmother as she would often bake cakes with apples, you never get it wrong with apples!

Prep Time : 20 minutes

Cook Time : 30 minutes

Ingredients

• plain flour sifted – 250 g – just under 2 cups
• baking powder – 2 tsp
• eggs – 3
• oil (olive oil or corn oil) – 100 ml – 3.4 fluid oz
• sugar – 100 g – ½ cup
• milk – 50 ml – 1.7 fl oz
• apples – 3 large
• lemon – 1
• vanilla essence – 1 tsp
• vanilla powdered sugar – to sprinkle

Instructions

In a bowl mix the oil with the sugar, add the eggs, the vanilla essence and the zest of the lemon. Add the sifted flour with the baking powder and the milk. Mix well and pour it onto a well greased baking tray measuring approx 32 x 23 cm or 12 x 9 inch and level it well. For easier removal I have lined the bottom of mine with parchment paper.

Peel, core and thinly slice the apples. Put them in a bowl, squeeze the lemon juice on them and mix well.

Place the apple slices on top and press them so that they touch the bottom of the tin.

Bake at 180C or 350F for 25 to 30 minutes. Let it cool down, sprinkle with vanilla powdered sugar and slice it.

Instead of the vanilla sugar you can heat up a couple of spoons of jam with a spoon of water in a pan, bring it to the boil and then brush the top of the cake with it.

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