Recipe Apple Ricotta Olive Oil Cake

[karadekoolaid]

I came across this recipe some time last year and was intrigued by the unlikely combination, so decided to go ahead and make it.
While I can buy apples in Caracas, they´re either red or green - no variations - so I chose green. Ricotta is one of those ingredients , for me, that doesn´t have much taste. I put it in the same boat as tofu and polenta. Great, however, when combined with something else, and in this case, the apples and olive oil work wonderfully well together.
Ingredients
4 medium, or 3 large green apples
Juice of 1/2 lemon
180 gms soft brown or caster (powdered) sugar, + 2 extra tablespoons for the apples
4 medium eggs
120 mls good olive oil
150 gms ricotta
240 gms flour
pinch of salt
8 gms baking powder
2 Tbsps apricot jam ( or something similar)
a 26 cm /10 inch pie, greased and dusted with flour

Method

1. Peel, core and quarter 3 of the 4 apples, then cut into very thin slices. Toss in a bowl with the lemon juice and 2 tbsps sugar.
2. Peel, core and quarter the other apple and set aside for decoration.
3. Beat the eggs and add the oil,ricotta, flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Mix together until you have a smooth batter.
4. Heat the oven to 350°F.
5. Fold the apples into the batter, then pour into the tin.
6. Decorate the cake by placing the apple slices on top in concentric circles, starting from the outside and working inwards.
7. Paint the top with the apricot jam, thinned with a little water.
8. Bake in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes. Insert a toothpick in the middle and, if it comes out clean, the cake is ready. Leave to cool before cutting.

I made this three times in Caracas and it turned out perfect every time. Yesterday, I made it in Cincinnati and it took almost 30 minutes longer to cook
Three things , perhaps, made a difference: 1) The size of the apples and the eggs. 2) The oven - not the same at ground level as it is at 4,300 ft above sea level.
3) My son hasn´t got any kitchen scales, so I had to convert to cups. Try measuring 7/8ths of a cup or 0,61 of a cup.
Anyway - the toothpick test worked - after 1 1/4 hrs!

 

[Morning Glory]

It looks very good. Is it Italian in origin? Did you miss 'flour' out from the method - step three I would think?

I'm a bit confused about the apples - do you fold the sliced apples into the batter? And 'quartered apple'? That is big chunks. Did you mean you fold them into the batter as stated in step two (though it says to set aside for decoration). Sorry I'm maybe not understanding. I'm just reading the recipe as stated after a glass or two of wine...

 

[karadekoolaid]

Thanks MG - edited to include flour!
Yes, the recipe is Italian - well, with ricotta and olive oil, I´d imagine it would have to be. I need to do some research and see where I got it from.
Re. the apples - they need to be peeled, cored, quartered, then sliced very thinly - half-moons, for want of a better word. Looks like I missed out a step, which was that the 4th apple needs to be peeled, cored, quartered and sliced thinly. Those half-moon slices are what go on top of the cake. you need to peel, core and slice ALL the apples, but one of them (sliced) needs to be set aside for decoration.
Now you can have another glass of wine