Italian apple cake (Torta di mele)

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C; butter and flour a 24 cm springform tin.

2. Peel, core and thinly slice the apples; drizzle with the lemon juice so they don't brown.

3. Melt the butter and let it cool slightly; whisk the eggs with the sugar for 5 minutes until foamy, then add the butter, milk and grated lemon zest.

4. Sift the flour with the baking powder and a pinch of salt into the egg mixture and stir until smooth; fold in half the apple slices.

5. Pour the batter into the tin, arrange the remaining apple slices on top in an overlapping fan and bake for 45-50 minutes until golden and a skewer comes out clean.

6. Let it cool a little, remove from the tin and serve warm or cold, dusted with icing sugar.

Tip: A favourite of Italian family afternoon snacks, with lots of apple and little batter; you can sprinkle the top with a little brown sugar before baking so it caramelises, and covered it stays soft for 3 days.