First, prepare the shortcrust pastry; combine all the ingredients quickly so as not to melt the butter (see this method - crostata di frutta);
Peel and slice the apples into quarters and cut out the core;
Place small pieces of butter on the bottom of your cake pan and sprinkle with half of the sugar;
Arrange half of the apple slices with the concave side upright;
Sprinkle with the remaining sugar;
Arrange the remaining apple slices with the concave side down;
Pre-heat the oven to 200-220°C (400°F) and bake for 10 minutes, on the lowest rack of the oven;
Meanwhile, roll out the shortcrust pastry with a rolling pin until 2-3cm thick; it must be a little wider than the baking pan;
Take the baking pan with the apples out of the oven and assemble the cake;
Top the apples with the short crust pastry and seal the edges to shape a solid base to hold the weight of the apples; pick the pastry with the tongs of a fork;
Pre heat the oven at 180°C (350°F) and bake for 25-30 minutes on the middle rack of the oven, until the crust is golden brown;
Take the cake out of the oven, let it cool down for 5 minutes, then turn it upside down onto a serving plate;
Does the cake still look too pale on its surface? The apples haven’t caramelized, but don’t worry. Put the cake on the top rack of the oven; turn the oven to 200°C (400°F) for about 5 minutes. Watch it carefully so that it doesn’t burn.
Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or custard (see recipe below).