Il Cucinologo
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Apple and Walnut Plumcake

17/11/2023

I can provide you with the recipe for apple and walnut plumcake with an Italian touch. Plumcake, well known as a sweet of Anglo-Saxon origin, can be enriched with ingredients typical of Italian pastry tradition such as, for example, the use of extra virgin olive oil instead of butter for a lighter and more Mediterranean version. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

  • 3 ripe apples (preferably Renette or Golden varieties)
  • 150 g granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 200 g type 00 flour
  • 100 g walnuts, coarsely chopped
  • 80 ml extra virgin olive oil (or 100 g melted butter)
  • 1 packet baking powder
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
  • Powdered sugar for decoration (optional)

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C and prepare a plumcake pan by greasing and flouring it or lining it with parchment paper.
  2. Peel the apples, remove the core, and cut them into small cubes.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until you obtain a frothy mixture.
  4. Add the extra virgin olive oil (or the melted and cooled butter) and mix well.
  5. Add the sifted flour, salt, baking powder, and, if desired, the cinnamon. Stir gently to avoid deflating the mixture.
  6. Fold in the apples and chopped walnuts, distributing the ingredients evenly in the batter.
  7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and level the surface with a spatula.
  8. Bake the plumcake for about 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  9. Remove the plumcake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack and let it cool completely.
  10. Before serving, you can dust the surface of the plumcake with powdered sugar.

Curiosities

The term “plumcake” derives from “plum cake,” which originally referred to a British cake full of raisins (the “plums” or prunes in English). Over time, the term has been adopted for a variety of baked goods in loaf form, and they do not necessarily contain prunes. The addition of apples and walnuts, on the other hand, allows us to create a marriage of sweet flavors and crunchy texture, typical of many Italian preparations based on fruit and dried fruit.