honeyed apple torte

This torte comes from one of my favorite cookbooks that has been collecting dust far too long on my bookshelf.

Reintroducing butter and eggs back into my baking has been quite fun and my nose has been buried in a few old cookbooks for the past few weeks, pouring over pages and pages of cakes, pastries, enriched breads, and on and on.

I happened to stop on this honeyed apple torte today when searching for an excuse to use some apples that I picked up yesterday that were less than crisp. If I am going to eat an apple, it needs to be super crisp, tart and juicy, not even one bit soft.

Although this torte calls for a firm apple, the ones I had on hand baked up nicely and this torte made for the perfect accompaniment to an afternoon cup of coffee and an after dinner dessert. 

Honeyed Apple Torte

Slightly adapted from Baking in America

Ingredients::

1/3 cup apple honee/honey

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2.5 crisp apples, cored and sliced in 8 wedges

1.25 cups whole wheat pastry flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons Earth Balance/butter

3/4 cup organic cane sugar

Zest of one lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

2 eggs

Topping::

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

To prepare::

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9-inch springform pan.

In a skillet, heat the honey and lemon juice to a simmer. Add the sliced apples and cook, stirring frequently, for 10-15 minutes, or until just beginning to soften. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter until soft. Add 1/4 cup of the cane sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla and beat for one minute. Add remaining cane sugar and brown sugar 1/4 cup at a time, and then beat for 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing 60 seconds between additions. Gently fold in flour until smooth.

Spread the batter evenly in to the prepared pan and arrange the apple wedges in concentric circles on top.

Mix together the tablespoon sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the top. Bake for one hour, until nicely browned and spring backs when gently pressed. Let cool on a wire rack before serving.