It's September 7th and apples are back in style, y'all! I love apples in the fall. Apple orchards, apple pies, apple cobblers, and now apple tortes, too! I was assigned this particular torte/cake recipe from Sparks from the Kitchen for a friendly swap and was so excited to dive right into the fruity goodness. This recipe is literally a cake that is mostly apples and then a bit of the other stuff to hold them together. Awesome. I got a little overly excited about fall coming and changed the original custard cream into a cinnamon one, and it worked out great. We'll take Lily to a local farm to pick apples later this month and I can't wait to see her climbing the trees. She is so fearless that she will probably be halfway up before we have the chance to stop her. Which is good. There are much worse things in this world than fearless girls!
Apple Torte with Cinnamon Custard Cream
For the Torte: 2 1/2 cups cake flour (or use 2 1/4 cups of regular flour and 1/4 cup corn starch) 1 tsp baking powder 4 large eggs 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 tsp salt 2 tbps extra-virgin olive oil 2 tbsp whole milk 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 1/2 lb cooking apples-such as Rome, Pink Lady or McIntosh, peeled, cored and cut into small chunks (think pinky nail size)
For the custard cream: 2 1/2 cups whole milk, room temperature 3 large egg yolks 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp nutmeg
Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a 9 inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray (or butter and flour it).
Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. In a separate bowl beat the eggs and sugars together until they are pale and creamy. Add the olive oil, milk, salt, and vanilla and stir well to combine. Incorporate the flour mixture gradually into the egg mixture, stirring to form a thick batter. Stir in the apple chunks and pour into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, remove the outside of the pan, and let the cake cool.
To make the custard cream, in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk until small bubbles appear along the edges of the pan-about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a non-reactive bowl, combine the egg yolks, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk until it is pale and creamy.
Whisking constantly slowly add several spoonfuls of the warm milk to the egg mixture. Then, pour the egg mixture into the milk in the saucepan on the stove and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leaves a clear trail when a finger is drawn through it. Do NOT let it boil. Remove the cream from the heat and stir for 2 more minutes. Strain it through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. If you are chilling the cream, cover it with plastic wrap pressing it down onto the entire top of the custard to avoid devel0ping a skin. Refrigerate for 2 hours to 2 days.
Transfer the torte to a serving plate. Cut into slices and serve warm or cold, topping each with warm or cold custard cream.
