• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Savoring Italy

Savoring Italy

An Italian food and travel blog. Find easy and delicious Italian recipes and Italian travel stories at "Savoring Italy".

  • Home
  • About
    • Press
    • Privacy Policy
    • Photo Use Policy
    • Media
    • Podcast
    • Videos
  • Pro Tips
    • Resources
    • Blogging
      • How to Start a Blog
    • My Presets
  • Recipes
    • Recipes by Season
      • Christmas Recipes
      • Fall Recipes
      • Easter
      • Summer
    • Meals
      • Breakfast
      • Side dish
      • Appetizers
      • Dinner
      • Dessert
    • Special Diets
      • Dairy Free
      • Gluten Free
      • Healthy recipes
      • Keto
      • Paleo
      • Sugar free
      • Mediterranean Diet
      • Vegan
      • Vegetarian
      • Whole30
    • Ingredients
      • Beef
      • Chicken
      • Pork
      • Seafood
    • Popular
      • American Recipes
      • Baking
      • Bread
      • Cookies
      • Sourdough
      • Slow cooker
      • Soup
    • Recipe Stories
  • Italy
    • Italian Baking
    • Italian Recipes
    • Italian Travel
    • Italian Language
  • Pasta Recipes
  • Subscribe
  • Shop
    • Freebies
      • Lightroom Filter Freebie
      • Packing List Freebie
      • Content Scheduler Freebie
Savoring Italy
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • About
    • Press
    • Privacy Policy
    • Photo Use Policy
    • Media
    • Podcast
    • Videos
  • Pro Tips
    • Resources
    • Blogging
      • How to Start a Blog
    • My Presets
  • Recipes
    • Recipes by Season
      • Christmas Recipes
      • Fall Recipes
      • Easter
      • Summer
    • Meals
      • Breakfast
      • Side dish
      • Appetizers
      • Dinner
      • Dessert
    • Special Diets
      • Dairy Free
      • Gluten Free
      • Healthy recipes
      • Keto
      • Paleo
      • Sugar free
      • Mediterranean Diet
      • Vegan
      • Vegetarian
      • Whole30
    • Ingredients
      • Beef
      • Chicken
      • Pork
      • Seafood
    • Popular
      • American Recipes
      • Baking
      • Bread
      • Cookies
      • Sourdough
      • Slow cooker
      • Soup
    • Recipe Stories
  • Italy
    • Italian Baking
    • Italian Recipes
    • Italian Travel
    • Italian Language
  • Pasta Recipes
  • Subscribe
  • Shop
    • Freebies
      • Lightroom Filter Freebie
      • Packing List Freebie
      • Content Scheduler Freebie
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Home » Popular » baking » Italian Apple Crumble Cake-Torta Sbriciolata alle Mele

Italian Apple Crumble Cake-Torta Sbriciolata alle Mele

October 26, 2016 by Savoring Italy

Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

My Italian Apple Crumble Cake-Torta Sbriciolata alle Mele is a delicious Italian apple crumble cake. It is perfect to enjoy for breakfast or an afternoon break with a hot cup of coffee.

Fall has officially arrived and we are finally making delicious desserts with apples. I couldn’t wait to make this Italian Apple Crumble Cake (Torta Sbriciolata alle Mele). If you have been following my blog for a while, you know I just love baking with apples!

overhead image of Italian apple crumble cake on a white plate

This lovely cake is really easy to put together and is totally no-fuss! Sbrisolana is a cake you can find in Mantua in the Lombardy region of Italy. You may find the same cake in the Veneto region called rosegota and they also make a cake like this in the city of Verona and it’s very soft and has even more crumbs as it’s made without eggs.

In the dialect of Lombady, sbrisolana means crunchy (it’s not really that crunchy when you take a bite) and it reminds me of a streusel topping I make for many of my quick breads and other desserts. Sbrisolana is dialect for sbriciolata. I love the name sbriciolata (pronounced: sbree-cho-LAH-ta). One of my favorite words is briciola, which means crumb.

overhead image of an Italian apple crumble cake sliced on a white plate

My mother-in-law lives in the Lombardy area near Como most of the year and she shared this recipe with us. She usually makes this apple cake or even this one, but this crumble cake is also quite a hit!

Like most of the cakes in Italy and that Teresa makes (my MIL), this is pretty simple and nothing fancy. There isn’t gobs of frosting and there aren’t a lot of steps to put it together, but it is delicious!!

image of cake on a white plate

Have you been enjoying colder temps? So have we! It actually went down to the 60’s this past Sunday and we missed it. We went to beautiful Boston to see some dear friends and to eat! Boston is one of my favorite places. There are so many cool and hip restaurants. We walked by an Italian restaurant called Sportello that is just beautiful and had desserts at Pastoral (and even a pretty amazing pizza Margherita).

The concierge recommended Lucky’s Lounge near our hotel for burgers and it was a great recommendation. Lucky’s Lounge used to be a speak easy and has a super cool vibe, great service and food. We tried to get into Shojo noodles in Chinatown for some ramen.

