Coffee Cake

NADIA'S MORNING COFFEE CAKE WITH WINTER FRUITS

Caffelatte is what Italians of all ages have
for breakfast at home. For small children it is
a cupful of warm milk lightly stained with coffee,
the ratio of coffee to milk increasing with one's
years. It is often accompanied by some store-
bought biscuits, but not in my assistant Nadia's
family. She lives on her father's farm outside
Venice with her husband and small boy, and for
her son Tommaso she bakes wholesome cakes with
fresh fruit. He has some with his caffeelatte
and takes another piece to school to eat for
merenda, recess.
I was particularly taken with the cake Nadia
makes when there is no more summer fruit on the
farm. She uses pears and apples and always adds
a banana she buys in town. The proportions of
one fruit to another may vary, and indeed Nadia
says they always do, but nothing much can go
wrong or affect the cake's plainspoken,
engagingly fresh taste.

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• grated peel of 2 oranges
• large pear, about 1/2 to 3/4 pound,
  or 2 smaller ones
  
• 1 crisp, juicy apple
• 1 banana
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed
  lemon juice
  
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 tablespoon butter for greasing
  the pan
  

10-inch springform pan

Turn on the oven to 375°.
Choose a mixing bowl that can subsequently
contain all the ingredients. Put in the eggs
and sugar and beat them until they are foamy
and form yellow ribbons.
Add the salt, olive oil, and grated orange peel
making sure you haven't grated any of the bitter
white pith beneath the orange skin — and mix
thoroughly.
Peel all the fruit. Core the pear and apple and
cut them into thin 1/2-inch pieces. Slice the
banana very thin. Put the fruit into a separate
bowl and toss with the lemon juice.
Combine the flour and baking powder and mix them
into the beaten eggs, incorporating them
thoroughly.
Add the fruit to the bowl with the eggs and flour,
mixing well to distribute it evenly.
Smear the bottom and sides of the springform pan
with butter, then pour into it the fruit batter.
Level off by shaking the pan from side to side;
do not press down on the batter.
Bake on the middle level of the preheated oven
for 50 to 55 minutes, until the top of the cake
becomes colored a light gold.

Ahead-of-Time Note:
The finished cake will keep fresh for about 5
days, wrapped with foil and refrigerated.

8 to 12 portions.

My Kids Simply Love This Recipe : ))