Vintage apple cake (fugassa de pomi)

Grandma calls hers fugassa, because it’s soft like a focaccia. The hefty dose of eggs makes it airy, but substantial, while the apples give it a semblance of wholesomeness that allows for second helpings. 

Golden Delicious is the apple of choice for many Italian nonne. They appear to have the perfect texture for the task — neither hard nor floury nor mealy — and just the right dose of juiciness and sugar. Some excellent ones come to Veneto from the valleys of Trentino, but Grandma always preferred to buy them from the fruit grower down the road; he’d always throw a couple more in her bag for free, enough to make her happy.