I read online a really great review, but when we got there the hostess said there was a 1.5 hour wait (on a weeknight, no less). The music was super loud and it was filled mostly with high bar tables (not a kid friendly place). We ended up eating at a much smaller place that was super quirky with Asian music videos playing on a big screen TV when you walk in. They had great appetizers and even delicious sushi.

image of a slice of cake on a multicolored plate

This isn’t what you expect when you make a typical American crumb cake. The bottom of the cake is also a layer of crumbly dough as opposed to a more fluffy cake or really soft quick bread you will find in an American recipe.

And since it’s made with sweet fall apples, this could be the most perfect dessert to serve at Thanksgiving or mix it up with another fruit filling. I used Granny Smith apples, but you could experiment with different apples or a combination to get a different texture and sweetness.

Some other apple desserts to enjoy:

  • Cinnamon Apple Banana Bread
  • Sourdough Discard Apple Cake
  • Salted Caramel Apple Pie
  • Apple Banana Bread
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
No ratings yet

ITALIAN APPLE CRUMBLE CAKE-TORTA SBRICIOLATA ALLE MELE

A delicious Italian apple crumble cake that is perfect to enjoy for breakfast or an afternoon break with a hot cup of coffee.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time40 mins
Total Time50 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: apples
Servings: 1 9-inch springform pan
Author: Lora

Ingredients

CRUST AND TOPPING

  • 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • lemon rind from one lemon use organic
  • 1 cup of sugar plus 2 Tablespoons for the apples
  • dash of salt
  • 8 Tablespoons cold butter cut into small pieces
  • 2 eggs room temperature, lightly beaten

FILLING

  • 4 apples peeled and cut into small pieces I used Granny Smith
  • juice of one lemon
  • 1 Tablespoon apricot jam
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Instructions

CRUST AND TOPPING

  • Place the flour and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the lemon rind, granulated sugar and salt and pulse again.
  • Add the cold butter pieces and pulse until you get a sandy texture (about 6-8 pulses. Be sure the butter is broken up in the flour and there are no large chunks.
  • Transfer the flour mixture to a clean counter (or a bowl)and incorporate the eggs gently with your hands to get large crumbs. The dough should stay more crumbly than combined. Refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes.
  • While dough chills, heat the oven to 350 F. Line a 9-inch spring form pan or round cake pan with parchment paper. I sprayed my paper and pan all around with non-stick baking spray.
  • Prep apples also while dough is chilling.

FILLING

  • In a small skillet, add in the apples, 2 Tablespoons sugar, lemon juice, apricot jam and cinnamon. Cook on medium-low heat for about 8-10 minutes until the apples are tender (it took my apples 10 minutes to have the right consistency after baking). Remove from the heat and set aside while you finish prepping the dough in the cake pan.
  • Once dough is chilled, place ¾ of your crumbly dough on the bottom of the pan and with a spoon, press it and push some up the sides of the pan.
  • Place the apples on top of the crust.
  • Sprinkle on the rest of the crumbly dough on top of the apples making sure to get the corners and covering the apples. Press gently to make sure the crumbs stick together taking care that they are still crumbly.
  • Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool completely in pan. Remove when ready to serve and dust lightly with confectioner's sugar.
Tried this recipe?Mention @savoringitaly or tag #savoringitaly!
« Previous Post
Plum Gnocchi-Gnocchi di Susine
Next Post »
Eggs in Purgatory-Uova in Purgatorio

If you enjoyed this…

Kale and Red Onion Pizza

Vegan Chickpea Patties

fettucine pasta

Homemade Fettuccine

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Helpful comments include feedback on the post or changes you made.

Recipe Rating




Comments

  1. Jocelyn Delk Adams says

    October 26, 2016 at 10:40 pm

    I'm in love with this!

    Reply
  2. Michelle De La Cerda says

    October 27, 2016 at 4:16 am

    That is so pretty and it looks delicious.

    Reply
  3. Amy Engberson says

    October 27, 2016 at 4:26 am

    This is gorgeous and I wish I knew how to pronounce the Italian name!

    Reply
  4. Carrie R says

    October 27, 2016 at 11:45 am

    Wow! This looks amazing! The Italians really do know how to do dessert, don't they? 😉

    Reply
  5. Frank Fariello says

    October 27, 2016 at 12:06 pm

    Gorgeous, Lora! Please send me a slice…

    Reply
  6. Dee M says

    October 27, 2016 at 3:56 pm

    I'm in love with that crumb topping — looks delicious!

    Reply
  7. Michelle Nahom says

    October 28, 2016 at 6:05 am

    Your apple cake looks absolutely scrumptious! I don't love baking, but maybe I can get one of the other bakers in our house to make this for me!

    Reply
  8. Brandy | Nutmeg Nanny says

    November 15, 2016 at 12:49 pm

    Obsessed with this torta! I have so many apples I could use!

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Lora and Gabby

Welcome to our Italian kitchen! We are Lora and Gabriella, the mother-daughter team behind Savoring Italy. We work hard to create recipes that are inclusive of many sorts of diets, but do not follow one diet. Read More

Sourdough Recipes

easy sourdough banana bread
how to revive sourdough starter
sourdough discard challah buns
overhead image of sourdough discard apple cake

soup recipes ebook

What’s Trending

pasta amatriciana closeup image.
easy bruschetta recipe
cacio e pepe overhead with red wine on the side.
overhead image of lemon olive oil bundt cake

  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Videos
  • Presets
  • Podcast
  • travel to Italy
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

© 2023 · Copyright © · Savoring Italy · Privacy Policy