Buttery Apple Torte

(from www.elise.com)

This is one of my favorite finds from surfing food blogs. It´s easy to make and very yummy! Vegar and I can finish the whole cake in one day! As Elise said in her blog, the lemon zest is indeed an essential ingredient. One time I ran out of lemon and made the cake with only bottled lemon juice - the cake didn´t come out as delicious as when it had the lemon zest. It really makes a BIG difference.

1/2c or 125g unsalted butter
3 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into slices 6mm thick
2/3c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 whole eggs + 1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla essence
1c sugar
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
confectioner´s sugar (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 190C. Butter or spray with PAM a round cake pan (around 22 cm) or spring form pan.
2. Melt butter. Set aside 6 tbsp (90ml) of the melted butter.
3. Add the apples and remaining butter in a large frying pan. Cook on low heat, stirring occasionally until the apples are tender. This will take around 10 minutes. Cooking the apples helps remove the moisture so that the cake does not get soggy.
4. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking poweder and salt.
5. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the 6 tbsp melted butter, vanilla, granulated sugar, and the lemon zest. Mix well.
6. Stir in the flour mixture and the apples.
7. Pour into preprared pan and smooth the top.
8. Bake until browned, 30-35 minutes.
9. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Invert the cake onto a plate and lift off the pan. Then invert the cake again onto the rack and let cool completely.

Just before serving, dust confectioner sugar on the top of the cake.