Apple Charolotte alla Milanese

Preheat the oven to 350°.

In a small bowl soak the rasins in hot water for 10 minutes. Drain, pat dry and set aside.

Peel and core the apples, then cut them into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place the slices in a large skillet add 1/2 cup of the sugar, the lemon zest, the wine and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook 3-4 minutes. Pour off the liquid and put the apples on a towel to dry. (The liquid was too good to throw away, so I saved it and later cooked it down to concentrate the flavors and used part of it to glaze the charolotte.)

In a bowl combine the remaining sugar with the cold butter using a pastry blender. It should make a loose sandy mixture. Sprinkle some of this butter in an 8-inch cake or souffle pan (lidded casserole) and begin filling the pan in layers, alternating slices of bread apples pine nuts and the butter mixture.

When the ingredients are used up, sprinkle half of the rum and place in the oven for 30 minutes. Cover and bake another 20 minutes (a casserole with a lid is handy here, otherwise use foil.)

Remove from the oven and turn out on a platter, drizzle the remaining Rum. ( I made this without the rum and it was still very good.)