Apple Cake - Torta di Mele

Happy Monday everyone!
Maybe you aren't too happy that it's Monday and the weekend is over. In which case, let's start the week with something sweet that, I'm sure, will make you feel a lot better. Let's fill the house with the delicious aroma of this comforting apple cake and think: only four more days until Friday!
Today's cake is super soft, moist and wholesome. Every bite is filled with the sweet, tart flavor of soft apples. This recipe is very simple, fast and easy to follow. You really can't go wrong!
Ingredients: to make a 9 inches cake.

• 3 apples, about 1.5 lb
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of sugar
• 4 oz (1 stick) of unsalted butter
• 8 oz milk
• 1.5 cups flour
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
• a pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder. I used "lievito vanigliato" from Bertolini (16 gr of baking powder)
• powder sugar for decorating

Preparation time: 20 minutes to prepare, 60 minutes to cook

Directions:
Step 1: Melt the butter by placing it in a heat resistant cup (I use a Playtex glass cup) and placing it in a pot of simmering hot water. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Step 2: In a large bowl, blend well the eggs together with the sugar.

Step 3: Stir in the lemon zest, melted butter, salt, vanilla extract, and milk.

Step 4: Add the flour and mix well.

Step 5: Peel, and thinly slice the apples. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Add about 2/3 of the apples to the cake batter, saving the nicer slices to put on top of the cake for decoration.

Step 6: Grease a 9 inch round cake pan (with removable bottom), with butter and flour. I only greased the sides and used parchment paper for the bottom. Pour in the mixture and decorate with the remaining apple slices - check out what I did in the picture below. Note, it doesn't have to be perfect! When the cake cooks, the apple will only partly show.

Step 7: Cook in the oven for about 60 minutes until golden on top. Check with a toothpick to see if the cake is fully cooked: insert the toothpick in the middle of the cake, and check: the cake is ready if the toothpick comes out clean, with no streaks of batter.

Really simple, right?