By Maria Athanasopoulos

Tarta Milou

Fall foliage has graced us with its presence early this year as leaf-bearing trees are rapidly transforming into vibrant red and bright yellow hues throughout the east coast. I absolutely adore everything about autumn, from the aroma of warm mulled apple cider lingering in the crisp cool air to hiking and visiting pumpkin farms. As an extreme foodie, it’s no surprise that apple picking is by far my most beloved part of the fall season. Over 100 varieties of apples are grown commercially in the U.S. and the culinary possibilities are endless.

Growing up, my mother always made a scrumptious country like upside down apple cake with some of the apples we brought home from the farm. Big cinnamon-y chunks of apples nestled with walnuts over a light and moist vanilla cake easily make this an all time favorite dessert of mine. Naturally, I modified my mom’s “Tarta Milou” recipe with a couple healthy substitutions knowing no one would notice and tested it out on my family who happily devoured the entire cake.

Everyone must admit that there is simply nothing like the smell of fresh baked apples coming out the oven on a cool fall day. This healthy mouthwatering dessert is ideal for making ahead since it actually tastes better the second day, when the juices from the apples seep deep into the cake. For such an easy recipe, the presentation is really stunning and impressive!

Your favorite variety of apple can be used in this heart-friendly cake, however Braeburn and Granny Smith work exceptionally well.

DID YOU KNOW...

apples contain no fat, no sodium, no cholesterol and are a member of the rose family?

Prep time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 8 to 10

Ingredients:

Apple topping

• 5 large apples (cored, peeled and sliced into quarters)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/5 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 tablespoon sugar, plus a little extra to coat the cake pan
• ½ stick unsalted butter, softened

Cake

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup warmed low fat milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 14 inch round baking pan with butter or olive oil and sprinkle the bottom evenly with 1 to 2 tablespoons of sugar. In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix the ingredients for the apple topping together.
2. Starting at the outside edge of the pan, arrange apple quarters tightly in a circular pattern over the sugar. Make more than one layer if needed and top the apples with the remaining topping mixture. Place pan into oven for 15 to 20 minutes and begin working on the cake. Don’t forget to remove the pan from the oven after 20 minutes, leaving it in any longer will cause your apple topping to burn!
3. For the cake: in a medium sized bowl, beat sugar and egg yolks together until fully creamed and smooth, about 10 minutes.
4. In a separate mixing bowl, whip egg whites to form stiff peaks then immediately fold into your previous egg mixture. While continually mixing, add: warm milk, vanilla, butter, applesauce, baking powder, salt and slowly add the flour a ¼ cup at a time.
5. Pour the cake mixture over apple topping in pan and place back into oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes then loosen the sides of the pan with a knife. Carefully invert tart onto a heatproof dish. Slowly remove the pan and voila a beautiful tarta milou!

Serve warm with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream and a strong cup of Greek coffee. Kali Orexi!!