The first time I ate a slice of this buckwheat apple pie it surprised and delighted me. But probably all apple pies have this effect everywhere all around the world.
And for this reason apples should become a UNESCO World Heritage.
But I had forgotten this mountain recipe. Until the flying sheet where it was pinned suddenly came out of one of my recipe books. And just as I was looking for a cake to knead to calm my thoughts.
Walk and cook.
Every time I need to disconnect myself from everything, when I have to put the words scattered in my head in order, I cook or walk.
Of course, not at the same time.
I walk through the streets of the center of Bologna where I live. Sometimes I walk slowly in the garden of the country house dreaming of the vegetable garden with orchard that, still, is not there. I mean, it exists, but for now it is a kind of jungle waiting for someone to take care of it.
And if I choose to cook, I mainly prepare cakes and bread.
Mixing and kneading are cathartic exercises.
Or, at least, they have this effect on me. Stirring slowly in the pots is an exercise that helps me to think and put order among thoughts.
Below the recipe I still talk about notebooks, flying papers and thoughts.
A buckwheat apple cake.
As I said, a simple recipe.
In the original version the apples must marinate overnight with lemon juice and grappa. Very good. But I do not always have time or desire to let the apples rest.
In this case I add a small glass of rum directly to the dough.
I cut one apple into small pieces and the others into thin slices, then I mix the small pieces into the dough and arrange the slices in a radial pattern on the dough, so they sink in cooking.
Before baking, I dust with a generous spoonful of brown sugar that makes the edges of a beautiful color, as well as more delicious.
The buckwheat apple cake is perfect for breakfast and snacks.
And to accompany the first autumn teas.
Cook with me.
Apples are a fruit that I love very much and that I use in many sweet and savory preparations. Also to make sauces for meat and sweet preserves.
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Buckwheat Apple Cake Recipe
serves 6
Round mold, 20 cm diameter
wholemeal or spelt flour, 150 g
buckwheat flour, 70 g
3 little apples
brown sugar, 150 g + 50 g to sprinkle the surface
2 large eggs
whole milk, 100 g
50 ml seed oil
baking powder, 6 g
grappa or other liquor, 1 small glass (optional)
pinch of salt
juice of 1 small organic lemon and grated zest
some coarsely chopped walnuts
if you like add cinnamon, clove powder and nutmeg, in all about 1 g spices
Directions
Peel and remove the core of the apples. Cut half apple into small pieces and the rest into thin slices, sprinkle everything with lemon juice.
In a bowl mix yeast, flour, salt, spices and grated lemon peel.
In a different bowl, mix eggs and sugar with the whisk for two to three minutes.
Then add both the flours, oil, milk and liquor and mix again with the whisk. Now add cut apples and small pieces to the mixture and mix.
Coat the mold with wet and squeezed baking paper, pour the dough, place the apples on the surface of the cake by placing the slice in the dough (picture at the bottom).
Cook in preheated oven (180C degrees, static function) for about 35-40 minutes.
A few minutes before turning off, dust the surface with a spoonful of brown sugar to form a sweet, crunchy crust.
Allow to cool completely before slicing.
Notebooks and flying papers.
At the end of the year it’s time for balance sheets. I looked around. First distractedly, then trying to focus. And what I saw is disorder. Everywhere.
I need to empty and rearrange drawers and cabinets, clean out the work desk.
I look at it and see a dusty deposit of notes, notebooks, clippings, books, objects.
I declare war on dust and disorder.
In this way, I am sure, I will see more clearly around me. Do you also put things in order to make order in life? Do you have a method to reorganize things and thoughts? I accept advice, thank you.
I will have to look at and arrange I don’t know how many sheets and notebooks, clippings, small objects, books. I just started to move a few things, just to get an idea of the time it will take.
And this recipe came out from one of the notebooks that I took back in my hand in view of the big cleaning and tidying up operation. The notebooks, as I call them, are small homemade cookbooks.
I like large notebooks with wide stripes. On the outside I cover them with colored cut-outs and, on the inside, I alternate the home recipes with those I develop in my kitchen or that, over time, have been given to me by friends and acquaintances.
This recipe, for example, is a memory of many years ago. Of a lunch in the cabin and a piece of paper put in my hands at the time of going. With the recipe of the buckwheat apple pie I had just eaten. Warm, indeed warm, accompanied by a scoop of cinnamon ice cream that I do not know what I would give to know how to make again.